A diamond is a diamond, why does it matter?

[HornAround]

The reason I ask this is a lot of vendors proudly display the fact they upgrade diamonds if said diamond is bought from them. My question is, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck.........Seriously though, if the diamond comes with a report and checks out clean, why does it matter where you bought it from? When I go to sell my "Chevy" at Ford dealership, they don't reject the car because it's not a Ford. What I'm getting at is the car still has value, why shouldn't the diamond?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/30/2009 10:07:57 AM
Author:HornAround
The reason I ask this is a lot of vendors proudly diplay the fact they upgrade diamonds if said diamond is bought from them. My question is, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck.........Seriously though, if the diamond comes with a report and checks out clean, why does it matter where you bought it from? When I go to sell my 'Chevy' at Ford dealership, they don't reject the car because it's not a Ford. What I'm getting at is the car still has value, why shouldn't the diamond?

There are various reasons for this, one of which many of the vendors are very strict on cut quality and other aspects, and will only offer upgrades on diamonds which meet their standards, they have reputations of putting a lot of effort and expertise into selling diamonds of top cut quality, so it wouldn't make sense for them to tie up inventory on diamonds they wouldn't sell or recommend in the first place.

Online it varies, some will only offer upgrades on diamonds they recommend or their in house or branded stones, others will allow upgrades on most diamonds provided it is AGS or GIA graded, then you might find the terms differ.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 4/30/2009 10:12:46 AM
Author: Lorelei

There are various reasons for this, one of which many of the vendors are very strict on cut quality and will only offer upgrades on diamonds which meet their standards, they have reputations of putting a lot of effort and expertise into selling diamonds of top cut quality, so it wouldn''t make sense for them to tie up inventory on diamonds they wouldn''t sell or recommend in the first place.

Online it varies, some will only offer upgrades on diamonds they recommend or their in house or branded stones, others will allow upgrades on most diamonds provided it is AGS or GIA graded, then you might find the terms differ.

Ditto.

 

[HornAround]

That still doesn''t take away from the fact that a diamond is a diamond. It''s just like when dealerships accept a trade in. They inspect the car to see what condition it''s in, then they offer you a dollar amount. I''m sure many of these diamond vendors have gemologists who can verify whether the stone is up to their standards.

 

[denverappraiser]

Selling diamonds as a consumer is a difficult transaction. In most cases the ‘upgrade’ deal being offered is significantly better than what you would get in a private sale and it’s definitely easier. Consumers like it because it’s easy and fast and it holds down the transaction costs. Dealers like it because it builds customer loyalty and repeat business.

As a side benefit, it’s something of a vote of confidence by the dealers in what they are selling you. Especially in the Internet world, dealers are routinely selling something they’ve never seen before and will never see again so the details don’t much matter to them. If the dealer is making the commitment to take the stone into inventory in the future they are far more inclined to be picky about which stones they will include in this offer. Your taste may not be the same as theirs but the fact that they are willing to own it is a good sign.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[HornAround]

I definitely understand why vendors would offer the upgrade on their own diamonds. I guess I'm just trying to figure out why they wouldn't accept a consumer's diamond (provided it was a "quality" diamond) in order to make a sale.

 

[denverappraiser]

Most will, the problem is setting the price. When consumers think ‘upgrade’ they are imagining the price is somehow going to be a function of what they paid. Obviously a jeweler can’t agree to this if they had nothing to do with setting the price in the first place. This is true in your car example as well by the way. If it’s just a matter of buying your stone and selling you a new one and they get to decide what to pay based on the merits of the stone involved, you shouldn’t have any trouble getting an offer and you get to decide if you like the offer being presented. I don’t think of this as an ‘upgrade’ as much as a sale but I suppose we’re into a semantic argument on that point.

Another variable for the dealers is that they are often selling things they don't own and that are on consignment. They need to pay the owner as soon as they sell you the stone and if they take a trade-in they are putting that into inventory. This can cause cash flow problems for the jeweler if they aren't careful about it.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[rickster123]

ditto denverappraiser and lorilee..........sounds logical to me.

 

[lowphat]

It''s not that other jewelers won''t buy the diamond from you, it''s that they might not pay you as much. Using your car example, you can go to any dealer/craiglist to sell the car... the same way you can try to resell your diamond to any jeweler or pawnshop.

But a jeweler that offers an upgrade is basically the dealer that says "if you buy this car from us, when you trade it in we guarantee that we will pay you $10,000 for it".

 

[HornAround]

Gotcha. I guess the possible upgrade feature gives the buyer more assurance that they will be getting the most they can for their diamond.