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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 1997)
^ROSEsiROSES7ROSES^ I I $49.— for one dozen B •Arranged/cash & carry | Remember Your Sweetheart or that Special Person at I with a Fresh Single Rose and card from Pearls and Lace 701 N. 48th Street L Call 466-6300 for orders I® order by Feb. 13 & receive 10%off R ru' . ■■■' ■ PAID ADVERTISEMENT HOW TO BUY A DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RING WITH CONFIDENCE AND KNOWLEDGE By John Tavlin President Nebraska Diamond For the average consumer, buying a dia mond can be one of the most confusing and frustrating experiences imaginable. The con sumer is often confronted with a barrage of con flicting claims from various jewelers intent on selling their product. If the consumer is not armed with adequate product knowledge, they stand little chance for success in the jewelry marketplace. A UNIFORM SYSTEM OF DIAMOND GRADING Serious shopping for diamonds begins with an understanding of the Gemologica) Institute of America (GIA) and its diamond grading system. The GIA is a non-profit organization dedicated primarily to the pursuit of gemological education. It owns and operates the most prestigious trade laboratory for the identification and classification of gem stones in this country. The GIA is consid ered by the diamond industry to be the final and most authoritative word on diamond grading stan dards in the United States and its diamond grad ing system is, by far, the dominant grading sys tem used by diamond cutting firms and jewelry manufacturers in this country today. Knowledge of the GIA diamond grading sys tpm is st nrorftni licito for informoH hnv/ino of Hi» moods, and knowledge of that system without an actual “hands on” demonstration is virtually impossible. The accompanying chart shows a total of 240 separate and distinct combinations of GIA grades and there is a separate and dis tinct price list for each grade within each size category. At Nebraska Diamond we give all cus • tamers a thorough explanation and demonstra tion of the GIA diamond grading system under laboratocy conditions using actual examples, so | that the BUStapr»r carv6eewiththiB or_hQr 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 customers need this spe cial instruction and knowledge to survive in the jeweh$q]|fketptace are: “* £ t 1. Many jewelers invent their own personal grading system because by cSSing so theg make it difficult or impossible for the consume? to cdCtr-' parison 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 diamonds 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 identify the deception. A diamond which is assigned a GIA grade by one of these jewelers may actually be significantly inferior to a diamond offered, with a seemingly lower GIA grade, by a jeweler who adheres to the strict grading stan dards we use at Nebraska Diamond. Unless the consumer has adequate product knowledge, they risk being duped into purchasing a low quality diamond. 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 informed diamond buyers in the market and we’ve been doing it for over fifteen years. You do not get the Nebraska Diamond consumer educa tion 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" (Copyright 1984, Crown Publishers, Inc. New York), diamond authorities Antoinette Leonard Matlins and Antonio C. Bonanno, F.GA, P.G. state, If we were to iden tify the factors 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 cefbr, 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 inter nal flaws and surface blemishes present in or on a diamond. Sometimes internal flaws and sur face blemishes can be seen only under magnifi cation. To magnify a diamond a jeweler's loupe ~ or a microscope is used with 10X magnification. The microscope is often used more as a sales tool than as a gem grading instrument because its laboratory” appearance can bft impressive to consumers. The microscope, however, is a cum bersome 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 dia mond dealers. At Nebraska Diamond you may view your diamond under both a jeweler's loupe and under a microscope designed for profes sional diamond examination. Among color, clari ty, 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 diamond. 