How do I buy a diamond and avoid
all the scams at jewelry stores?

Let’s separate
scams into two categories: major and minor. Frankly, major scams
rarely occur… but when they do, the media overpublicizes them
to sell newspapers or magazines.

On the other hand, minor
scams are very common and are found in almost all of the major
jewelry chain stores to some degree. Such scams persist simply
because it is hard for consumers to educate themselves before
they buy. That is why we decided to stop selling diamonds and
start offering this much-needed information to help consumers
buy intelligently.

Below are the common
scams and mistakes we see every day…and tips to help you avoid
them. We also wrote a few basic
precautions
to protect you against almost any trick you might encounter.

 

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A jeweler tells you, “This is a blue-white
Diamond.”

This is a very old term that is now carefully controlled by the
FTC because of misuse and scams in the past. The dealer will
probably tell you that it is a better diamond, but actually, it
is just the opposite. Blue-white refers to the fluorescence
that results in natural light, which contains ultraviolet wavelengths.
This blue fluorescence actually makes a colorless diamond look
a little oily or milky in sunlight and decreases its value. However,
for stones with a faint yellow color, a moderate amount of fluorescence
can make them look whiter because it cancels out some of the yellows.

Solution: Avoid
any jeweler who still uses this term and walk out, since he may
have old habits established by scam artists of the past.

The tag only states the CTW

Many jewelry tags only list the “carat total weight”
of diamonds in a ring and do not list the center stone separately.
You can’t compare prices with another ring if you don’t know
the weight and quality of the main diamond. This is crucial because
one large diamond is worth much more than 6 small ones that total
the same weight. For instance, if you have one G/VS2 diamond
weighing 1.00 carat, it might be worth about $5,500. But 10 smaller
G/VS2 diamonds totaling 1.00 carats might only be worth about
$1,800. Big difference! And normally, smaller diamonds at such
stores are much lower quality than this example, so the actual
ring would be worth still less.

Solution: Ask
for the weight and quality of the center stone by itself, in
writing. Leave the store if they can’t or won’t do this. They
don’t have your interests in mind.

Huge Sales at Jewelry Stores

If you see a sale price in the newspaper, don’t fall for it.
You will probably pay much more than the regular price at an
honest dealer. We know of a major store in Florida that marked
gold chains up from $100 cost to $500 regular price, then marked
them half-price during a sale. That means the customer paid $250,
thinking it was a great price. This same thing happens with diamonds
on sale. Liquidation and “going out of business” sales
are usually no different. We heard of one store in New York City
that has been going out of business for 15 years.

Solution: Don’t
fall for sales of any kind. If a dealer can afford to mark it
down, then he marked it up too high at the start.

The advertised diamond is sold when you get
there

This is an old trick still used by many stores. Although outlawed
by the FTC, it still happens because it is hard to monitor 25,000
stores in the U.S. Bait-and-Switch is when a store advertises
a diamond at a great price, but when you arrive to buy it, it’s
already sold. They usually offer to show you something much more
expensive. They bait you with the fake item, then switch you
to something at a high profit.

Solution: If
the advertised item is not in stock, don’t settle for anything
else. If the store can’t locate another diamond just like it
and offer you the same price, then leave.

Bright lights make every diamond look better

Of course, every
jeweler wants to show his or her diamonds in the best light,
but there are some lighting tricks you should avoid. Some bulbs
have a strong blue component, which makes yellow stones look
whiter. Special bulbs are often used with strong ultraviolet
wavelengths, which make most diamonds fluoresce blue. This also
has a whitening effect on stones in the lower color ranges.

Solution: In
any case, ask if the diamond has fluorescence, and ask to see
it without the bright lights in another part of the store before
you agree to buy. And always ask for a certificate from an independent
lab to verify the grade if you are looking for a fine color.
The labs always mention any fluorescence. If the store agrees,
continue. If not, walk out.

When a jeweler exaggerates the grade even a
little

The FTC says that a jeweler must be accurate within one grade
of color and one grade of clarity on a diamond. So many jewelers
bump the color and clarity of just one grade. Unfortunately, this
can mean a great deal of money if you are talking about a fine-quality,
1-carat diamond. For instance, you might find a stone that the
jeweler quotes as a 1.00 carat F color / VS1 clarity for $6,500.
However, if you sent it to a reputable gem lab like GIA, it would
come back as a G color / VS2 clarity, which is only worth about
$5,500. This means you lose (and they profit) about $1,000.

