Mr Alfred E Neuman smiling after learning about Physical Retailers
The Boutique Jeweller [ and Manufacturing Jeweller or Jewellery Workshop ]
The boutique jeweller is your local jewellery store, usually owner operated. The owner / operator is normally an experienced jeweller who can help you choose and design your jewellery as well as advise you extensively on your purchase.
Many consumers will build a relationship with their jeweller and make all their significant purchases from them.
Over time, the jeweller should begin to understand your tastes and will help you choose the most appropriate diamonds as well as help you design pieces that suite you best.
If your jeweller does not have the diamond that you are looking for in stock, they are normally able to order a selection from their merchants for you to examine and choose from.
Pros and Cons
Pros
A personal experience
You can build a relationship with your jeweller
You can spend time designing a piece to your tastes
Experienced advice and guidance
You can view and examine the diamonds in detail
May not always have the diamonds in stock
Prices may be higher than other options
A jewellery chain store is usually operated by employees of the company. The level of expertise at chain store will vary depending on the chain. Some may be staffed by experienced jewellers whilst others may simply be staffed by sales people. You may be able to get some really good advice here. These stores are really good for purchasing ready made pieces, with the option of selecting your own diamond.
You are less likely to form an ongoing relationship with a particular person at a chain store, but you may still form a relationship with the group itself.
Jewellery chains differ in they types of stocks they hold and the customers they cater to. Some cater to the lower cost, mass markets focusing more on fashion jewellery while others cater to the higher end of the market, selling larger and higher quality diamonds with a more personalised service.
Chains also vary in size from hundreds of stores to just two or three stores. The smaller chains may be more similar to the boutique jewellery store than to the larger chains.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Many ready made pieces for you to choose from
Wide presence of stores makes it easier to shop at the chain again
Wide presence of stores makes it easy to go back when you have a problem
Better operating structures may translate into better prices
Less opportunity to get custom designed jewellery
Less chance to form an ongoing personal relationship
May have less experienced assistants for help with diamonds
May not always have the diamonds in stock
Auctions are held for many reasons including for deceased estates, stock liquidations, personal sales amongst others. Some auctions will include a range of items where only some of which are diamonds and jewellery whilst other auctions will be specifically jewellery related.
Regardless of the purpose and range of items for auction, there is some opportunity for you to pick up a bargain, provided you know what you are looking for.
Typically, you will have an opportunity before the auction to view the items and in some cases have them professionally appraised.
If you are the winning bidder at an auction, the item you were bidding on now belongs to you regardless. This means you have no, or limited, opportunity for returning the goods. You have basically purchased them as is. This means you should ensure that you are cautious and completely informed and educated about the item you are purchasing.
If you know what to look for and have done your research, there are likely bargains to be had.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Potential bargains to be had
An exciting purchasing experience
Little or no recourse after the purchase if you change your mind
You need to do substantial homework to ensure you know what you are getting and the price is fair
A diamond merchant is the wholesaler of the industry. Merchants supply jewellery retailers with their diamond stock. The merchant will usually purchase their stock directly from the international manufacturers. By definition they do not sell to the general public.
That said, if you happen to know someone who knows someone, you may be able to contact a merchant directly and purchase from them. This is not standard practice and many merchants do not like to sell direct, but they may just do you a favor.
In this case you will most likely get better than retail pricing. You will also likely be dealing with a diamond specialist who can give you some very good advice about diamonds.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Better than retail prices
Dealing with a diamond specialist
Cons
Requires personal connections to deal with them
Frowned upon by the jewellery community as a whole
A diamond merchant / retailer would source diamonds similarly to a normal merchant but instead of supplying the trade, sells direct to the public. This means that they would sell at better than normal retail prices.
