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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 1989)
. M PAID ADVERTISEMENT HOW TO BUY DIAMONDS WITH CONFIDENCE AND KNOWLEDGE By John Tavtln President Nebraska Diamond For the average consumer buying a diamond can be one of the most confus ing and frustrating experiences imagin able The consumer is often confronted with a barrage of conflicting ciaims from various jewelers intent on selling their product. If the consumer is not armed with adequate produci knowledge he stands little chance for success in the jewelry marketplace A UNIFORM SYSTEM OF DIAMOND GRADING Serious shopping for diamonds be gins with an understanding of the Gemo logical Institute of America (GIA) and its diamond grading system The GIA is a non profit organization dedicated primar ily to the pursuit of gemological educa tion It owns and operates the most pres tigious trade laboratory for the identifica tion and classification of gem stones in this country. The GIA is considered by the diamond industry to be the final and most authoritative word on diamond grading standards in the United States and its diamond grading system is, by far, the dominant grading system used by diamond cutting firms and jewelry manu facturers in this country today Knowledge of the GIA diamond grad ing system is a pre-requisite for informed buying of diamonds, and knowledge of that system without an actual "hands on" demonstration is virtually impossible The accompanying chart snows a total of 240 separate and distinct combinations of Gl Agrades and there is a separate and distinct price list for each grade within each size category At Nebraska Dia mond we give all customers a thorough explanation and demonstration of the GIA diamond grading system under labo ratory conditions using actual examples, so that the customer can see with his or her own eyes the characteristics and appearance of the various grades As a result, Nebraska Diamond customers can identify the various GIA grades by themselves and do not need to helplessly rely on the jeweler's representations The two principal reasons why custom ers need this special instruction and knowledge to survive in the jewelry mar ketplace are: i. Many jewelers invent tneir own personal grading system because by doing so they make it difficult or irnpos sible for the consumer to comparison shop The GIA system is a uniform sys tem of diamond grading and gives the consumer a standard of comparison. 2 Jewelers who do represent dia monds to customers in GIA terms often take liberties with the GIA system and just "puff the grade up to whatever level is necessary to make the sale, believing that the customer will not be able to iden tify the deception A diamond which is as signed a GIA grade by one of these jew elers may actually be significantly inferior to a diamond offered, with a seemingly lower GIA grade, by a jeweler who ad heres to the strict arading standards we use at Nebraska Diamond Unless the consumer has adequate product knowl edge, he risks being duped into purchas ing a low quality diamond In our opinion, fraudulent misrepresentation of diamond grades is one of the most serious and widespread problems in the jewelry in dustry today Your only real protection as a consumer is to educate yourself about the product At Nebraska Diamond we provide our customers with an education that makes them the best info 'ed dia mond buyers in the market You do not get the Nebraska Diamond consumer education program at any other jewelry store THE RELATIONSHIP OF COLOR, CLARITY, CUT AND CARAT WEIGHT Color, clarity, cut and carat weight all have an important impact on the ultimate value of your diamond In "The Complete Guide to Buying Gems" (Copynght 1904, Crown Publishers, Inc. New York), dia mond authorities Antoinette Leonard Madinsand Antonio C Bonanno, F G A . P G. state, "If we were to identify the fac tors that determine the value of a dia mond in order of their importance, we would list them as follows: 1. Body Color (color grade) 2. Degree of flawlessness (clarity grade) 3 Cut and proportion (often referred to as the make) 4. Carat weight" Color refers to the hue present in the body of the diamond Color is observed by placing the diamond upside down in a white color grading trough and viewing through the side of the gem Among color, clarity, cut and carat weight, color is the characteristic most easily noticed by the human eye and it has the most impact on the appearance of the gem, hence, color carries the most value Clarity refers to a measurement of the internal flaws and surface blemishes present in or on a diamond. Sometimes internal flaws and surface blemishes can be seen only under magnification To magnify a diamond a jeweler’s loupe or a microscope is used The microscope is often used more as a sales tool than as a gem instrument because its "laboratory" appearance can be impressive to consum ers The microscope, however, is a cumber some piece of equipment and is less flexible than the loupe for examination of diamonds For these reasons, among others, the loupe is by far the dominant grading instrument used by diamond dealers At Nebraska Diamond you may view your diamond under both a jeweler's