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 dia mond to diamond. As explained below, propor tion analysis is extremely 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 pro portion called the “heavy make” discussed below, cut is a less observable characteristic than color or clarity from a quantitative stand point and, hence, cut generally carries less value. Carat weight refers to the weight of the dia mond and not to its size. This is an important distinction because two diamonds which weigh the same can appear drastically different in size and this may result in drastically different values even 11 uutui cuiu uicuiiy cue uie bdme in uuui gems. Sometimes customers forget that size is a dimensional 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 substan tial. often ert&ddlng 406/o. Af Nebraska Diamond we avoid the “heavy make”, but we have observed that the “heavy make” is very preva lent in today’s diamond market. Therefore, it is extremely important that the consumer know how to recognize the “heavy make”. As dis cussed below, however, consumers who do not have the consumer education we provide at - Nebraska Diamond are at a tremendous disad vantage when it comesto recognizing the r, “heavy make” and they risk buying it unknowjng iy CUT. THE MISUNDERSTOOD “C" Among the 4 “C’s” (Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight) the subject of diamond propor tioning (Cut) is easily the most misunderstood. The GIA has subdivided proportion analysis into four Classes based on table diameter, crown angle, pavilion depth, girdle thickness, finish and symmetry. Each Class contains wide parameters for proper proportioning and, therefore, provides an infinite variety of differing cutting proportions all of which are considered equally appropriate within each Class. The GIA proportion analysis format, thus, illustrates what every diamond expert in this business knows: that there are lit erally hundreds of different diamond proportions available which create beautiful and highly desir able gems. Because there are so many accepted types of proportioning in diamond cut, there is no agreement in the diamond industry on what con stitutes the “best” cut This is because the main factors affected by cut (dispersion and brilliance) cannot all be maximized in the same gem. “Dispersion” is sometimes referred to as “Fire". Dispersion means the ability of the dia mond to break down light into the spectral colors (Dtues, reas, yellows, etc.). “Brilliance” refers to the ability of the diamond to return colorless or “white” light to the viewer. As common sense will tell you, if you increase a diamond’s ability to break light into the spectral colors, you reduce its ability to return colorless or “white" light. Conversely, if you increase a diamond’s ability to return colorless or “white” light you reduce its ability to break light into the spectral colors. That is why there is no such thing as a diamond cut to maximum disper sion and maximum brilliance, both at the same time. By cutting to maximize one of these factors the other is compromised, and since both are of equal importance, it is impossible to authorita tively classify one type of cut as the “best” In buying a diamond it has been our experi ence that the consumer desires the most beauti ful gem his or her budget can afford. Precisely how dispersion and brilliance translate into beauty, however, is a matter of personal opinion. In their chapter on “The Importance of Cut and PropoitiorfVthe authors of “The Complete Guide to Buying Gems” state, wrfth reference to. the per centage measurements of various diamond cut ting proportions, “No one has come to an agree ment, however, on what the percentage should be, since some people prefer fire to brilliance and vice versa. This is why there are several accepted types of proportioning found in dia mond cut and ‘best’ is a matter of personal pref erence’. In actuality, the difference in dispersion and brilliance between some differing diamond proportions is so stispit that it is measurable only with Sensitive laboratory instalments and is braska Diamond G1A GIA Carat Color Clarity Wdfkt COLORLESS i r FLAWLESS F 1 Ct * 90 to 110 pts. T _ 7/8 cL = 80 to 89 pts. near H v^wsh 3/4 CL = 70 to 79 pts. COLORLESS 1_ 5/8 ct = 56 to 69 pts. FAINT I* IMPERFECTION WSI'* 7Ji! ^ = 2 l! S ^ r - 7/16 ct* 40 to44 pts. YELLOW H VERY vsu 3/8 ct — 36 to 39 pts. VERY o SU «... 