On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:19:12 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry Graver
<mgerrasch@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>
>>OK!
>> Now that the intelligence issue has been reviewed, pick up your local
>>news paper and go to the classified section. You'll be able to find
>>some great buys on diamonds as this economy continues to get worse.
>>You'll find that most people will meet you at a jeweler of your choice
>>to have the stone verified, If not then you need not go any further
>>with any transaction. It's like the housing market, it's sad people
>>are losing their homes, but others are finding the best deals in
>>twenty years.
>>
>> Good shopping,
>> Mark
Well, while shopping the classified ads is always an option (and that
perhaps is
not much different from shopping ebay or Craigslist, where this thread
started),
your suggestion, taken just as written, is a good way to get not exactly
what
you think your getting.
One factor is that many people have an idea of the value of their diamonds
based
on the insurance appraisal they may have gotten when they bought the
thing. Or
in otherwords, they usually think of their diamond as being worth it's
full,
undiscounted, retail value, and then they're willing to come down from
there.
This is especially true if they've had the stone for a while, perhaps
purchased
before internet shopping because such an im****tant impact on the market.
In
general, those value expectations many people have about their own
diamonds are
often somewhat inflated, and their hopes for what they can get for the
things is
also somewhat higher than the reality.
The second factor in your suggestion that raises a red flag is "the
jeweler of
your choice to have the stone verified" thing.
OK. That's like asking your local new car salesman if the used car you're
trying to buy right next to his dealer****p is worth what your paying.
For one
thing, unless you're prepared to pay this jeweler a proper fee for
evaluating
the stone, he or she is unlikely to give it any real attention, so the
verification process might end with "yeah it's a diamond". If that.
Diamond
grading is an exact and highly precise set of decisions that need some
skill and
training to do accurately. Mistakes of one grade or two can mean
thousands of
dollars, especially in the size range our original poster is talking
about. And
the kicker is simply this? Most of those "jewelers of your choice" are
likely
to be well experienced in selling jewelery, but will not normally be
trained
gemologists or diamond graders. If you walk into the average shopping
mall
jewelry store, your chances of being able to find someone who actually has
ANY
reat training or knowledge of diamond grading can be slim indeed, and even
at
the more extensive and well staffed shops, those folks who do have that
training, if there are any, won't be the sales clerks you're likely to be
talking to. Jewelers make jewelry and sell jewelery. Many of them know
quite
a bit about gemstones. But only a few are really properly trained to do
precise
diamond grading, and "verifying" your diamond can easily fall into that
catagory
of skill.
You'd be better off, rather than meeing at the "jeweler of your choice",
instead
meeting at the office (which might be a jewelry store, even so) of a
properly
credentialed and trained gem and jewelry appraiser. Then expect to pay a
proper fee for the service of examining the stone and determining what
it's
grades are. Even if you have an existing and proper certificate for the
stone,
so making sure the diamond is the same one as listed on the cert, can
require
more than just a quick look. The only times it's a pretty simple task is
for
that smaller percentage of certified stones where a registration or
identification number has been laser engraved on the girdle, but even
then, it
can take more than a simple loupe to find and read that engraving. And
even
then, one must take the time to be sure the stone is still in the
condition
described on the cert and hasn't been damaged in any way. Again, often
not the
sort of thing within the skills of every jeweler.
You wouldn't ask for a good medical opinion of the fellow working behind
the
photo counter at the local pharmacy. His store may sell the medicine to
make
you better, but he's not the guy to do the diagnosis. In fact, if you're
vision
is giving you trouble, you don't want to see the doctor in the
gastroenterology
department either. You want the opthalmologist. Same thing here. If you
want
accurate information, skill, and opinions, you've got to find the experts
who
have the training to give it to you. You need a trained gemologist, not
a
jeweler.
Peter
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