Find a Nice Quiet Place
Jan 04 '00
If you are going to purchase a diamond, there are two major things you must do.
1. You need to know something about diamonds.
2. Don't go to the nearest Mall.
My fiance and I recently went diamond shopping, and yes, we headed to the nearest Mall. Not knowing anything about diamonds, they all looked beautiful to me. In fact, I would have been happy with the aluminum top to a Coke can....but that is another story.
We found a setting we liked and a diamond to go with it at Freidman's Jewelry Store. The jeweler told us that the diamond had a "5 Star" rating. And that sounded good to us. No information about Clarity or Color was given to us directly....only a little card with the "5 Star" rating system, stating Color and Clarity were on the "high" side. Not knowing any better, we left the store happily with my new ring.
A few days later we decided to stop at a Local Jewelers to do some more looking for our wedding bands. This time we went to a small, local Jeweler that some friends of ours had recommended. Of course they wanted to know about my diamond and asked if I wanted to look at it a little closer and compare it to some of theirs. We went into a quiet room where the lighting was excellent(not Mall lights) and there is where we started to get that really sick feeling that accompanies any poor decision.
As we floundered around trying not to look stupid about the fact we knew nothing about the certification of the diamond, the sales person gently explained the basics about diamond quality/ratings (5 Star not being one of them). There were small black carbon specs throughout my diamond, and the sparkle and brightness was dim compared to their diamonds.
Luckily, we were able to take the diamond back to Freidman's (only a little hassle), and the local merchant hooked us up with a beautiful diamond, with much better clarity and color for about the same price.
Of course the local merchant wanted the business, but the key here is that they were willing to explain what was important to look for and disclosed all certification with regards to the diamond.
Therefore, I suggest a nice, quiet place where you can look at you diamond under a lens (in good light) and without the distractions of the Mall crowd and where someone is willing to tell you what you are looking at!
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
briscoejn
|
|
Member: Jennifer Parker
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 1 member
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.