"Signature" quality diamonds in "Virtual" inventory?

[NervousBuyer]

Except for those truly versed in the subtleties of diamond cut, I would expect many new buyers to gravitate towards “Signature” cuts for reassurance. Obviously, cutters/vendors have an extensive understanding of what makes a diamond truly brilliant and they are therefore able to select stones of extremely high caliber for their own “Signature” inventory.

My question is thus: can a diamond of this same high quality really be found in a category other than “Signature”?

I know many people feel that there is a premium attached to “Signature” category stones and high quality diamonds can be found without this branding, but… if a company lists a stone in their inventory, they must have at least taken a quick look at the specs, right? If the stone really was of extremely high quality, why didn’t they select it for their Signature collection?

It therefore follows that any diamond NOT in a Signature collection must not be good enough (rejected for their Signature collection), and therefore the top quality stones can ONLY be found in a “Signature” collection. Or is this just what vendors would like you to believe? If a diamond is truly of the same extreme quality, why would it not have been placed in their “Signature” collection? Do vendors simply not know about all the stones they have in their inventory, virtual inventory included, and therefore top quality stones can be found in a virtual inventory? Or is the consumer’s thinking that you simply can’t tell the difference between a top “virtual” stone and a “Signature” stone, and that there are stones of the same beauty to be found elsewhere, even if they aren’t technically as good as a signature stone?

Consumers: how do you rationalize thinking you can get a top quality stone when it was not selected for a vendor’s “Signature” collection? Does it just have to do with individual priorities (i.e. you don't care about some things that are necessary for a stone to be "Signature")?

Vendors: how do you select your “Signature” stones? Do you agree that every signature stone is better than every other stone in your inventory (all things, inclusions, weight, dimensions, color, etc, besides cut being equal)? Or is it a Signature stone because of a combination of these elements and more than simply a reflection of the cut quality?

 

[shortee78]

"Consumers: how do you rationalize thinking you can get a top quality stone when it was not selected for a vendor’s “Signature” collection? Does it just have to do with individual priorities (i.e. you don't care about some things that are necessary for a stone to be "Signature")?"

My assumption is that there are hundreds of thousands of diamonds in the world, either in the physical inventory of a certain store, or as part of a virtual inventory. My belief is that what defines a "Signature" diamond from a vendor is 1) Vendor has the diamond IN THEIR POSSESSION 2) Diamond meets their strict criteria for what defines a superior cut.

This means that there are hundreds of thousands of diamonds still that are not in these vendors' possession, yet may still possess excellent cut qualities that make them a great diamond.

So to me, I think consumers have the choice of going with already-acclaimed "Signature" cut (some vendors charge a slight price premium for these but also have lots of perks such as lifetime upgrade policies, etc) OR of going with a diamond from the virtual inventory, but doing a little extra legwork on either their part or their vendor's part to find a great diamond.

For what it's worth, my last 3 diamond purchases were from the virtual inventory, and they are all beautiful. They were seen in person by Brian Gavin and Perry Chen respectively and given their "stamp of approval". Neither discouraged me from looking at the virtual inventory and also did not "push" me into their current inventory. Both vendors, for the quality of their diamonds sourced and customer service, deserve my return business.

Sorry this is so long!!

 

[NervousBuyer]

Don't worry about being long! I enjoy reading/learning about the industry. I suppose I should mention that I am truly not trying to step on anyone's toes or offend anybody! I'm purely curious about how things work.

Once a high-quality virtual stone is pointed out to a vendor, and assuming the stone is not bought by the customer, wouldn't the vendor want to bring in the stone so they can make it a signature stone / charge more? Is this simply a matter of inventory, by which I mean, trying to keep costs down by not having a huge inventory in-store, and therefore allowing top stones to remain "virtual"?

Thanks!

 

[shortee78]

Don't worry about being long! I enjoy reading/learning about the industry. I suppose I should mention that I am truly not trying to step on anyone's toes or offend anybody! I'm purely curious about how things work.

Once a high-quality virtual stone is pointed out to a vendor, and assuming the stone is not bought by the customer, wouldn't the vendor want to bring in the stone so they can make it a signature stone / charge more? Is this simply a matter of inventory, by which I mean, trying to keep costs down by not having a huge inventory in-store, and therefore allowing top stones to remain "virtual"?

Thanks!

I'm not a vendor but if I were them, I wouldn't want to stretch my liability by buying more inventory, when I may have trouble moving current inventory due to the economy. Just some thoughts....

 

[slg47]

Consumers: how do you rationalize thinking you can get a top quality stone when it was not selected for a vendor’s “Signature” collection? Does it just have to do with individual priorities (i.e. you don't care about some things that are necessary for a stone to be "Signature")?

from my perspective...certain vendors signature stones (remember, all signature stones have different criteria) make shopping easier. many of them come with ASET images/IS images/etc already uploaded to the website. There is no extra shipping charge associated because those stones are already in-house, and those stones come with good upgrade/buyback/trade-in policies.
With rounds I think you can find good virtual stones but you might have to go through a few rounds of bringing in candidates, especially if you are looking for eye-clean SI stones. With fancy shapes...I would not bring in virtual stones unless they are AGS0.

Anyway, I think you have to decide if you want the ease/policies of going with a signature stone, or if you want to try to save some $$ by weeding through the virtual inventory. If H&A is important to you, I would stick with signature stones.

 

[shortee78]

I should add that I got my stones from the virtual inventory for different reasons at the time:

1) 2 diamonds to be used as diamond stud earrings. I purchased from Brian Gavin, and did not need an upgrade policy on these diamonds as I do not plan on upgrading in the future. The diamonds were GIA EX-EX-EX and also laser inscribed as a branded H&A's. They were perfectly matched. I didn't find these diamonds on my own; the lovely Jamie at BGD found me many pairs that matched my budget and criteria, and these were eventually selected.

2) 1 diamond purchased this week from Perry Chen/Leon Mege. Once again, I didn't choose the diamond. He found it for me, per my budget and criteria. It is a H&A, ideal cut in both AGS and GIA terms.

So for me, purchasing from the virtual inventory was worth it. I saved enough money so I could splurge on settings or begin thinking about my next diamond purchase. It didn't take any more time than it normally takes for me, since I am very picky and take a while to do all my research anyways. Due to friendly return policies, I knew that if I saw the diamond in person and it wasn't for me, I could always return it and continue my search.

Also, I didn't have to rely on my "newbie" knowledge to find the diamonds. The highly acclaimed vendors found them for me. Best of both worlds!

 

[yssie]

As slg said different vendors have different requirements for their various lines of branded stones... if I specifically wanted a stone of a particular unusual type (I'm thinking of my personal preference for RBs w/ v large crown height) I would not be *able* to purchase this sort of stone from certain lines - WF ACAs, BGD Signatures, Crafted by Infinities - because the proportions on that sort of stone are outside those brands' tight requirements.

And, of course, there are downsides to buying from the "virtual inventory" - time, expense of shipping, stress, less generous post-purchase policies... Many good reasons to choose a branded stone, many not to. Ultimately it really is up to what you want to do!