loupe and under a micro scope designed for professional diamond examination. Among coior, clarity, cut and carat weight, clarity is the second most observable characteristic and has the sec ond most impact on the appearance of the gem, hence, clarity carries the second most value. Cut refers to the proportions of the dia mond . A diamond can be cut to any one of an infinite number of proportions depending on the angles of the facets These angles can vary from diamond to diamond. As ex plained below, proportion analysis is ex tremely subjective and the effect of differing proportions on the appearance and value of the diamond is often a matter of opinion. Generally, however, except for the propor tion called the "heavy make" discussed below, cut is a less observable characteris tic than color or clarity from a quantitative standpoint and, hence, cut generally carries less value. Carat weight refers to the weight of the diamond and not to its size This is an impor tant distinction because two diamonds which weigh the same can appear drasti cally different in size and this may result in drastically different values even if color and clarity are the same in both gems Some times customers forget that size is a dimen sional linear measurement expressed in millimeters The term "Carat" is only a weight measurement One carat is equal to 1/5 gram. If a diamond is cut with its weight concentrated in its depth, a proportion called the "heavy make", it will appear much smaller than a diamond of the exact same carat weight cut with its weight concentrated in its width The difference in value between these two diamonds can be substantial, of ten exceeding 40%. At Nebraska Diamond we avoid the "heavy make", but we have observed that the "heavy make” is very prevalent in today 's diamond market. There fore, it is extremely important that the con sumer know how to recognize the "heavy make". As discussed below, however, con sumers who do not have the consumer education we provide at Nebraska Diamond are at a tremendous disadvantage when it comes to recognizing the "heavy make" and they risk buying it unknowingly. CUT: THE MISUNDERSTOOD “C” Among the 4 “C's" (Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight) the subject ot diamond proportioning (Cut) is easily the most misun derstood The GIA has subdivided propor tion analysis into four Classes based on table diameter, crown angle, pavilion depth, girdle thickness, finish and symmetry Each Class oontains wide parameters for proper proportioning and, therefore, provides an infinite variety of differing cutting proportions all of which are considered equally appropri ate within each Class The GIA proportion analysis format, thus, illustrates what every diamond expert in this business knows: that there ara literally hundreds of different dia mond proportions available which create beautiful and highly desirable gems Because there are so many accepted types of proportioning in diamond cut, there is no agreement in the diamond industry on what constitutes the "best" cut This is be cause the main factors affected by cut (dis persion, scintillation and brilliance) cannot all be maximized in the same gem. "Dispersion" is sometimes referred to as "Fire". Dispersion means the ability of the diamond to break down light into the spectral colors (blues, reds, yellows, etc ) "Scintillation" is sometimes referred to as "Sparkle". Scintillation refers to the play of light between and as reflected oft the dia mond facets "Brilliance" refers to the ability of the dia mond to return colorless light to the viewer. There is no such thing as a diamond cut to maximum dispersion and maximum scin tillation and maximum brilliance all at the same time By cutting to maximize one of these factors the other two are compro mised, and since all three are of equal impor tance it is impossible to authoritatively clas sify one type of cut as the "best". In buying a diamond it has been our ex perience that the consumer desires the most beautiful gem his or her budget can afford. Precisely how dispersion, scintilla tion and brilliance translate into beauty, however, is a matter of personal opinion In their chapter on "The Importance of Cut and Proportion" the authors of "The Complete Guide to Buying Gems" state, with refer ence to the percentage measurements of various diamond cutting proportions, "No one has come to an agreement, however, on what the percentages should be, since some people prefer fire to brilliance and vice versa This is why there are several ac cepted types of proportiohing found in dia mond cut, and "best" is a matter of personal preference " In actuality, the difference in dispersion, scintillation and brilliance be tween some differing diamond proportions is «n slight that it is measurable only with sensitive laboratory instruments and is im possible to see with the naked eye. * As discussed above, one area in which cut makes a big difference in the valuo of a • _ Nebraska Diamond ] Shapes GIA GIA Carat Color Clarity Weight Brilliant Heart Shape ftT f COLORLESS < e FLAWLESS F 1 Ct. — 90 to 110 pts. , jf_ _ 7/8 ct. = 80 to 89 pts. NEAR H VERY wsi-1 3/4 ct. = 70 to 79 pts. COLORLESS JL VERY 5/8 ct — 55 to 69 pts. j-x FAINT i