1/3 ct = 29 to 35 pts. “S F ’MreRFECnONVS 1/4 ct. “ 23 to 28 pta. f SUGHT »1 1/6 Ct — 15 to 17 T IMPERFECTION J'J C*- - *5 to 17 pts. U SM 1/8 Ct = 12 to 14 pts. £ H 1/10 ct = 9 to 11 pts. imperfect H 1 Exact Carat - 100 Potato FANCY ~~ M YELLOW L L ^GIA DIAMOND COLOR AND CLARITY TERMINOLOG impossible to see with the naked eye. As discussed above, one area in which cut makes a big difference in the value of a diamond concerns the “heavy make". The term “heavy make” refers to a diamond that has a dispropor-. tionate share of its total carat weight concentrat ed 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 diamond cut to prop er proportions. Because they faice up so mfieh' smaller that .they should, “heavy makes” are worth substantially less than property propor tioned diamonds. Because the “heavy maktif is worth less, it costs the jeweler less, so they can sell it for less. When the jeweler fails to tell the customer that they are showing a “heavy make", and fails to explain that the “heavy make’ is priced lower because it is worth less, the effect is to trick the consumer into thinking that they have purchased a full size diamond at a bargain price. This illusion is further enhanced when the jeweler shows only “heavy make” diamonds and does not show the consumer a full size diamond to enable the consumer to compare. In fact, the problem of “heavy make” is virtually never explained to the consumer, so the consumer - simply assumes that any diamond shown of a certain carat weight faces up the size that it should, and they purchase the “heavy make” unknowingly. We feel that this failure to inform the consumer is unfair and that it constitutes deception by omission. At Nebraska Diamond we give our customers a detailed explanation of this important subject. HOW TO SPOT DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES Consumers should be aware of various trade practices which are common in the jewelry indus try but which we feel are deceptive, 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 avoid ing them when shopping for fine jewelry. Deceptive trade practices in the jewelry industry tend to fall generally into two broad cat egories: 1. Practices which lead the consumer to believe that they are receiving a bargain pur chase when, in fact, they are not (fake “sales”), and 2. Practices which lead the consumer to believe the quality, quantity or description of the article being purchased is mote or better than that which is actually delivered (active or con structive misrepresentation of the product either by act or omission). The concept of the fake “sale” is an old one. Basically, it plays on foe desire of the consumer to obtain a bargain purchase. Fake “sales’ can be advertised or unadvertised. Here's how the scheme works: In foe advertised fake “sale* scheme the jeweler places an exorbitant and purely fictitious “regular price” or ‘appraised value” or “reference price* on an article of jewel ry. They then advertise “special sale prices* or “drastic reductions" or “storewide 50% off clear ance sale” or “certified savings' or something similar to drum up excitement and then they offer the article to the consumer for less than foe fictitious “marker price. The consumer buys foe article believing they have received a bargain. In fact though, under foe scheme, the jeweler has sold the article forth? price they always intended to sell for There is no bargain because ire 'an cle really wasn’t marked down at al, so tire con sumer actually paid ful price. The fake “sale' scheme is also employed in unadvertised “sales’. In the unadvertised fake “sale’ the con sumer waits into the store and observes a ficti tious “markerT nice on the article and the sales person simply |Ws the consumer that the article r is on ’sale’even though the “sale* is not being publicly advertised, and then otters the article to the consumer for a “reduced* price. Both adver- <~ ? tisedand unadvertised fake “sales’ are high pressure sales techniques used to influence the consumer to buy now before the “sale’ ends. In fact, 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 predominant tool used in advertised and unadvettised “price reduction’ promotions in the jewelry industry today. Jewelers who conduct fake Isatesr are simply betting that toeir customers are too stopid to figure out what is going on. We think that is a poor bet Our experience with consumers con vinces us that they are inteCgent people who are entitled to be treated with honesty and respect Anytime you encounter a jewelry “sale" employ ing any of the above characteristics, we suggest that you exercise extreme caution. Bring a copy of the “sale’ advertisement or the unadvertised ‘sale’ information to Nebraska Diamond. Compare their so caled “sale” prices to our regu lar everyday prices and see for yourself why Nebraska Diamond totally dominates Lincoln’s engagement ring and fine jewelry market The jewelry industry customariy employs several subtle techniques in an attempt to con vince tne consumer that the quafity, quantity or description of the aitide being purchased is more