At my father’s house for dinner last night, one of the guests brought up a story on Good Morning America in which shoppers and diamond experts compared their findings from Costco with those from Tiffany & Co. The GMA shoppers visited both stores, purchased stones, and reported their findings.
First, at Tiffany, Good Morning America bought a round diamond with very slight flaws, just over a carat, with a color grade of “F” (colorless). For the stone and an in-store setting considered “famous,” they paid $16,600.
Fuller [a master gemologist] consulted a standardized appraisers’ guide and told us the same grade diamond would cost an average of $10,500 at a no-name store, plus additional for the setting.
The expert believes the premium above the average price is fair, given Tiffany’s brand reputation, confidence at time of purchase due to years of quality control, or other “special extras.”
At Costco, we bought a round diamond with almost the same specs as our Tiffany diamond. It is just over a carat with very very slight flaws and a color grade of H, nearly colorless. At $6,600, it cost $10,000 less than the similar diamond we bought at Tiffany.
Fuller said the average price for such a stone would be $8,000, a price that doesn’t include the setting.
Was there any doubt that Costco would offer a better bargain? I believe what surprises many people about this story is that Costco does sell excellent quality diamonds. The GMA shoppers offer these suggestions for shopping:
* Look for a certified stone. Buy a diamond that comes with a certificate from the Gemological Institute of America or the American Gem Society. That way, you know exactly what you’re getting.
* Find out the refund policy. Make sure the store has a written cash refund policy. Both Tiffany and Costco do.
* Get the diamond appraised. Immediately after you purchase the diamond, take it to a qualified diamond appraiser.
Marketing campaigns for the dimaond industry elevated the commonplace stone to an object seen as rare and desirable by the highest in society, which as planned, trickled down to the social conscience of just about everyone. Beyond the marketing ploy, diamonds also are associated with massive human rights violations, the details of which I won’t go into here. The “romanticism” of the stone is so deeply rooted into our culture, good luck trying to take a rational approach when planning to propose marriage.
Here are some more resources for shopping or reading:
* Blue Nile
* Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?, from The Atlantic, a thorough history of diamonds including details about the DeBeers diamond advertising campaign.
* FatWallet thread about diamonds
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Blue Nile does a good job. I was pleased with my purchase last year from them. Very nice!
Yeah give me Blue Nile any day. Buying a Tiffany diamond would just be buying the name.
Here’s the deal: Buy from Blue Nile. Say it’s from Tiffany’s. Best of both worlds.
Buying a name brand diamond is pointless in my opinion. NOBODY can tell the brand of a ring from a glance. There are so many nice options when considering a diamond ring, it pays to do your research.
I recently got engaged, and buying an engagement ring was a very stressful experince. It was a major purchase that had alot of emotional value wrapped into it. Do not take a salesman’s word for face value. Have some idea of what you are looking for before you get sucked into a salesman’s game.
So, why are you interested in diamonds? ;-)
FMF: I’m not shopping right now, if that’s what you’re asking. :-)
I recommend look at PriceScope.com. You can read more about my experience here.
I would estimate that you save quite a bit over the Costco price. The appraiser said he would have a problem finding a deal as good. I didn’t find Blue Nile to be as competitively priced as Abazias who I went with. I know that Abazias had great service.
Try Carat.cc for laboratory diamonds. Much cheaper than the natural diamonds, but still carbon compressed at high pressure, or whatever it is that makes a diamond. (I keep thinking Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. You know what I’m talking about.) My friends are getting their engagement ring from Carat when it’s time to buy. They don’t go for the conflict diamonds and they are high-technology types, so they’re going with lab diamonds instead.
Flexo-Great article, but you missed the most important thing-Big diamonds support terrorists so the next time I get married, I’m giving my wife to be a stone no larger than 1/4 Carat ;-)
Mapgirl: The problem with lab created diamonds is that they don’t turn out very colorless. It’s common to find yellowish (or other colored) diamonds.
Diamonds are the biggest rip off in the world since they are basically a semi precious stone that are only made to appear valuable. They are a perfect example of how good marketing has conned most of us into believing that they are worth something.
I’d make sure the intended recipient goes for diamonds. My wife doesn’t really like diamonds. Saved thousands right there. ;)
who needs diamond? they’re practically useless…therefore, worthless…
who the fuk owns de beers?
Carat.cc sells CZs not lab made diamonds I heard.
It’s important to note the difference between “synthetic diamond” which is lab-grown diamond – and “diamond simulant” which can be anything that looks like or sort of looks like a diamond.
CARAT.CC does indeed sell cubic zirconia (diamond simulant) which wholesales from less than a dollar to a few dollars per carat, depending primarily on quality of cut.The idea that diamonds are as plentiful as semi-precious stones is ludicrous. High quality diamonds are genuinely rare. DeBeers no longer has a monopoly; there are now several major players in mining and distribution. Diamond rough is very costly simply because it is extremely difficult to find and then extract. A good diamond well-bought (at a wholesale or near-wholesale price) has nearly always maintained its value or better. Bought at retail, however, you can wait a very long time for the market to catch up.
Thank you for setting the record straight, standup. There are a lot of ignorant posts here. Just because someone is too cheap to spend a little money for an heirloom, doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable and rare.
Conflict? LMAO if you want to use conflict as an excuse for not buying, then fine. Why not just tell the truth and say you’re cheap? Many things we buy directly or indirectly may support some sort of illegal or immoral activity; sorry kids, that’s just the way the world works. Get over it.
“My friends are into high tech, so they’re buying lab diamonds”. Great. You and your friends are cheap, that’s what you mean.
You know, you can find a million excuses for not doing the right thing, but in the end all you’re doing is making yourself look like white-trash. Buy that big screen tv and the top of the line satellite package instead. It’ll go great with your trailer house…