IMPERFECTION WSI'2 J^ Ct. = 45 to 55 pts Oval vfi 1 nw'1 r- 7/16 ct. = 40 to 44 pts. YELLOW H VERY VSI-1 3/g ct = 36 to 39 pts. VERY 0 .MPFRFFSr!?ON vs. 2 */3 ct. = 29 to 35 pts. YELLOW O - J/J ct - 23 to 28 pts. r , 1/5 ct. = 18 to 22 pts. S SLIGHT s,-t „ .. . T IMPERFECTION Ct‘ “ 15 to 17 pts. u _SF2 1/8 ct. = 12 to 14 pts. X v IMPERFECT M j Exact Carat = 100 points FANCY ,.3 YELLOW V GIA DIAMOND COLOR AND CLARITY TERMINOLOGY J diamond concerns the "heavy make". The term "heavy make" refers to a diamond that has a disproportionate share of its total carat weight concentrated in the depth of the stone Visually, this means that a "heavy make" diamond actually weighing 1 carat may only face up with the appearance and diameter of a 3/4 carat d iamond cut to proper proportions Because they face up so much smaller than they should, "heavy makes" are worth substantially less than properly proportioned diamonds Because the “heavy make" is worth less, it costs the jew eler less, so he can sell it for less. When the jeweler tails to tell his customer that he is showing a "heavy make" and fails to explain that the "heavy make" is priced lower be cause it is worth less, the effect is to trick the consumer into thinking that he has pur chased a full size diamond at a bargain price Tnis illusion is further enhanced when the jeweler shows only "heavy make” dia monds and does not show the consumer a full size diamond to enable the consumer to compare In fact, the problem of the “heavy make" is virtually never explained to the consumer, so the consumer simply as sumes that any diamond shown of a certain carat weight faces up the size that it should, and he purchases the "heavy make" un knowingly. We feel that this failure to inform the consumer is grossly unfair and that it constitutes deception by omission. Seldom is the subject of cut properly and fairly explained to the consumer At Ne braska Diamond our customers receive all of the facts and an explanation of every option HOW TO SPOT DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES Consumers should be aware of various trade practices which are common in the jewelry industry but Which we feel are de ceptive, unfair and, in many cases, illegal. Deceptive trade practices cost consumers incalculable sums of money annually. Awareness of these trade practices will assist the consumer in spotting them and avoiding them when shopping for fine jew elry Deceptive trade practices in the jewelry industry tend to fall generally into two broad categories 1 Practices which lead the consumer to believe that he is receiving a bargain pur chase when, in fact, he is not (fake "sales"), and 2 Practices which lead the consumer to believe the quality, quantity or description of the article being purchased is more or better than that which is actually delivered (active or constructive misrepresentation of the product either by act or omission). The concept of the fake "sale" is an old one Basically, it plays on the desire of the consumer to obtain a bargain purchase Fake "sales” can be advertised or unadver tised Here's how the scheme works: In the advertised fake "sale" scheme the jeweler places an exorbitant and purely fictitious "regular prioe" or "appraised value" or "ref erence price" on an article of jewelry. He then advertises "special sale prices" or "drastic reductions" or "storewide 50% off clearance sale" or "certified savings" or something similar to drum up excitement, and then he offers the article to the con sumer for less than the fictitious “marked" price. The consumer buys the article believ mg he has received a bargain. In fact, though, under the scheme, the jeweler has sold the article for the price he always in tended to sell it for There is no bargain because the article really wasn't marked down at all, so the consumer actually paid full price. The fake "sale" scheme is also employed in unadvertised "sales". In the unadvertised fake "sale" the consumer walks into the store and observes a fictitious "marked" price on the article and the sales person simply tells the consumer that the article is on "sale" even though the "sale" is not being publicly advertised, and then of fers the article to the consumer for a "re duced" price Both advertised and unadver tised fake "sales" are high pressure sales techniques used to influence the customer to buy now before the “sale" ends. In fact, PAID ADVERTISEMENT under either scheme, there is no "sale" and the customer is deceived The fake "sale" scheme has reached epidemic proportions In our opinion, the fake “sale" is the predomi nant tool used in advertised and unadver tised "price reduction" promotions in the jewelry industry today Jewelers who con duct fake "sales" are simply betting that their customers are too stupid to figure out what is going on. We think that is a poor bet Our experience with consumers convinces us that they are intelligent people who are en titled to be treated with honesty and respect Anytime you encounter a jewelry "sale" employing any of the above characteristics, we suggest that you exercise extreme cau tion Bring a copy of the “sale" advertise ment or the unadvertised "sale" informabon to Nebraska Diamond Compare their so called "sale" prices