A merchant / retailer will normally not have a storefront but rather operate out of an office . You may have to hunt around a bit for a merchant / retailer as they are not in the usual shopping malls or retail areas but you do not have to have a personal referral to visit them.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Better than retail prices
Dealing with a diamond specialist
Could be difficult to find
Less accessible than a typical store
Internet jewellery retailers is a rapidly growing business. They are quickly gaining market share. The internet is used by diamond retails in many ways which means there are many options to help you in your diamond purchase.
Online brochures and catalogues
An online brochure or catalogue website is used as an advertisement for the physical retailers. These types of websites will typically have some detail about the store, the stock they hold and how to find them. Sometimes retailers will publish a catalogue of their stock for viewing online.
Pros and Cons
Pros
You get to read about various jewellers before visiting them
You can view catalogues online to see if you like the stock before visiting the store
No ability to purchase online
Potentially limited information and item details
An internet diamond / jewellery retailer will have no physical storefront. Their store is online. The websites typically have many tools and lots of information to help you make your purchase.
Many of these retailers will have a large number of diamonds for your to search and select from. The scale of the stock on these websites will vary depending on the retailer. Some will have a most of their stock physically available and ready for immediate viewing and shipping whilst others may list stock lists from various international manufacturers. When you place your order they will order the diamond from the manufacturer and give you the opportunity to view the diamond before you complete your purchase.
Most internet retailers in Australia still allow and encourage physical viewing of the diamond before purchase. They will operate out of an office, similar to the merchant / retailer, which you can visit to view the diamond that you would have ordered online.
As with any other industry, the internet has opened the marketplace up to the world. You can also shop online at many international internet retailers, many of which regularly ship orders to Australia.
Internet retailers generally offer better prices than typical retailers. There are various reasons for this. They do not have the overheads of renting and running a store. They have the ability to list many thousands of stones that they do not physically have in stock and have therefore not paid for as yet.
Drop-Shippers
Internet drop-shippers are a subset of the typical internet merchant. Drop-shipping means that the internet retailer will hold no or very little physical stock. When they receive an order, they will pass that on to the supplier who will ship the diamond directly to the buyer.
This differs from the standard internet retailer in that the retailer never takes possession or sees the diamond. This form of selling eliminates a level of quality control on the part of the retailer.
Internet drop-shipping is standard practice in other online industries but is generally frowned upon in the diamond industry due to the intricacy of diamonds. This said, we are currently not aware of any diamond drop-shippers operating in Australia.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Open 24 / 7
Information and tools available to help you make your selection
Typically have a lot of stock to choose from
May offer better than retail store pricing
Less confidence due to not always being able to view before you purchase
Less personal than retail stores, unless you visit their offices
Custom setting designs are not normally available
Online auction websites are become more and more popular. Both the public and people in the trade use these websites to sell diamonds to some extent. Unfortunately this area has had the most amount of negative publicity. The reason for this is that there is normally no mechanism for viewing and verifying the item before you purchase. Also there is very little recourse after the sale as it is easy to hide your real identity on these websites. That means that it easy for unscrupulous sellers to take advantage and they do.
That said, if you are careful, there can be some great opportunities on these websites. Just make sure you do your homework and pay using a method that you can use to ensure a refund of your money if there is something wrong. Also consider using an escrow or escrow & verification service to have the diamond professionally assessed before completing the transaction.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Open 24 / 7
Some good opportunities may be available if you are careful
Stock is limited to what people list for auction
Very limited recourse in the case of problems
Higher than average likelihood of fraud
Little or no opportunity to physically view and assess the goods before the sale
Rounding up
The benefit of this range of options is that you now have choice to decide on how you would like to shop.
As with any industry, in each of the categories above, there are the good, the exceptional, the bad and the downright ugly. When buying a diamond, more so than most other products, it is important to do a little research beforehand. Understand what you are buying and get to know the person or company you are purchasing from.
The single most important rule, regardless of where you purchase, is to make sure that the diamond you are buying comes with an internationally recognised, independent grading report and is laser inscribed with the report number. This will ensure your protection in all cases.
If you make the right choices, purchasing a diamond can be a unique and exciting experience.
