Identifying lower quality stones from better stones at online retailers

[foamblue]

I work with some diamond suppliers to source stones before having them set in rings. Whenever the topic of some online retailers come up, the diamond suppliers always mention that these online retailers advertise the lowest quality of stones which suppliers usually refuse themselves, hence why they are being pushed by online retailers at cheaper prices.

For example, we can set the filters to VVS2, F colour, Excellent cut, low fluorescence etc and the online retailer might have a list of 20 stones for those specs however the lower end may be around $2500 whereas the upper end of the list will be around $4000. This means there must be a clear difference in the quality of these stones if there is such a large difference in price (despite being the same on paper) however is there any way to identify and separate the 'low quality stones' from the better stones without looking at the price? Are there any certain specs/factors that we could look for on the certificate?

 

[lovedogs]

It isn't true that online retailers have lower quality stones. That is an often-used scare tactic from jewelers at B&M stores who want to convince folks to buy their stones.

In terms of price differences, there is a huge range of stones in terms of quality (Even within the same color/clarity). Examples include: the types of inclusions, whether the stone is a "high F" color or "low F", the cut (which I would argue is the most important thing), etc.

In general, our advice would be to use the cut guides from the website (e.g. specific ranges of table, depth, pavillion angle, crown angle) to weed out the lower quality stones.

 

[foamblue]

Thank you for explaining this! Apologies as I should have explained better. You're right about B&M stores trying to scare off customers from buying online however this was mentioned to me by my own suppliers as they always say that they can sell me similar quality stones to the ones as this online retailer (think the big name which has a huge selection) as my suppliers usually have access to the same stones on the database but they say that they never present them as an option to me or their other trade clients.


Apparently, they tell me that most of the cheaper stock from the online retailers are usually stones which would never be purchased by suppliers who could view them in person as they would immediately be refused, hence their cheaper price tag. This is despite some of those stones being as high as VVS and triple ex. I didn't realise VVS, triple ex stones could lack in sparkle and fire too!

I have never been able to go abroad and view these 'cheaper' stones which are usually purchased online however I want to see just how bad these are if they can be a significant amount cheaper than other stones of the same cut/colour/clarity and other specs. I mean at the end of the day, customers are purchasing them from these online retailers right? They must be happy with their purchase otherwise these online retailers would stop selling the 'lower end' stones of the same specs.

It's because we sometimes have clients that are pushing their budget and a stone of the exact same spec is available in their budget however suppliers advise us against those as they do not want our clients being disappointed. They usually recommend the stones which will cost around 5%-10% more and our clients have never been disappointed with our suppliers choice till date.

 

[breanne]

Ha. Yeah right.

Both my stones are FAR above anything in store, I would never purchase any other way than online. The "other specs" you listed above are the details that people miss when purchasing in person, they are simply sold on the 4C's/GIA XXX and good store lighting.

I'm a bit confused though overall by the message above, how can a stone be of the 'lower end' with the same specs, are you simply referring to the 4c's - do you know what a super ideal diamond is and how that translates on paper?

 

[breanne]

Also, to note, not being rude at all, but my guess is that you have no idea about cut parameters other than "excellent". I don't think you would have the question above if you did understand cut as most of us here do. "I didn't realise VVS, triple ex stones could lack in sparkle and fire too!" ... this alone tells us that.

 

[Bianca201]

Take a look at the Education portion of Pricescope, located at the top of the web browser. That will give you so.much.information and answer many of your questions. Probably create new questions too!

Pricescope Diamond and Jewelry Education

Learn everything you need to know about the 4 C's of diamonds, diamond prices and diamond quality. Visit PriceScope today.

www.pricescope.com

 

[lovedogs]

I am now confused.
1. Are you in the trade? If yes, you need to register as such.
2. If you're in the trade, I am surprised and disappointed by your lack of knowledge about diamond cut

 

[Lookinagain]

For example, we can set the filters to VVS2, F colour, Excellent cut, low fluorescence etc and the online retailer might have a list of 20 stones for those specs however the lower end may be around $2500 whereas the upper end of the list will be around $4000.

When the diamond was acquired by the retailer can also affect price as diamond prices fluctuate.

I've purchased many diamonds through online retailers and they are all of very high quality, so I think your "suppliers" just don't want to lose your business, even though you could save some funds by going with the online retailers.

And yes, if you are in the trade, you need to register as such.

 

[Wink]

This is despite some of those stones being as high as VVS and triple ex. I didn't realize VVS, triple ex stones could lack in sparkle and fire too!

John Pollard once to the time to look up and calculate the percentage of GIA XXX diamonds on the market. An astonishing and disturbing 70% of all round brilliant diamonds in the market listings at that time were GIA XXX cut grade. Only a small percentage of those diamonds would have qualified for the AGS 000 cut grade.

Since cut is the single most important factor in diamond beauty, it is easy to see wby so many educated buyers scoff at the GIA XXX cut grade.

 

[Karl_K]

The problem is that people tend to take a bit of truth and take it to represent the whole.
If you shop online lowest price only(sometimes not even the lowest price) in any given category lets say natural G vs2 rounds you will find stones many stocking dealers will reject. In the SI range even more will be found.
There are dealers who snap up the same stones to make more money by not passing the discount on to the public.
That does not mean every G/Vs2 or SI clarity stone online is a bad stone or that every stone offered by a stocking dealer is a good one.
That is what we do around here help you reject such stones both online and in person through education and from experienced consumers direct help on recommendations.