Story: (You'll like this one!)
A customer is telling me about her visit to another Jeweler. She says the Salesperson showed her Certified Diamonds. Great!
She said the Diamond looked "Wonderful". Then she says the Lady brought out a Diamond that WASN'T Certified. And that stone "looked really bad".
Needless to say, this customer is hooked on Certified Diamonds and won't even look at anything else.
Sadly, this customer is hooked on Certs for all the wrong reasons!
Misleading
You see, this Salesperson mislead the customer into thinking that all Certified Diamonds LOOK GOOD and all Non-Certified Diamonds LOOK BAD. This is farthest from the truth!
Fact is, both Diamonds can look the same.
It doesn't matter if it has paperwork or not. And it's quite possible that a Non-Certified Diamond could look much better than a Certified one. It all depends upon the Quality of the Diamond. (You know, Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight!)
This Salesperson must be selling a ton of Certified Diamonds this way. (She ain't selling the crappy ones!)
Certified doesn't mean Quality!
Selling Certified Diamonds is great. I love it! But not the way she's doing it. Just because they are Certified does not mean the Diamond is high Quality. You may be surprised!
A lot of Jewelry Stores are actually Certifying I Clarity Diamonds, which to me is a joke! Why? Because I Clarity is the lowest Clarity on the market. No one needs guaranteed proof of that. "Hey, you just bought the lowest quality available and here's proof!" I mean, really! It's the bottom of the bucket, there is nothing worse... So why Certify it?
The Cream of the Crop
It used to be that only higher Quality Diamonds would be Certified. The cream of the crop. Like SI, VS, VVS or higher. If you bought a higher Quality Diamond I could totally understand why you would want proof that it's that Quality stated. I would! Certs used to be a good thing. But now???
The lowest Clarity? Certified? Come on...
Quit trying to make low Quality Diamonds out to be better than they really are. Is it really necessary? I think it actually hurts the integrity of Certified Diamonds.
Certificates don't mean Squat!
Just because it's a Cert, doesn't mean squat. What matters is the Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat Weight. That's what you should be focused on... Not whether it has paperwork or not.
Now I'm not saying there is anything wrong with comparing 2 stones. In fact, I support it. Comparing Diamonds is the best learning tool ever for customers to understand the differences between Clarities and Color. Educating people about Quality is never a bad thing. I show different Qualities all the time. Customers love it. But making them believe that Certified Diamonds look better than Non-Certified Diamonds is just foul play!
Don't fall for it
If you want to compare Certified Diamonds against Non-Certified Diamonds, then compare Diamonds of the exact same Clarity and Color. That's the best test. Compare Apples to Apples!
I believe in the value of Certification. Certifications are physical, documental proof, but they also cost more! Customers don't mind paying more because it also brings peace of mind with that purchase.
As long as customers have a choice and understand the Pros and Cons to both Certified and Non, then there's nothing wrong with it. Read: Certified or Not!
Just be leery of the Salesperson that leads you to believe Non-Certified Diamonds are inferior... It's a farce! Don't buy into it!
A Diamond is a Diamond. Whether the Jeweler sent that Diamond out to get it Graded with a Diamond Report is a whole different story. But it doesn't mean it's bad! It just means it's not Certified...
YET!
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