Thanks to all the great info from the forums and this site in general. It''s really helped me to learn that there is more to buying a diamond than just size and price.
I know of a man that is in the jewelry business--we show antique cars and we have mutual friends because of that interest. He heard me telling my friends of my upcoming 20th anniv. and my plans to upgrade my e ring diamond. He told me a couple of jewelers in town to beware of and where to go to get great service albeit at a price. We talked, I told him what I had in mind and this is what he offered: He told me to tell him every spec I wanted, (which cert., color, clarity, cut etc. the more detailed the better,) and he would get the stone or as close to what I wanted as possible, let me talk with his supplier(with him present)to give them the information and find out his cost and he would only charge me 20% over his cost. He also told me he would show me the invoice to verify what I was told over the phone was his cost. The best part is I would NOT have to front any money and if I didn''t like the diamond they sent, he would return it at no cost to me.
A couple of women that are friends of mine, have used him to purchase jewelry and were thrilled with what they got and for the price they paid. And these were women that know their stones. They also received all kinds of paperwork in addition to their certs--sarin reports, detailed plot diagrams, pictures, etc. One has a 2 carat and a 1.5 that she got from him. He has also given me customer references and told me to check them if I want. I guess my question is this--not knowing the prices from the suppliers, is only a 20% markup realistic? He works out of a shop in his home and keeps virtually no inventory and has stones sent in for his customers based on what they are looking for. Thanks for the input.
P.S. He does NOT do appraisals of any kind and insists that the stones be taken and appraised by an independent appraiser.
I know of a man that is in the jewelry business--we show antique cars and we have mutual friends because of that interest. He heard me telling my friends of my upcoming 20th anniv. and my plans to upgrade my e ring diamond. He told me a couple of jewelers in town to beware of and where to go to get great service albeit at a price. We talked, I told him what I had in mind and this is what he offered: He told me to tell him every spec I wanted, (which cert., color, clarity, cut etc. the more detailed the better,) and he would get the stone or as close to what I wanted as possible, let me talk with his supplier(with him present)to give them the information and find out his cost and he would only charge me 20% over his cost. He also told me he would show me the invoice to verify what I was told over the phone was his cost. The best part is I would NOT have to front any money and if I didn''t like the diamond they sent, he would return it at no cost to me.
A couple of women that are friends of mine, have used him to purchase jewelry and were thrilled with what they got and for the price they paid. And these were women that know their stones. They also received all kinds of paperwork in addition to their certs--sarin reports, detailed plot diagrams, pictures, etc. One has a 2 carat and a 1.5 that she got from him. He has also given me customer references and told me to check them if I want. I guess my question is this--not knowing the prices from the suppliers, is only a 20% markup realistic? He works out of a shop in his home and keeps virtually no inventory and has stones sent in for his customers based on what they are looking for. Thanks for the input.
P.S. He does NOT do appraisals of any kind and insists that the stones be taken and appraised by an independent appraiser.
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