Places to Buy Diamonds
Selection of places where
to purchase diamonds
Diamond shoppers today have more choices than ever on where to buy their diamond
engagement ring, diamond earrings and other diamond jewelry items. However, with greater selections come bigger
potential risks and rewards. You need to do your homework and understand how to select the best company for your
diamond purchase.
The retail diamond market is comprised of three broad categories of diamond
sources:
- Jewelry stores
- Online diamond companies
- and Diamond brokers
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Shoppers today have many choices when it comes to
finding
best places to buy diamonds and diamond jewelry.
(Image: Pixabay) |
Jewelry Stores
Until recent years, prior to the online shopping revolution, jewelry stores were
the only option for most diamond shoppers. This was especially true for smaller towns and rural areas. These stores
had a monopoly, much like Ma Bell with the phone systems during most of the 20th century. Jewelry stores were the
only game in town and could set their prices at whatever markup they wanted.
Jewelry stores depend on impulse buying so they focus on having a selection to pick from, name recognition through extensive
advertising, and being convenient so shoppers can walk in and make a purchase with no education or knowledge of the
product. If it looks nice to an impulse buyer, they will pull out the credit card and have it gift-wrapped. To
attract the impulse buyer, jewelers built elaborate stores with polished marble floors, expensive display cases,
and lighting that makes everything in the store sparkle.
To pay for the stores, the decorations and the expensive advertising, jewelry
stores must maintain high markups on the items they sell. The more expensive stores have bigger inventory, higher
rent and more advertising, which dictates the higher markup necessary to pay for all that overhead.
But you can always look for that perfect diamond jewelry at Macy's, where you can find
diamond earrings, diamond rings and diamond bracelets. Make a statement with Gucci watches, or go for a classic,
yet modern Movado Swiss Faceto stainless steel bracelet watch. Diamonds are truly a girl’s best friend and
Macy’s has the best selection of diamond jewelry for you.
Online Diamond Retailers
The online shopping cart of hundreds of jewelry retailers has been one of the big
growth areas for e-commerce or online shopping. Shoppers can shop from the convenience of their home or work
computer, tablet or mobile, look at the pictures of thousands of jewelry items online and place their order without
ever talking to a human. Online diamond retailers provide a list of diamonds owned by groups of wholesalers and let
the shopper pick
the diamond they want based on the specifications in the list. The
shopper pays for the diamond in advance and then the wholesaler or the retailer ships the diamond to the
consumer.
The online jewelry retailers offer the advantage of much greater selection than
you can find in a jewelry store and the ability to ship the items all over the country, which provides greater
options for shoppers in small towns and rural areas. Due to low overhead costs, online jewelers can provide lower
prices than most jewelry stores. The disadvantage of the online jeweler is that there are few safeguards in place
to keep
the consumer from making a mistake. Picking the least expensive
diamond from a list of options often means there is something less desirable about the diamond. Without an
expert adviser to help, the consumer is mostly on their own to make their selection.
Diamond Brokers
There is a third type of diamond retailer, the diamond broker, that differs from
the jewelry store or online retailer. Like most online retailers, brokers do not own inventory and have low
overhead, but they differ in that they work as diamond
consultants for the shopper to find the best diamonds meeting the
consumer’s requirements.
To attract new clients, diamond brokers rely on word of mouth advertising. They
typically have a website focused on online education and shopping advice instead of a list of inventory and the
online shopping cart. Diamond brokers work with their client to find the best diamond on the wholesale market and
present it to the client in the broker’s office or ship the diamond to the client to examine before they purchase.
The result of the lower overhead and personal consultant service is that clients usually get a better diamond at a
lower price than with jewelry stores or online retailers.
To determine which company is going to be the best supplier for your diamonds,
know what retailer characteristics are most important to you then ask many questions. Be sure the company you
select is going to be able to provide the personalized service, expert advice, high quality diamonds and low prices
you deserve.
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