A poll for dealers. All others may post comments.....

[oldminer]

Do you feel you can sell princess cuts that a recognized lab
has defined as being an "Ideal Princess Cut" more easily
than just selling the same diamond with your own description
of "very finely cut"

(I posted this only Polygon earlier today and some results are coming in there, too. I appreciate the advice.)

 

[JohnQuixote]

Dave, I would be interested in hearing results/constructive input from Polygon that you feel you can share on this forum.

 

[WinkHPD]

Of course it will be easier. I have had some incredilby beautiful stones in my possession over the years, and when my local clients come in it is never discussed which cert I have or even if I have a cert in over 90% of the sales, but on the Internet it is one of the first questions. For example, I had an incredible AGS1 cut princess that I loved, quite frankly I liked it better than the AGS0''s that I had at the time. None of my internet clients were at all interested in such a terrible stone, but the first man that saw it here in Boise could not wait to get his check book out.

When I patiently explained to him that it was an AGS1 rather than an AGS0 cut he looked at me like I was from Mars. He did not know or care. He saw the beauty with his own eyes, and that was all that mattered to him.

When dealing on the net however, I think it will make it infinitely easier to sell having the "ideal" grade rather than the nice but not quite grade, and NO ONE knows who Wink is in the networld while all know who is AGS or GIA, heck they even know already most of them to avoid EGL and especially IGI, so yes, the certificates matter.

Wink

 

[oldminer]

So far on Polygon: 4 Yes and 1 No ( the No is more Not Yet)

10/11/2005 9:15am Eastern time

 

[MissAva]

I would say yes. As a consumer walking into a jewelry store there is always a bit of pressure. There is also due to past experiences both good and bad a natural hesitation to trust the jeweler 100% until you have gotten to know them. But with an ideal grading from a lab who has no interest in the sale makes the consumer feel more comfortable. Esp with a fancy where the numbers are harder for a layperson to interpret. JMO.

 

[Mara]

I would venture to say so...if it was a recognized and well-reputed lab then that 'tagline' of ideal really would go a long way with a customer. Look at how prevalent even Tolowsky Ideal is after all these years? They slap it on the EGL cert and consumers wave it around like a banner.

ETA: for me it wouldn't be a big deal...because I'd be looking for more than just a lab's seal of approval, but for the AVERAGE CONSUMER, yes I think so.

 

[researcher]

As a consumer, I feel that BOTH are highly desired--the ideal stamp from a reputable lab, and the confirmation of a vendor (and of course the thumbs up of an appraiser).

When buying my princess cut stone the AGS ratings did not exist. So, I relied on the AGA charts (thank you, Dave!), PSers input, the ideal scope and brilliance scope, and Brian Gavin's eyes. And I have to say, even if a stone was not graded by the AGS yet a reputable vendor like those here on PS felt it was an amazing stone I would most definitely consider it. That being said, I would be much more comfortable with an AGS cert in hand. But, I would not hesitate to buy a non-certified ideal cut stone over one that was graded as an AGS-0 if the stone looked like a better performer to me

 

[tareyton]

Yes. In big money purchases consumers always look for things to make them feel as if they are getting a high quality product. The cert is just one more of those. If nothing more it is great marketing. Everyone feels more comfortable if some Third party organization uses words like Ideal. This question is a no brainer YES.