Where to get the Best Diamond Deals: Online or at Brick and Mortar Stores?
By Ira Weissman
Guys, after you make the most important decision of your life ‚whom to marry ‚you need to make the next big choice about which diamond to buy your lady when you pop the question. Agonizing over the whole process of buying a diamond has become a rite of passage for many a groom-to-be. Let’s face it, it, probably your first time buying a diamond, and the amount of information ‚ is only the tip of the iceberg ‚is quite frankly overwhelming.
But there‚ no reason that you need to agonize over where to make this important purchase. (Save your mental energy for finding out what diamond shape and setting your girlfriend likes, for that is truly a question of personal taste.)
In this article, I‚ like to help you understand today‚ diamond market so that you can make the most informed decision when you‚ ready to buy the bling.
Is there an advantage to buying online?
First, online vendors have ‚ inventory that they showcase as private stock from all over the world on their websites, but only when the consumer makes the purchase does the website then buy the diamond from the private vendor. This is in stark contrast to a conventional walk-in store that must stock ‚at its own cost ‚a sizable amount of expensive inventory. Even a very modestly sized diamond inventory will cost several million dollars. Jewelry stores need to borrow money to finance that inventory. This is a huge overhead that online dealers don‚ have to deal with.
This takes us to our second advantage of buying online: it‚ just too expensive for traditional stores to carry inventory that can match the sheer selection of products that you can find online. When you go online, your options of what‚ out there, from the most classic round brilliant cut to the bolder princess cut, are just that much more expansive.
Moreover, brick-and-mortar establishments have astronomical overhead costs for a much smaller clientele. Each month they must pay rent, employee salaries, utilities, insurance, etc., and all these costs are passed on to the consumer in the price of the diamond jewelry. By contrast, online vendors have worldwide exposure and much less overhead to contend with, often hiring a fraction of the employees in one or two locations and spending far less on rent, utilities, and insurance.
And finally, let’s look at one more area that will really drive the point home. Not only is the selection of diamonds that much better online, but the quality of diamonds online is vastly superior as well. The best customer for the mom-and-pop shop is an uninformed customer who doesn’t know the difference between different diamond certificates. He wouldn’t know that many stores, like Kay Jewelers for example, use IGI or EGL lab certificates for their diamonds, which are markedly inferior to GIA and AGS certification. Top online stores such as James Allen, Blue Nile, and Brian Gavin Diamonds only use these superior certificates.
And for those of you who want to see the diamond in person, allow me to introduce you to the virtual loupe found on some diamond vendor websites. This amazing tool allows you to magnify the photo of the diamond, thus permitting you a close-up view like you would see in a store. I agree that it’s scary and uninformed to buy a diamond sight-unseen with only the specs in the certification.
So when you’re ready to pull the trigger on your diamond purchase, check out your options online, and save your local jewelry stores for window shopping with your woman.
Ira Weissman+ is an industry expert and the brains behind the diamond education website Truth About Diamonds.