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Shopping for diamonds?
You know about carat weight, clarity and cut, now throw in another "c" word and that's for "confusion."
With so many jewelry retailers out there, it's hard to figure out if it's a deal or a diamond dud.
And after all these years, the words to that song still ring true.
"Diamonds are the one thing we've always ever wanted. "
And we also want that sparkle to last a lifetime.
"You want a diamond to be bright, white, shiny, and not visibly imperfected."
But what you can't see could turn a girl's "best friend" into your wallet's worst enemy.
"I can see occlusions on this one with my naked eye."
These days, almost everyone is in the diamond game, department stores, on-line retailers, even club stores.
Call 2 Action shopped for diamond rings at these places and found even when the cost is about the same, the diamonds are not.
“They were going for weight rather than cut on this stone. The cut and the make of it is off.”
The diamond rings are about the same size, one carat, in the same color range, share similar clarity, and all cost around four thousand dollars.
We take our rings to independent gemologists to find out their true market value.
Thomas Lake and Catherine Lee, both members of the national association of jewelry appraisers, don't know how much we paid for the rings.
Our first diamond comes from Sam’s Club and *has* all the markings of a deal. A pre-sale appraisal of more than 10,000 dollars! Sam's Club sells it for only $4187?
But before you buy, our experts say don't be fooled by a store appraisal.
"Make sure diamonds have gia or ags certification that states it is what it is"
Despite what they agree is an inflated appraisal, our experts *do* think it is worth about $6000. Making the Sam’s Club diamond in "our" test the best value.
Catherine, “It's an excellent buy…”
But our experts take a closer look and notice something wrong.
Catherine, "Some of the prongs are not down on the stone. The stone setter didn't finish his job."
So while the diamond itself is a good deal, we could lose it at anytime.
At department stores, sometimes the diamond may be right, but the price could be wrong.
We buy this diamond ring from sears for $3999.
I think the clarity brings it down.
Both Tom and Catherine say it's actually worth much less.
Catherine, “I think that's a really high retail price. Personally I wouldn't pay that for that diamond.”
Both give it an average appraisal of $3000. Making it worth a thousand dollars less than what we paid!
The biggest surprise? A diamond we bought sight unseen. Building a ring matching our specifications on the internet.
It impresses the experts, who rate the diamond from amazon.com, the best quality of the three we purchased
Tom, “Over all, best is really number one. Size, make, color clarity…”
Since "a diamond is forever", you'll want to make sure you take the diamond to a certified gemologist before your purchased is finalized.
To ensure this purchase of a lifetime is an investment that will last an eternity.
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