Online Stores vs. Traditional Stores

With the rise of online commerce (eCommerce) and reliable online jewelry stores, the competition has gone from a couple of stores on the main street in your town to the flashy and expensive mall jewelry stores to - now convenient, competitive online jewelry stores where you can find real values. Many people have concerns about buying something as important as a diamond engagement ring (or any other diamond or expensive jewelry) online. However, more stringent security requirements, privacy policies and competition along with the consumer demand eCommerce is becoming more popular, convenient and reliable. Let face it.. eCommerce is here to stay and will grow to be an integral part of our lifestyle just as online banking did since it was introduced 20 years ago. We all have concerns about new things until everyone lese has tried it and found it to be reliable. The wisdom is finding out timely enough to get the best values by being a savvy and educated shopper.

Same Product, Better Value

You will benefit from exploring how you can find great products at low prices with a reliable customer service online just as many others like you have begun doing. The days of the monopoly of the expensive mall and main street jewelry stores are over. You do not need cover their high overheads of flashy lighting, glitter, expensive advertising in the high prices you pay. Take the example of Amazon.com where your book is shipped directly from a shelf in a warehouse. It is the same book, just at a better price and with more convenience and better customer service and don't forget without the overheads of flashy store with an impressive decor, real estate, advertising, sales staff and headaches of finding a parking spot on top of getting through the traffic!

Searching on the Search Engines

You should search major online jewelry sites to get a consensus of diamond prices right from your PC. Be sure to use search terms that are very closed to what you are looking for instead of using broad terms. For example using "Certified Diamond Rings" will yield more precise results that searching by just "Jewelry" or "Diamond Jewelry" Buying certified diamond rings is important since widely accepted grading standards are accepted and it pays to stick to the standards.

Buying Certified Diamond Jewelry

GIA (Gemological Institute of America) and AGS (American Gemological Society) are the most respected institutions that issue reliable diamond grading and appraisal certificates. With online diamond jewelry stores to get your free price quotes, which usually beat mall diamond stores. Some sites even let you save your diamond ring comparison list and come back days later to compare more diamond ring prices and quotes, may be add a platinum wedding ring set, or abandon your cart if you find a better ring on another site.

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Traditional Retail Jewelry Store Advantages:
In retail stores, the biggest advantage is that the jewelry displayed is in front of you to inspect and you can always see the quality and finish of the piece of jewelry, whereas in online stores sometimes the image shown does not represent the exact appearance of the piece of jewelry.

Secondly, if you are an old customer of a retail store, the jeweler will always give you a preference and ensure that you get the best.

Your Advantage with an Online Jewelry Store

Internet has made the world a small place. Beautiful jewelry from many countries and much more variety and beauty ever imagined is available on online stores. If you can get very good quality jewelry at lower prices with more variety in designs, then online jewelry stores are always a better choice. And this is true with many renowned online jewelry websites! Online jewelry buying is becoming more popular as best quality jewelry is just a click away!

You can always browse through different categories and get an idea of jewelry pricing by the details provided alongside the images. This helps in preparing an optimum budget for buying your jewelry and at the right time and at the right price. The jewelry is shipped and brought to your doorstep. Therefore, online shopping for jewelry demonstrates a lot of convenience and a good bargain for time and money. You can view details of jewelry exhibited on an online store at your own pace and comfort.

You can also browse through different categories of jewelry and view details and spend more time in searching through the designs to find what you need. Or you may even find better designs than you ever imagined. It means you can spend as much time at your own convenience in case you don’t get time from your busy schedule to visit a jewelry store. You can even get the required jewelry education online and get to know many facts about jewelry which many jewelers won’t tell you.

You can get much more variety in designs by visiting different online stores and choose the one you like, unlike going to the same retail store again and again to find new designs that have come up.

Diamond Buyer’s Checklist

Do you want to surprise her with a ring? You can--and you can do it right--if you've analyzed her likes and dislikes, the shape of her hands and fingers, and her lifestyle. The first step is to become acquainted with both diamond and engagement ring basics no matter when you plan to buy the ring, so that you'll understand the terms you hear and know exactly what you're buying. Paying attention to your fiancée's jewelry likes and dislikes is the first big step towards finding her the perfect engagement ring. Here are a few tips that will help you choose the perfect diamond ring...

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Diamond Buyer’s Checklist

Do you want to surprise her with a ring? You can--and you can do it right--if you've analyzed her likes and dislikes, the shape of her hands and fingers, and her lifestyle. The first step is to become acquainted with both diamond and engagement ring basics no matter when you plan to buy the ring, so that you'll understand the terms you hear and know exactly what you're buying. Paying attention to your fiancée's jewelry likes and dislikes is the first big step towards finding her the perfect engagement ring.

Here are a few tips that will help you choose the perfect diamond ring that you are looking for:

1. It is very important to buy loose diamonds during daylight, on a fine weather day and with exposure towards North. It is under these conditions that the true color of the stone will appear.

2. In the absence of these conditions, it will be preferable to use a lamp which has light similar to daylight. In all good jewelry shops, these lamps are generally found which help in grading diamonds. Neon lighting is not recommended.

3. For diamonds with carat weight exceeding 0.5 carats, a certification is necessary verifying its quality and integrity. Certificates for such diamonds are available through gemological laboratories.

4. Always check the diamond characteristics and grading. If a jeweler shows a 1.00 carat round and uncertified diamond, classified F (color) and VS1 (clarity); such a diamond would approximately cost US$ 10,920 (retailer price). But, if clarity grade is VS2, the price falls to US$ 10,010; which is 8% less (US$ 910), a rather significant price difference!

5. Read the diamond certificate carefully and do not ignore any details written on it. A certified diamond does not mean that the diamond is of highest quality. A certificate just informs about the true grades given to the diamond after testing it in the gemological lab. Always notice the “Comments" such as “Clarity Enhanced" or “Color Enhanced". If you notice such comments, it means the real diamond’s flaw has been enhanced or treated to make it look like a better quality diamond. But it always affects the price. Treated diamonds are cheaper than the untreated ones of same quality and the price difference is substantial.

6. There are not only the 4 principal diamond criteria (carat-weight, color, clarity, cut) which are important for a diamond purchase. Along with these its proportions, fluorescence and finish are also very important. A diamond having very good clarity and color, but having a very strong fluorescence or a poor proportion substantially falls in price.

7. Depending on color, some diamonds are less expensive as compared to the colorless diamond of same carat weight. On the other hand some colored diamonds are more expensive than colorless diamonds (red, pink, blue, green and certain shades of yellow).

Beware of Mall Jewelry and Other Expensive Jewelry Stores

Common sense should suggest that the only way such stores can make high profits is to cover all high costs (of the glitter, lighting, display, advertising and aggressive salespeople paid with high commissions on your sale) in your prices. In today's commerce with the rise of online shopping, these stores are facing stiff competition from online stores that offer certified diamond jewelry of quality at lower prices by keeping their operating costs down and being able to turn over larger volume. Please take the time to compare prices, quality and and take advantage of....

Read about High Price Stores and their Price Gimmicks...

Get to Know Diamond, Gems, Jewelry

Buying Jewelry Online