Well,
Read on for a nice little story...
My fiance and I were out for some hot wings and beer tonight...when we finished eating, we headed over to the mall next door to check out various styles of wedding bands. I wanted to get a feel for what eternity bands with 5 point diamonds (or less) in them looked like.
Why does it seem like I know more about diamonds than most of the people that work in those mall stores (I haven''t been doing this stuff for that long; do they have no pride in their work/job). Yes, I know the mall often has shops with high prices and not much selection in higher grade stones, but you''d think that you would at least get people with DECENT diamond knowledge trying to push all those high priced rocks .
My fiance and I went into a store and told the lady that we were looking for eternity bands with 5 point stones and eternity bands with 3 point stones. We, of course, were trying to get a feel for these particular size stones in a particular style of setting. The saleslady treated me as if I knew nothing and told me to just have my fiance pick out which ring she liked best, for then we could just measure the stones to see what they measured out to be. I went into the store with a specific purpose, which did not include having some lady alter my reasons for walking through the door. The saleslady kept pushing rings with mighty big stones (well above 10 pointers) saying things like "Yeah, she could carry that" and "That makes a nice statement...yes, that''s what most people would want." I know what most people would want, and I don''t want it. I want what I want...thank you very much. Don''t get me wrong. I''ll take advice from an experienced jeweler who is trying to help, but this type of banter is just aggravating.
When we were looking at some bands in this store, I did finally ask the lady what size stones were in a particular ring. She told me to "loop it." I couldn''t quite figure that one out. I told her she could "loop it"--I already knew the stones were crap; I could see the inclusions. Again, I just wanted to know the stones'' size. Wouldn''t you know, She did indeed "loop it," and somehow still couldn''t discern what carat weight the stones were...duh! She just sat there blindly staring through her loop, and then said, "Well, these stones are of great clarity." I got up and left. Oh yeah, one other thing, before we had a chance to get out of there, the saleslady asked if she could get a closer look at my fiance''s engagement ring to see what it was that she and I were trying to compliment with an eternity band. My fiance gladly held up her hand for the lady to get a closer look at her ring, and, you guessed it, the saleslady started puting her dirty hands all over my fiance''s diamond. We had just cleaned it! The saleslady said, "Wow, what a nice ring!" I couldn''t believe my eyes. Did this lady not know ANYTHING. Have some common courtesy--LOOK, BUT DON''T TOUCH! Sorry, I know I''m being a bit rough on the lady, but I was a bit ticked by her actions. I usually wouldn''t care if a salesperson didn''t know anything...it''s just that she rubbed her hands all over my fiance''s newly cleaned ring that got under my skin a bit. Again, sorry...
My faince ended up going to shop for some clothes in her favorite store, and I set out for the next jewelry store. This time I walked in and just asked to see a particular setting with 5 point diamonds in it. The lady said, "You want to see a setting with 5 diamonds." I said, "No mam, I''m looking for a ring that has 5 pointers in it...you know like point zero five carat stones in it." She said, "Oh...yeah. Let''s look over here." So, we did, I ended up finding a ring with a certificate next to it that said the stones were 2.4mm. I had to point it out to the lady, because she didn''t have a clue what I was talking about when I started referring to "the one with the 2.4mm stones." She got the ring out for me to look at, and I noticed that something didn''t seem right. The stones looked too small to me. Sure enough..."Oh...that must be the wrong certificate; we must have sold that other ring." You''ve got to be kidding me! We finally did find a ring that had 5 point stones in it, so all was not lost.
Hell, man, the average Joe out there on his own...He doesn''t stand much of a chance of walking out of one of those stores with a great piece of jewelry at a decent price. Knowledge is power; DO YOUR RESEARCH.
I guess the only reason that I rambled on like I did is just to make some of the newbies around here aware that they need to truly utilize all that this website has to offer before making a purchase of their own. You don''t have to get caught up in all the details if you don''t want to do so, but at least arm yourself with enough knowledge to make an informed decision. With a bit of knowledge, you could at least level the playing field in order to shop a mall without being taken. Heck, you could probably even make a nice find at a decent price.