to our regular everyday prices and see for yourself why Nebraska Diamond totally dominates Lincoln's en gagement ring and tine jewelry market. The jewelry industry customarily em ploys several subtle techniques in an at tempt to convince the consumer that the quality, quantity or description ot the article being purchased is‘more or better than that which is actually delivered We think that these techniques are deceptive and im proper and that consumers should be warned about them First and foremost among these techniques is the implementa tion of specialized lighting conditions de signed to enhance the true appearance of any gem stone or article of jeweiry. This usually takes the form of chandeliers, spot lights, flood lamps, and reflector lamps, both incandescent and fluorescent, plus tubular incandescent display case bulbs and other similar type light sources These light sources are instantly recognizable by their "hot" "bright" or "intense" appearance Such lights artificially enhance the appear ance, dispersion, scintillation and brilliance in diamonds and, further, they make it im possible to accurately determine the GIA color and clarity grade In other words, these lights make the diamond appear better than it is While others may argue that the use of specialized lighting is merely a merchandis ing and display technique, we prefer to think that consumers are entitled to see exactly what they are getting As a practical matter, the only jewelry store lighting condition which is non-deceptive, that is, which pres ents the true appearance of gem stones and articles of jewelry, is color corrected tubular fluorescent lighting Even this light, in order to be non-deceptive, must be presented at a low height in a dosed and carefully con trolled environment, undiluted and uncon taminated by other light sources These are the lighting conditions which are used for laboratory grading of diamonds, and these are the lighting conditions you will find at Nebraska Diamond At Nebraska Diamond we sell quality jewelry, and we adhere to the philosophy that when you sell quality jewelry you don't need deceptive lighting conditions THE CONSUMER’S RIGHT TO KNOW The ultimate purpose for the consumer to acquire product knowledge is to enable him or her to separate ‘1301" .from “sales pitch" Your right as a consumer to know the facts is unequivocal, and should include nothing less than the following: 1. You have the right to demand that the jeweler accurately grade your diamond in conformity with the GIA diamond grading system, that he fully disclose that grade to you and that he show you how the grade was determined. Never purchase a diamond without such a disclosure. 2. You have the right to examine your diamond loose before making your pur chase. You cannot accurately observe the color or clarity of a diamond or authenticate its carat weight or determine that it is not chipped if it is already set into a ring Never purchase a diamond that you have not ex amined loose. 3. ,You have the right to examine your diamond under the lighting conditions used for laboratory grading of diamonds, that is, under color corrected tubular fluorescent lighting, presented at a low height in a closed and carefully controlled environment un diluted and uncontaminated by other light sources Never purchase a diamond that you have not examined under such light ing conditions. 4 You have the right to examine the color of your diamond in a white color grading trough and to examine the clarity of your diamond under a loupe or micro scope, and you have the right to expect the jeweler to point out exactly what you should see Never purchase a diamond that you have not examined in this man ner 5 You have the right to have your dia mond weighed in your presence on an electronic diamond scale to verify its claimed carat weight Never buy a dia mond that you have not observed in this manner 6. You have the right to ask any ques tions pertinent to your purchase and you have the right to expect a courteous, informed, accurate and complete an swer Never purchase anything from a jeweler who shows disrespect tor your ■ right as a consumer to know A FINAL WORD At Nebraska Diamond wf've built our reputation on superb quality, unsur passed personal service, tremendous selection and unbeatable prices That's why Nebraska Diamond totally domi nates Lincoln's engagement ring and fine jewelry market With each engagement ring or wedding band we also include our free Wedding Savings Package™ which entitles Nebraska Diamond customers to huge discounts at 22 other area merchants on everything needed for a perfect wedding At Nebraska Diamond we believe that earning your trust is the most important thing we do, and that trust is earned with quality, value, service and honesty Our track record speaks for it self Our unmatched reputation is our most valuable asset and our uncompro j mising commitment to our customers has made us THE PLACE for engagement rings and fine |ewelry We look forward to serving you ©Copyright 1989 Nebraska Diamond Sales Company, Inc All Rights Reserved NEBRASKA DIAMOND 865 NBC Center 13th &O Lincoln, Nebraska 68508 (402) 474-6400 USA 1-800-334-GEMS THE PLACE for Engagement Rings and Fine Jewelry i