Zales Loose Diamond Event

[josmar0623]

My boyfriend and I have been ring shopping and I know to definitely stay away from rings sold at mall stores but, how about mall stores that have a loose diamond event? We have been looking at non-chain jewelers and like the fact that we can see the diamond in person even if a diamond online may be cheaper. Actually, one diamond we have found is pretty competitively priced to diamonds I''ve been researching online for similar specs.

We have an appointment this Thursday at Zales to look at loose diamonds, settings, etc. and would like any feedback before hand.

Thank you in advance for all your help and advice.

 

[denverappraiser]

There’s definite value associated with buying from a local merchant and with buying in person. The hard part is that issue of shopping for comparable specs. If you can, post the specs of the stone you’re considering and the gurus here will help you deconstruct the deal. The two big problem areas for shoppers trying to compare diamond offers between very different vendors are matching the cutting and the lab doing the grading.

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

 

[jstarfireb]

Generally mall stores like Zales, Kay, and others carry diamonds that are not well cut, uncertified or certified by 2nd/3rd tier labs (so color and clarity may not be accurate), and not a good value for the money. I have never been to a loose diamond event, but I presume that they would sell similar diamonds to the ones they have set in their rings. Many people have been disappointed by the quality of their mall store purchases and come to PS looking for alternatives. I would stay away from chain stores and find a trusted local B&M that carries GIA or AGS-graded ideal cut stones. If you tell us what city/state you live in, I''m sure someone could recommend one. Alternatively, you could go to a Jared store (they sell AGS ideals under their Peerless brand) or a dealer of Hearts on Fire diamonds, but just to get an idea of what an AGS ideal cut looks like, but then go buy a similarly proportioned diamond online. I wouldn''t buy Jared Peerless or HOF because they are highly marked up, but you could get a branded ideal cut such as Whiteflash ACA, Good Old Gold Signature, or Infinity online with lower markup.

 

[Sizzle]

I''ve been to many loose diamond events. Generally they have a GIA cert, but frmo what I can tell, they usually are the best of the best concerning cut, but they''re not bad. I think it really depends on what you''re looking for. I always found the diamonds to be WAY overpriced in comparison to the ''net. That and they are VERY pushy with their "1 or 2 day only" sales pitch. They also seduce you into buying one of their mountings and having someone set it before your eyes. I worked at a store called K''s Merchandise (who has since gone out of business). they generally carried both with and without a cert, and were overpriced until you started haggeling. Although they could GET the cream of the crop diamonds and often had a few in stock, they always preached "don''t look at the numbers, just look at the sparkle"..

 

[tap02150]

I heard that a lot also... "don't look at the numbers or fancy images, all that matters is what you see, the sparkle".. yeah under their special lighting and no top quality diamonds close by to compare? lol

I would highly recommend the online vendors here, but if you are not comfortable with that and ok with paying a higher price, i would look at B&M and the Peerless collection at Jareds

 

[soocool]

Before I took the plunge and bought my diamond and ring online, I went to such a loose diamond event. It was either Gordon's or Kay's (I can't remember).In the store lighting, yes, the diamonds looked beautiful and sparkly. That was about it.

The bad:

1. No certificate with the diamond. only a card with diamond weight, size, color, and clarity.
2. Almost everything I was shown was I2 clarity
3. None were "ideal", "excellent" or even "very good cuts"
4. When I looked at some under a 20X loupe the diamonds were truly

5. All the loose diamonds were way overpriced. To give you an example, I have a 1.51, excellent cut (GIA graded) VS1 J color RB (around 7.4mm ). The 1.7 I color I2 (around 7.1 mm) was priced $5,000.00 more than I paid for my diamond and setting.
6. They said that an appraiser would be on site, but the appraisal would only occur after the purchase

I don't know if I would have had to pay for the appraisal

When I finally asked to see some ideal or excellent cut diamonds, their response was that I should have told them that I was looking for these kinds of cut quality before I came to their diamond event. Huh??!!

In the end I purchased my diamond and setting from James Allen and the whole experience was easy and positive. On the plus side I have a gorgeous ring and saved quite a bit of money. On the negative side, my new ring has caused me to spend an inordinate amount of time staring at it causing signifiant eyestrain.