Read on for a nice little story...
My fiance and I were out for some hot wings and beer tonight...when we finished eating, we headed over to the mall next door to check out various styles of wedding bands. I wanted to get a feel for what eternity bands with 5 point diamonds (or less) in them looked like.
Why does it seem like I know more about diamonds than most of the people that work in those mall stores (I haven''t been doing this stuff for that long; do they have no pride in their work/job). Yes, I know the mall often has shops with high prices and not much selection in higher grade stones, but you''d think that you would at least get people with DECENT diamond knowledge trying to push all those high priced rocks .
My fiance and I went into a store and told the lady that we were looking for eternity bands with 5 point stones and eternity bands with 3 point stones. We, of course, were trying to get a feel for these particular size stones in a particular style of setting. The saleslady treated me as if I knew nothing and told me to just have my fiance pick out which ring she liked best, for then we could just measure the stones to see what they measured out to be. I went into the store with a specific purpose, which did not include having some lady alter my reasons for walking through the door. The saleslady kept pushing rings with mighty big stones (well above 10 pointers) saying things like "Yeah, she could carry that" and "That makes a nice statement...yes, that''s what most people would want." I know what most people would want, and I don''t want it. I want what I want...thank you very much. Don''t get me wrong. I''ll take advice from an experienced jeweler who is trying to help, but this type of banter is just aggravating.
When we were looking at some bands in this store, I did finally ask the lady what size stones were in a particular ring. She told me to "loop it." I couldn''t quite figure that one out. I told her she could "loop it"--I already knew the stones were crap; I could see the inclusions. Again, I just wanted to know the stones'' size. Wouldn''t you know, She did indeed "loop it," and somehow still couldn''t discern what carat weight the stones were...duh! She just sat there blindly staring through her loop, and then said, "Well, these stones are of great clarity." I got up and left. Oh yeah, one other thing, before we had a chance to get out of there, the saleslady asked if she could get a closer look at my fiance''s engagement ring to see what it was that she and I were trying to compliment with an eternity band. My fiance gladly held up her hand for the lady to get a closer look at her ring, and, you guessed it, the saleslady started puting her dirty hands all over my fiance''s diamond. We had just cleaned it! The saleslady said, "Wow, what a nice ring!" I couldn''t believe my eyes. Did this lady not know ANYTHING. Have some common courtesy--LOOK, BUT DON''T TOUCH! Sorry, I know I''m being a bit rough on the lady, but I was a bit ticked by her actions. I usually wouldn''t care if a salesperson didn''t know anything...it''s just that she rubbed her hands all over my fiance''s newly cleaned ring that got under my skin a bit. Again, sorry...
My faince ended up going to shop for some clothes in her favorite store, and I set out for the next jewelry store. This time I walked in and just asked to see a particular setting with 5 point diamonds in it. The lady said, "You want to see a setting with 5 diamonds." I said, "No mam, I''m looking for a ring that has 5 pointers in it...you know like point zero five carat stones in it." She said, "Oh...yeah. Let''s look over here." So, we did, I ended up finding a ring with a certificate next to it that said the stones were 2.4mm. I had to point it out to the lady, because she didn''t have a clue what I was talking about when I started referring to "the one with the 2.4mm stones." She got the ring out for me to look at, and I noticed that something didn''t seem right. The stones looked too small to me. Sure enough..."Oh...that must be the wrong certificate; we must have sold that other ring." You''ve got to be kidding me! We finally did find a ring that had 5 point stones in it, so all was not lost.
Hell, man, the average Joe out there on his own...He doesn''t stand much of a chance of walking out of one of those stores with a great piece of jewelry at a decent price. Knowledge is power; DO YOUR RESEARCH.
I guess the only reason that I rambled on like I did is just to make some of the newbies around here aware that they need to truly utilize all that this website has to offer before making a purchase of their own. You don''t have to get caught up in all the details if you don''t want to do so, but at least arm yourself with enough knowledge to make an informed decision. With a bit of knowledge, you could at least level the playing field in order to shop a mall without being taken. Heck, you could probably even make a nice find at a decent price.