Trade review of Pricescope

Like many other diamond information sites aimed at consumers, PriceScope.com and DiamondScope.com offer diamond shoppers a variety of educational resources and buying tips. The two sites, which have the same content but different layouts, stand out because they also offer shoppers a diamond database filled with over 250,000 diamonds from more than 50 suppliers.

Consumers new to diamond shopping should visit the diamond tutorial section first. There, visitors can watch a video about diamonds and browse pages of information ranging from the basics – such as color, cut and clarity – to more advanced topics including table size, symmetry and florescence. The section contains more than 25 pages and an extensive glossary.

After the diamond tutorial, engagement ring shoppers should move on to the engagement ring tutorial to learn about settings, bands, metals and cleaning and care. There's even a "should you surprise her?" section. After studying the diamond and ring tutorials, shoppers will be armed with far more information than the average consumer. For those who want to know even more, the sites also have sections about the safety of buying diamonds online, colored gems buying guides, information on why to buy loose diamonds, information on why to have diamonds appraised, lists of recommended appraisers, buying tips and diamond cut advisors. In addition, there's a diamond forum, diamond price statistics and a vendor list at each site.

If diamond shoppers want to purchase loose diamonds, they can search the diamond database at DiamondScope.com or PriceScope.com. There are three ways to search – by quality, by price and by visual performance. Results are formatted in a table with information about each diamond – carat, color, clarity, depth, table, lab, measurements, price, seller and more. Results can be sorted by most of the criteria, but sorting takes a while if there are more than 10,000 results. If shoppers don't find the diamonds they want in the database, they can fill out the "Diamond Catcher" form to have their requests submitted to diamond dealers. Any dealer with matching diamonds will send an offer to PriceScope/DiamondScope to forward on to the shoppers.

Both sites are great resources for consumers. They claim to have unbiased information because they do not sell diamonds, but they do accept advertising from diamond dealers. The sites are easy to use, and their unique resources make them worthwhile sites to visit before buying loose diamonds or diamond jewelry.

- by Julia M. Duncan www.pricescope.com
garry h
Garry Holloway FGAA DipDT

HCA and Ideal-scope developer

http://www.ideal-scope.com and
http://www.HollowayDiamonds.com.au