or better than that which is actually deliv ered. We think that these techniques are decep ' : tive and improper and that consumers should be warned about them. First and foremost among these techniques is the implementalion of spe cialized fighting condtions designed to enhance the true appearance of any gem stone or article of jewelry. This usualy takes the form of chande liers, spot fights, flood lamps, and reflector lamps, both incandescent and fluorescent, plus tubular incandescent dsptay case buhs and other simlar type fight sources. These fight sources are instantly recognizable by flieir "hoT, Isrighr or Tntenser appearance. Such fights arti fidafly enhance the appearance, cfispersion, sdntitation and briBanoa in (flamonds and, fur ther, they mate it impossfllte to accurately deter mine the GIA color and clarity grade. In other words, these fights make the damond appear better than it is. WHa others may argue that the use of speciafized fighting is merely a merchan dising and cfisplay technique, we prefer to think that consumers are onlflod to see exacfly what they are gelling. As a practical matter, the only jewrefiy store fighting concfllion which is non deceptive, that is, wrtfich presents the true appearance of gem stones and articles of jewel ry, is color corrected tubular fluorescent filling. Even this fight, in order to be non-deceptive, must be presented at a low height in a dosed and careMy corbeled environment, unrfluted and uncontaminatod fay otoarfigbt sources. These are the fighting condMon6 which are used for laboratory gracing of damonds. and these are the fitting condtions you wfl find at Nebraska Diamond. At Nebraska Diamond we sell quality jewelry, and we adhere to the philos ophy 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 “fact” 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 jew eler accurately grade your diamond in conformi ty with the GIA diamond grading system, that they fully disclose that grade to you and that they show you how the grade was determined. Never purchase a diamond without such a dis closure. 2. You have the right to examine your dia mond loose before making your purchase. 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 examined loose. 3. You have the right to examine your dia mond under the fighting conditions used for lab oratory gracing of diamonds, that is, under color corrected tubular fluorescent lighting, presented at a low height in a closed and carefully con trolled environment undiluted and uncontaminat ed by other fight sources. Never purchase a dia mond that you have not examined under such lighting 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 microscope, and you have the right to expect the jeweler to point out exactly ^ what you should see. Never purchase a dia mond that you halve not examined in this man ner. 5. You have the right to have your diamond weighed in your presence on an electronic dia mond scale to verify its claimed carat weight. Never buy a diamond that you have not observed in this manner: 6. You have the right to ask any questions pertinent to your purchase and you have the right to expect a courteous, informed, accurate and complete answer. Never purchase anything from a jeweler who shows disrespect for your right as a consumer to know. A FINAL WpDfV At Nebraska Diamond we've built our reputa tion on unhurried personal service, tremendous selection, superb quality and unbeatable value. Tt^jp^liMMiHgQ||^nd will provide more artoiqement and weddintnllfryo more satisfied customers that al of the otherafll^ewelry stores combined. Nebraska DiamoncH^Lincoln's^ only Engagement and Wedding Ring Superstore. We regularly stock virtually every engagement and wedding ring style imaginable and with each we also include our free Wedding Savings Package™ coupon booklet which entitles Nebraska Diamond customers to huge discounts at X other area merchants on everything need ed for a perfect wedding. At Nebraska Diamond we befieve that earning your trust is the most important thing we do, and that trust is earned with quafity, service, value and honesty. Our per formance record speaks for itself. Nebraska Diamond has been named “Best place in Lincoln for engagement and wedding rings’ for 15 con secutive years, and we have the highest industry rating of any jewelry store in the State of Nebraska. We look forward to serving you. ©Copyright 1996 Nebraska Diamond Sales Company, Inc. AD Rights Reserved. NEBRASKA DIAMOND 8th Floor, NBC Center 13th & O Streets Lincoln, Nebraska 68508 (402)474-6400 USA 1'800'334-GEMS The Engagement & Wedding Ring Superstore®4
