Buying Locally or at Cutting Sources?

[ikonos]

Hi,

If you are flying to a Diamond Cutting location say Amsterdam/Brussels/India will you be inclined to buy there vs buying locally here in US? What are the pros and cons with each of the approach?

Thanks
Ik

 

[denverappraiser]

Buying from someone who is physically close to the cutter can save you a FedEx fee that the cutter would need to incur in order to get it into the hands of your neighborhood store or your favorite Internet dealer. Depending on how much they ship at once and the budget of the stone you are considering, this savings may be as much as $50/stone. This savings may or may not be passed on to you depending on the dealer you choose.

There are dealers all over the world who would be thrilled to get your business and they offer differing sorts of business models with different benefits. Many local suppliers, for example, will provide a convenient showroom where you can conveniently look at things as well as warranties, trade in programs, fancy packaging, financing, and other such added benefits. Buying in your home country also has a certain amount of comfort in dealing with familiar consumer protection laws, banking laws and the like.

Buying overseas has a certain romance associated with it and, since romance is part of the point of most diamond purchases it has an appeal that doesn’t really apply to most other products. ‘I picked it up while I was in Surat’ drops nicely into cocktail party chatter in a way that 'I got it at Sam's Club' or even worse, ‘I got it on ebay’ just doesn’t seem to do.

Which approaches are better than others depends on what you want. The dealers (both in the US and elsewhere) with the most added features and the best reputations are rarely the cheapest and the ‘bare bones’ type of outfit may not offer the services you want.

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

 

[neatfreak]

I think there is a big chance that you will get ripped off elsewhere unless you are dealing with someone reputable like Infinity Diamonds, etc. The potential small savings just isn''t worth it IMO.