10 Things The Jewelry Store Won’t Tell You

2.15.10

With Wedding Season & Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you might be shelling out for some bling. If so, here are 10 things they won’t tell you at the jewelry store and my thoughts on each.

1. “Our prices are on the rise.”

After increasing 23% in 2009, the price per ounce of gold this year has dipped slightly and is hovering around $1,100. With investors continuing to seek safety in this precious metal, it’s a bad time for consumers to buy gold, says Joyce Jonas, president emeritus of the American Society of Jewelry Historians.

It takes roughly six to eight months for the price of gold to impact the price at which gold jewelry is sold to consumers, says Jeff Green, the president of Mill Valley, Calif.-based Jeff Green Partners, a retail consulting firm.

I was surprised at how much the price of my wife’s engagement ring fluctuated from when I found it, to when I bought it. In fact, I am pretty sure I got hosed. I felt like it was a ploy to bump up the price after the jeweler discovered that I was not buying a diamond from him – just the setting. I wish I had fought this more, but I was out of my element – Big Time!

2. “Your ‘perfect’ diamond has had a face-lift . . .”

Thanks to science and technology, the brilliant-looking diamonds in your jeweler’s case aren’t all necessarily what they appear to be. In some cases, they could be “fracture-filled,” for instance, referring to a treatment in which visible cracks are filled with a glasslike substance, making a stone appear more expensive than it is.

I don’t know what to think of this. If the value of a diamond exists only because of its scarcity, then why would jewelers product a watered down version. Would that not drive down demand (and price) due to increasing the supply of desirable diamonds. Beyond the macro economics view, I am baffled at how diamonds rocks are so glamorized. I’m not a real manly man either. But I have simply conceded the fight against jewelery.

3. “. . . and these emeralds, sapphires and rubies have all gotten dye jobs.”

By the seeming bounty of them available at any jewelry store, you wouldn’t guess that natural-colored stones are an increasingly rare commodity. But the truth is that few truly stunning ones are found these days; deposits are either depleted or are producing inferior rocks. The result: The gems at your jeweler likely consist of rubies, emeralds and sapphires that have been treated with techniques, such as heating or oiling, to make them look more vibrant.

Again, as long as these stones are appraised accurately and I am receiving what I paid for, I could not care less.

4. “There’s blood on this stone.”

The diamond industry has worked to clean up its act in recent years, after human-rights advocates publicized the growth of “conflict” stones in the diamond jewelry business. Conflict stones come from a country where the diamond trade used slave labor or funded warlords who routinely killed innocent civilians.

I can’t imagine that this flaw doesn’t pertain to other industries too. Coffee comes to mind – and I love coffee.

5. “Those pretty jewels displayed on my web site? They’re not for sale.”

You buy your books on Amazon and your airline tickets on Orbitz, so why not purchase a diamond on the web? Because it’s often tough to be certain that what you see on the screen is what you’re actually buying.

I had a wonderful experience with Blue Nile and they saved me a chunk of change. This was verified by my jeweler’s appraisal and he had no reason to cover up any conspiracy.

6. “Your Aunt Hilda’s pearls make a lousy inheritance.”

The key to any pearl is the nacre, or lustrous coating that covers the nucleus. Unlike natural pearls — which make up a very small percentage of the market and are virtually all nacre — a cultured pearl is a bead surrounded by nacre. But the majority of cultured pearls sold today “have such a thin nacre coating that in a small period of time, the nacre will peel, then chip, and be worthless shell beads,” says Matlins.

Thanks Aunt Hilda!

7. “I replaced your diamond with a nifty new cubic zirconia.”

Stone switching doesn’t happen every day, but some experts say you’re not paranoid to wonder what goes on in the jeweler’s back room.

If you are struggling to afford a ring, but are ready to get engaged, I would completely encourage you to buy a setting an a cubic zirconia. As long as your lady is ok with it, I think it is a fair plan. You can replace the artificial stone with a real stone with your budget permits. I certainly wouldn’t hold up a marriage due to a diamond. What do you ladies think about this?

8. “If it looks old, I’ll call it an ‘estate piece.’”

Unlike most jewelry, “estate pieces” — the designation currently given to those crafted between 1890 and 1980 — often prove to be good investments, since they’re increasingly hard to find and can come back into vogue.

Even true oldies aren’t necessarily goodies. Many antique pieces have been revamped, which diminishes their value.

9. “Your warranty is pretty wobbly.”

Many jewelry stores sell extended warranties for their merchandise — typically, from a few dollars to a few hundred — to cover defects and damages for a year or two. But, consumers often leave the store thinking they have full coverage and are protected if anything happens to their jewelry, says Mike Maley, a vice president at Neenah, Wis.-based Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company. In reality these warranties usually cover only a “partial loss” — like when a stone gets wobbly in its setting — but not a total loss.

Forget some boot-leg Jewelers Mutual policy. Have you jewelery added to your renters or homeowners insurance. They provide very good protection, even if you lose it!

10. “I’m more than happy to haggle with you.”

In today’s market, Gassman says, it’s common to be rewarded with a 10% to 20% discount or an extra piece of merchandise if you ask. It’s also a good time to “buy up,” or put the cost of an older piece toward a bigger item.

I always enjoy asking for a discount. Go for it!