What is the difference between a private jeweler and big dealer like Tiffany’s or Debeers?
Monday, August 25th, 2008 at
8:53 am
Little Hulk asked:
Is there a difference in quality? Price? Bargaining? Which is better to buy from?
ALISA
Is there a difference in quality? Price? Bargaining? Which is better to buy from?
ALISA
Tagged with: Debeers • Private Jeweler • Quality Price • Tiffany
Filed under: Diamond Mining
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
CAYENNE
the local private jeweler will probably treat you much better
stay away from those big chains – my sister went to Kay Jewelers once and they lost her wedding band and they wouldn’t even replace it – it was an $800 wedding band too
she got it back because she went on the news, because her husband’s friend was a TV journalist for Fox News and finally they helped her, but you wouldn’t believe what they put her through before that
DARRYL
major chains are WAY more expensive. Diamonds have the highest markup of any luxury product out there… those places can refuse to bargain and lower their prices because their name has a higher cost…. something about prestige..? HA.
GENEVIEVE
If you buy a diamond from Tiffany or Cartier, you’re obviously paying for the brand. You can always go to a private jeweler who can help you pick an equally nice diamond for much less money.
Remember: cut, color, clarity, carat!
It depends on the woman you want to marry and how much you are willing to spend. Will she be happier with a Tiffany ring and smaller diamond, or larger diamond ring from a private jeweler?
HENLEY
STICK WITH YOUR INDEPENDENT , I AM AND CARRY A FAR WIDER SELECTION OF LOOSE STONES ; JEWELRY MADE UP WITH RARE AND EXOTIC STONES . I CARRY OVER 3000 LOOSE GEMS AND OVER 1000 CASTINGS TO MAKE UP JEWELRY ON THE SPOT AT GEM & JEWELRY SHOWS AROUND THE COUNTRY . A CHAIN WILL ORDER YOUR STONES AND YOUR STUCK WITH WHAT THEY COME UP WITH BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO PAY UP FRONT , WITH ME YOU SEE THEM AND THEN CHOSE THE ONE YOU WANT & WATCH AS I ASSEMBLE IT IN FRONT OF YOU . MY PRICES ARE BETTER AND I DEAL WITH MY CUSTERMERS . LAST YEAR I DID 32 SHOWS AROUND THE COUNTRY , AND HAVE BEEN ASKED TO DO SEVERAL OTHERS BECAUSE OF MY SELECTION . I CARRY MANY 1 OF A KINDS —— IF A CHAIN SAYS THEY HAVE A ONE OF A KIND IT MEANS THEY SOLD ALL BUT ONE . ITS YOUR MONEY DO AS YOU PLEASE BUT NO CHAIN CAN TOUCH WHAT I CARRY , NEXT TIME THERE IS A GEM AND JEWELRY SHOW IN YOUR AREA —CHECK IT OUT — YOU’LL LIKE WHAT YOU SEE AND FIND .
GOLDY
It really depends. Tiffany’s will be the most expensive, because you are paying for the elite brand. However, a mid range place like People’s might be less expensive because they have the ability to buy their diamonds in bulk.
Private jewelers likely cannot buy the quantity of diamonds that a big brand could, so they have to pay a higher price.
You really need to shop around, my fiance tried many private jewelers, but lots of them were sketchy and had really high prices. We found an exceptional quality ring at a chain store, it was much less expensive and the jewelry was the same quality. The appraiser valued the ring at more than what was paid for it – so it was a good deal.
There are certain advantages to going to a chain store – you do have an assurance of quality. You could buy from a private shop, but they might not be able to offer you the same guarentees if the recipient of the jewelry doesn’t like it or if you notice a fault in the quality of the jewelry.
Have a look around. You’ll have to check several different places. If you have a vague idea of what you’re looking for, then you can compare prices on similar styles. If you’re buying diamonds, then do some research on your Cs so you know how to distinguish quality -