I would recommend going and see what they are offering and then go to a real jeweler who can show you a Hearts on Fire or other beautiful well cut damond for comparison, and then go online and find yourself a knock out.

 

[oldminer]

Ask for the parameters of the cut. The depth%, the girdle thickness range, the table%, the crown angles, crown height, pavilion depth% pav angle. Compare based on safe numbers for screening purposes and see if they even have anything that is truly well cut. They may have none or very little to offer. Take a print out from Pricescope of diamonds which you can afford to buy on-line and see if they can come close to matching these prices for similar quality in well cut and with first tier lab graded diamonds. Do not compare apples to oranges because you can''t do it properly. This is where the pressure is applied at such limited time events. Rembmer, they are the ones in a hurry to make sales, but you have all the time in the world to do the shopping you need to do. Don''t let their needs make you buy before you are prepared and convinced you know what you are doing.

 

[haagen_dazs]

6. They said that an appraiser would be on site, but the appraisal would only occur after the purchase

I don''t know if I would have had to pay for the appraisal


When I finally asked to see some ideal or excellent cut diamonds, their response was that I should have told them that I was looking for these kinds of cut quality before I came to their diamond event. Huh??!!

hilarious.......

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Date: 9/15/2009 6:14:46 PM
Author: haagen_dazs

6. They said that an appraiser would be on site, but the appraisal would only occur after the purchase

I don't know if I would have had to pay for the appraisal


When I finally asked to see some ideal or excellent cut diamonds, their response was that I should have told them that I was looking for these kinds of cut quality before I came to their diamond event. Huh??!!

hilarious.......

Sales associates are asked by management to pre-qualify their prospective clients so that the diamond vendor/sales team will know what
specific diamonds to have during the event. This is standard procedure for large chain stores when a store has a restyling event or diamond event.
A well trained sales staff pre-qualifies and confirms their appointments to help achieve a successful event. Usually this is easier said than done.

Hey haagen_dazs...welcome to Pricescope! A fellow Bostonian...good to see ya

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[MissGotRocks]

I stopped by Zales with a friend a few months back when they were having a loose diamond sale. Most were I color, SI2 clarity. The prices were absolutely ridiculous and I ended up in a rather heated discussion with the salesperson. He couldn''t answer most of my questions nor could he produce a stone in the color/clarity range I inquired about.

I would NOT buy from this type of vendor - particularly if I was just starting out. You can do so much better for your money with many of the vendors here. If you don''t like what you select, you can send it back. If you hit the jackpot in a few years, you can always upgrade. No fear, no hassle. Unless you''ve seen some of the merchandise these online vendors offer, you really can''t compare what the traveling diamond salesman can show you. There are lots and lots of diamonds produced and cut and any of these people can buy and sell them. Doesn''t make them beautiful (they won''t be top of the line cut - trust me!) and it certainly doesn''t make them a deal.

 

[kenny]

Run, do not walk, away from Zales!

Event Schement!

Zales sells overpriced junk to people who don't know any better.

 

[Sam82]

Normally, I would not get specific about vendors. But I have to say that the sales associate at Zales seemed to know nothing about diamonds. She couldn''t even tell me about the cut quality. She also lied and told me that an I1 stone was a very good quality. You''d do much better at any online vendor. If you really don''t want to go with the internet, go to an independent jeweler. Let them know what you want ahead of time because they may have to order some stones.

Also, I''m an owner of a "good" cut stone. Under the jewelry store lights, it sparkled like crazy. I think that spit would sparkle under the lights that the stores use. Don''t let the lighting fool you.

 

[haagen_dazs]

Hey haagen_dazs...welcome to Pricescope! A fellow Bostonian...good to see ya

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

hi jeff!
nice nice. i am in the Cambridge/Watertown area
good to see you too

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Mall diamonds generally aren''t very good quality. . .but, *if* you do find one of excellent quality, you''re running into the problem of the price being highly inflated compared to what you''d pay online!

When I was price/quality comparing for my pendant, I found a few places that had similar stones, but the prices were higher and I also had to pay sales tax

I went with a vendor instead.

Is the diamond you found which is comparitive to online ones graded and if so, by which lab?