B&M Vs. Online (Comparison) - NEWBIES LOOK HERE

[IceExplorer]

I''ve been lurking these forums for a couple of months. I haven''t bought yet but I''m definitely in the hunt.
Thank you everyone for the in-depth information you make available.

For all the new people out there, I figured I would share with you the cost comparison from my B&M vs. Online shopping.
This was from only 1 B&M and I''m in Ontario Canada. The B&M is a locally Family owned Jeweler that has been been around for well over 50 years.

I''m going to continue my investigation and reviewing rocks at B&M''s because there is a tremendous benefit being able to touch and ''see'' the diamond.
I told the sales person at this reputable locally owned B&M that I was researching on Pricescope to see if it would influence their pricing... you decide if it did:

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B&M

>.90ct Lazare Cut diamond of G colour, SI-2 clarity

$9150.00
________________________________

online

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2192339.htm
.903 G-SI1 ACA
$4786.00

(Difference 4364.00

)
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online: NOTE: They only had an H&A 1.04

http://goodoldgold.com/diamond.php?d=8575&shape=1&ctMin=.90&ctMax=1.05&clarity=64&color=8&resultsColumns=268435471&singleResult=1

this was upgraded to an H&A 1.04 (not 0.90 carat) because I couldn''t find the same diamond

(5990.00)

(difference $6405.00!!!!!!)

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B&M

1.03ct Ideal Cut round brilliant of F colour and VS-2 clarity

$12 395

_________________________________

online

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2192339.htm

same diamond
7855.00

(difference 4540.00)

__________________________________

online NOTE: They only had an H&A
http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/5442/

Upgraded to H&A
9029.00

(difference 3366.00)

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B&M
--1.01ct Ideal round brilliant cut diamond solitaire of F colour and SI-1 clarity.

$10 055.00

______________________________

online
--PRICESCOPE (WHITEFLASH) - http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-1467011.htm
Same Diamond -
6526.00

(difference 3529.00)

_______________________________

online had to upgrade to "E" color and 1.04 carat
http://goodoldgold.com/diamond.php?d=4017&shape=1&ctMin=1.01&ctMax=1.05&clarity=32&color=6&resultsColumns=268435471&singleResult=1

Better diamond:
7685.00

(difference $2370.00)

 

[lingpanda01]

Many of the reputable online vendors on PriceScope apparently have B&M stores, too. B&M stores which obviously matches their online diamond prices. So you might be lucky and find a local B&M store that purchases from the same diamond dealers and can give you a similar price as the diamonds online.

Luckily for me, I found a store about 10 minutes from my house with very comparable diamond prices and the excellent face to face customer service that comes from a B&M. I've heard these online vendors are amazing to deal with and very honest, but it's much more comfortable to have a storefront to go to whenever there's a problem. Instead of having to send your ring/diamond in the mail for whatever reason.

*Edit - When I went to Jared's just to look at diamonds and settings for fun, they gave me prices for their diamonds which were almost 2 x the price of my local jewelry store. When you tell them about online diamond prices, they kind of pass it off as being cheaper since it's "online". But when I let them know that I was quoted a comparable GIA graded diamond vs their IGI (I think it was IGI) graded for a thousand less, they were pretty shocked. I would think if they worked at a jewelry store, they should know their competition and about comparable diamond prices. Oh, well. Good luck hunting.