Solution: If
If you are looking for a fine-quality diamond, insist on a recent
certificate from a respected gemological lab, such as GIA, AGS,
or EGL. And only compare prices of other stones with like certificates.

The tag says 3/4 carat

The FTC allows jewelers to round off diamond weights. So a diamond
labeled as 3/4 carat in weight might actually weigh anywhere
between .69 and .81 carat. This could mean a significant amount
of money since diamond prices leap at certain popular sizes.
In this example, you might be buying a .69-carat round G/VS2
worth about $2,100… but paying for what you thought was a 0.75
carat worth $3,000. You lose $900.

Solution: If
the store will not give you the exact weight of the center diamond,
leave the store. No chance for any deals here.

The appraiser says your diamond is worthless

After you buy your diamond and take it to an appraiser for an
insurance valuation, the appraiser tells you the stone is not
what you thought. He might say it’s worthless or not the quality
you were promised. In either case, he tells you where to buy
one, or tells you to buy it from him. Beware. He may well be
lowballing or downgrading a fine stone to persuade you to buy
from him (or from some store that gives him a kickback).

Solution: Always
use a truly independent appraiser who is not connected with any
seller of diamonds. Make sure the appraiser is well-known in
the community, has been in business for at least 5 years, and
has no outstanding complaints with the Better Business Bureau.
If you follow all the precautions
and guidelines
in this site, you will not run into this problem.

Dealers drill holes to burn out black carbon
spots

About 1 in 3 diamonds in this country are laser drilled, according
to Fred Cuellar, a leading diamond expert. Dealers use lasers
to drill a tiny hole into the depths of a diamond to burn and
evaporate large black inclusions to make them disappear. The
trouble with this little trick is that laser drilling can make
the diamond a little more fragile to breaking with a good knock.
Most dealers trade laser-drilled stones for much less.

Solution: Ask
your jeweler if the stone has been laser drilled. We suggest
always insisting on a certificate since a certificate from any
respected gemological lab will clearly note that a stone has
been laser drilled. Some labs will not even accept diamonds for
grading if they have been drilled.

You pay for one stone, and get another

When you leave your new diamond purchase at the store to be set
in your chosen ring, the jeweler might switch it and set a cheaper
stone. You don’t find out until you take it to an appraiser later.
The original jeweler will claim that you must have switched it
yourself, or accuse the appraiser. You have no recourse here.

Solution: The
only cure for this scam is prevention. Follow the precautions
on this site and this should not happen. In short, tell the jeweler
to put the weight, color, clarity, and measurements in writing
on your receipt to give you a proof in the event of a switch.

Avoid the diamond districts in New York

You may have heard that the major diamond trading center in the
U.S. is located on 47th Street in New York. No jeweler buys on
the street level. All the actual trading at wholesale prices
takes place in high-security buildings hidden from the public.
The vendors on the street level are more skilled at taking your
money than anyone we have seen anywhere else. They are so slick
that you won’t know you are being taken for a ride until it is
too late.

Solution: It’s
simple. Never buy from anyone in the Diamond District in New
York…unless you go with a jeweler who will take you up to the
real dealers in the trading centers. The dealers on the street
are no deal. You will most likely get ripped off, by the
very best, if you shop on the street level.

Dealers supply a retail appraisal with a diamond

You would not hire a fox to guard the hen house, no matter how
nice, he might be. In the same way, don’t accept an in-house appraisal
from a jeweler. Certainly, you can find good prices at honest
stores, but any retailer will appraise each diamond in the showcase
for more than its selling price to make you feel good about his
prices.

Solution: Seek
an appraisal by an independent, unbiased, certified gemologist
/ appraiser who does not sell diamonds and is not connected to
anyone who sells diamonds (kickbacks).

Every jeweler hides flaws under the prongs if
he can

Although you will probably choose to do the same after you have
examined and purchased your diamond, you should be aware that
all jewelers will place any flaws under a prong in the ring if
possible. In many cases, this can make an I1 clarity appear like
a VS2 if you look at it in a ring setting. Rings are not your
friend when it comes to taking an honest look at a diamond. But
if you choose a clarity with some visible inclusions, we do suggest
“pronging” the flaws if they are not structural in
nature. (Structural flaws like feathers and cleavages can be
damaged by the high pressure exerted by the prong on the diamond
to hold it snug in the ring.)

Solution: Always
look at a stone lose, out of any kind of ring or setting if
you want to examine it properly. The stone can turn in the ring
someday and you could be very surprised to see suddenly a huge
“new” black spot that was actually there all along.

