Where to Buy
Buying an Engagement Ring
ASK FAMILY, FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS
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You may have personal experience with a Jeweler already, you may also have a Jeweler that your Family has used. You can also tap your friends, especially those who have recently purchased an engagement ring.
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But in any case, remember that this is YOUR purchase, and YOU should feel comfortable with who you buy from ! You may even end up buying The Diamond at one place and The Ring at another. (There are some negatives of buying them at different places)
THE BASIC OPTIONS
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Generally speaking, there is often a trade off Price and Services. A National operation has many convenient locations, often in a Mall, but Operate at higher margins. A Internet seller may operate at lower margins, but have limited flexibility. Most Independent Jewelers give the best mix for the Engagement Ring Customer. More details below for the three main options; Independent Jewelers, National Jewelers, and Internet Sellers.
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No matter the option you choose, you may ask the entity how long they have been in business, if they have any Industry Credentials, and Industry Associations they belong to. You may also ask the individual you are working with, Industry Credentials, Industry Experience and tenure at the place you are at.
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You can also check on-line reviews as well as any Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating.
THE LOCALLY OWNED INDEPENDENT JEWELER
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+ Very Personal Service
+ Can Compare Many Diamonds side by side
+ Consistent and Knowledgeable Staff
+ Can Form a Very Close Relationship
+ Larger Unique Selection of Jewelry
+ Local touch to Inventory Selection
+ Most have On-Site Jewelry Repair
+ Most can Make Custom Jewelry
+ Decision Makers and Owners are Part of Your Community
+ Support Your Community
+ Heavily Invested in Store and Community, most have Long Track Records
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- Less Operating Hours
- Often Closed on Sundays and Holidays
- More Overhead than On-Line Sellers, but less Than National Operations
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Like any decision to be made in our life, we have options. The benefits of choosing to shop with a locally owned independent jeweler are plentiful. For starters, if the correct store is chosen, the service is untouchable. Most have a tenured staff that has dedicated their lives to the jewelry industry. This means that they are educated, certified, and are passionate. They have experience not only sell you items that are best suited for you, but also the knowledge about after sales service. They understand the wear and tear on different metals,stones, and types of settings. With a higher average knowledge level, and much longer tenure . . . you can form a long and trusted relationship for future jewelry needs.
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Most Locally Owned Independent Jewelers will have Bench Jewelers on staff that can not only size your ring but Set Gemstones and repair your jewelry right there on-site. Most stores can manage any custom designs you may have, and have the experience to help you along with the process.
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The locally owned Business will also be more involved and supportive of your local in Your Community, Owner and staff are all part of Your Community.
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Simply, the locally owned Independent Jewelry Store has a vested interest in not a single sale but a long term relationship with you as well. There is also more flexibility for you, as the decision maker is right there, not in a distant corporate office.
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One key factor, your locally owned independent jeweler is often better suited to walk you through making a custom design, one that you can call your own.
THE INTERNET/ON-LINE
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+ Can have lower price structure
+ Endless selection
+ Can Shop 24/7
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- Little or No Real Personal Service
- Can't compare many Diamonds side by side
- Can be Scary and Risky - Don't know who you are dealing with
- Little or No Service after the Sale
- No relationship formed for future Jewelry Needs
- Internet Operations have little or no Investment, so they tend to Come and Go
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Buying Diamonds may offer apparent great prices, but little or no personal attention. The internet is a great way to get information and knowledge about diamonds, and yes even the pricing of diamonds. But the real issue for the consumer, can you see and compare diamonds on the internet. The answer is "Yes" and "No" at the same time. And no, I am not running for a Political Office.
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You can get general information and even sort diamonds as possible candidates and definitely not candidates. As professionals, we have to do this all the time, by looking at quality grades, measurements, proportions, and information on lab reports . . . we can often eliminate diamonds that don't meet certain criteria we are looking for. Now we do this with years of experience. Experience in knowing and seeing what each criteria can do to the diamonds brilliance and beauty.
Can an average consumer do this with little or no hands on diamond experience . . . Probably not. Here is a key fact that many Diamond Sellers don't point out, no two diamonds are exactly alike. We like to say in the Diamond Industry, Diamonds are like Snowflakes, they can be similar but no two are exactly alike.
I can demonstrate all this in one simple experiment. If you go to one of these on-line Diamond Sellers, pick a 1 carat round diamond with G color, SI1 Clarity. You will see a huge price variance with the same key parameters. Recently I did one such search, the price range was $4,400 to $7,500. To complicate matters, do you know what your tolerance is for the Color and Clarity Grades ?
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Now, yes . . .the cut grade will play a factor in the price, but do you really understand the "cut Grades", how does it affect what you see, and is it worth the price difference ?
The only way to understand all this and find your true tolerance to the different criteria is to see them with your own eyes. Try it, a Professional Jeweler will make your experience special and less stressful. They will show and explain these different criteria. And in the end, you will find that they can compete in price when all is taken in to account.
MALL/NATIONAL CHAIN STORE
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+ Many Locations
+ Consistent Inventory Selection at all the stores
+ Can Look at Diamonds side by side
+ Open Longer Hours, Sundays and Many Holidays
+ Very Flexible Financing Options
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- Higher Overhead and Higher Margins = Higher Prices
- Hundreds of the same style sold in your Local Area and Thousands Nationally
- High Staff Turn Over - No Consistency or Relationship
- Often Staff has Very Little Diamond Knowledge
- Many will not have or be able to Show Loose Diamonds
- Many Do Not have Jewelers On-site, to set, adjust, repair your Jewelry
- Can take months for simple repairs
- Trade in Policy, You have to Spend Double the Amount
- Not Full-Service
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If you look at just the top 25 national chain store operations in the Unites States (based on the number of store), the number 1 ranked entity has about 3,200 stores (but under a number of names). . . the 25th ranked has just 40 stores. Simply , 1 entity owns and operates most of the national Named operations. So these operations can offer many convenient and uniform locations, with the same types of inventory across the name brand. They also offer longer operating hours, open on Sundays, and open many Holidays.
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The economies of scale (having many locations) does not help their cost structure, in fact they operate with higher overhead, and operate at much higher margins. Simply, the price you pay for same quality can be much higher at the average "Mall/National Chain Store"
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The average employee turnover is very high, as well as having low average industry experience and knowledge. This makes it very difficult to form a long range relationship with anyone. Most of these locations can't size, repair or set gemstones on-site . . . many taking weeks or even a month or more to just size a ring.
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We should also mention the National Discount Retailers, and "Club" Stores: These stores may have good pricing, but offer very little or no jewelry knowledge and flexibility. They may also have a very limited selection that with the same styles sold around the country. The person showing you Jewelry could be the same person that sells tires !