The grade of the diamond is altered on the certificate

This can happen, although it is difficult to do because all reputable
gem labs laminate their certificates to prevent alterations.

Solution: You
can usually tell an altered certificate by examining the lamination.
If the lamination looks torn at the corners, or if the front
of the certificate is not laminated, it is not valid and should
not be used. Leave such a store on the spot.

Certificates from non-existent “sound-alike”
labs

Don’t be fooled by official-looking certificates from locally “certified
gemologist” gem labs. They are probably owned by the store
and exaggerate the grades to make the prices look good. Don’t
accept certificates from labs with familiar-sounding names like
“Gemological Institutions of America” (instead of Gemological
Institute of America), or American Gemological Services (instead
of American Gemological Society). If it is not from the true
GIA,
AGS or EGL gem labs
as described on other pages of our site, don’t believe it. These
respected institutions have spent millions of dollars toward
advanced equipment and staff training to produce the most reliable
and consistent (though not totally infallible) grading reports.

Solution: Ask
any dealer who shows certificates from other labs if he has any
authentic certificates from the big labs. If not, leave the store.
Smaller labs can do good work, but you have no way to know if
they are qualified, legitimate, and unbiased.

They suggest you leave a deposit and take it
for an appraisal

If you leave a deposit on a diamond, you should be very careful
that the deposit is refundable. In many cases, this is just a
way to steal your money, which later turns out to be non-refundable.
You will only receive a credit toward another diamond.

Solution: Never
leave a deposit on a diamond unless you have it in writing that
the deposit is completely refundable if the appraisal is not
favorable. And always insist that the store write down the exact
measurements (WxWxD), shape, weight, color, and clarity of the
diamond on your agreement form.

Artificially inflated “list” prices
on the tags

Many stores will try to lure you into thinking their prices are
great by listing inflated retail prices on the price tags. They
might call these “list” prices or “compare at”
prices. This practice is very common, so watch out for it.

Solution: The honest jeweler will tell the truth about the savings he offers, but the
dishonest will inflate the prices. How can you tell the difference?
Ignore such comparison information and learn how to judge for yourself
about the prices. The most accurate way to determine diamond prices
these days is to use huge online diamond databases. But don’t try
it alone. First take our easy, fast, step-by-step Diamond Price Tutorial.

Diamond lookalikes can fool you

This does not happen too much in the U.S., but when you go overseas
or to the Caribbean isles, there are no laws protecting the consumer.
Some diamond lookalikes can fool you. You might come home from
Mexico with a $2 cubic zirconia that costs you $2,000. In our
opinion, you will not get any deals in Cozumel or Jamaica or
anywhere else, and you are quite likely to pay too much or not
receive a diamond at all. Diamonds are a world market and trade
at essentially the same price everywhere. There is no such thing
as a better place to buy diamonds.

Solution: Never
buy a diamond on a trip. You have no recourse if something goes
wrong.

New treatments to make flaws invisible

There is a new process patented a few years ago that melts a
kind of crystal into surface-breaking fractures in a diamond.
This technique went unnoticed for a short time, but now is better
understood and more easily detected by most of the better dealers.
The treatment is considered slightly fragile because it can be
damaged under the extreme heat of a torch when the diamond is
set into a ring. We feel it is unethical for fracture-filled
diamonds to be sold without full disclosure of this fact to the
consumer. Fracture-filled diamonds should trade for much less
than diamonds without this treatment, but in reality they often
sell for as much or more because they look like a higher, more
expensive clarity grade. Any gem lab certificate will note this
treatment and some labs will not give a certificate for fracture-filled
diamonds.

Solution: Ask
for a written statement from your jeweler regarding any color
or clarity enhancements used. We recommend a certificate from
one of the three most respected labs…GIA, AGS, or EGL.

A little paint goes a long way

This very deceptive practice involves a little point of blue
or purple paint on the lowest tip of the diamond, called the
culet. This is small enough that you might not detect it, but
the location spreads the color throughout the stone. This counters
the yellow tint in lower color grades, making a diamond look
like a more expensive, colorless grade. Very sneaky.

Solution: If
you are suspicious about this possibility (the diamond looks
better than any other diamond with this color grade that you
have seen so far), the only way to guard against this little
the trick is to have the diamond washed before your eyes in an ultrasonic
cleaner. If they will not do this for you, it might not be the
best place to buy a diamond.

Robert Hensley

President

Diamond Helpers

Source: Diamond Helpers