Diamond Dealer Integrity

The Importance of an Honest Diamond Dealer

A true story stresses the point better than anything else

Let me tell you a story. It just happened over the course of the past 10 days.

The Story Of An Honest Diamond Dealer

A friend of mine took her diamond ring to a local diamond dealer for evaluation. The diamond is a family heirloom – it has gone from her grandmother to her mother and then down to her. It is over 65 years old.

The Diamond

The diamond is not very pretty – it is a 1.20 Carat stone, but is very poor on clarity – it has a cloud going through the whole inside of the diamond, along with many chips and a serious culet on the side. The diamond is in bad shape, but it is a nice size and holds a lot of sentimental value.

The friend was looking to have the diamond cleaned up and cut down a bit so it would be nicer.

So, she takes her diamond to a local dealer and asks him to evaluate what would come out if he cut it down for her and if it is worthwhile.

The Diamond Dealer

The dealer, in addition to his own opinion, asked some other experts. The first two dealers he showed the diamond to, separately, looked at it and said the diamond is a fake.

Can you imagine that? You bring in your grandma’s diamond to be cleaned up and you are told it is a fake!!?? She must have nearly died on the spot!

She called me up, remembering that I am in the field but not knowing exactly what I do or what I know, and asked me if this guy is honest and if this is even possible

I explained to her that it is possible – it could be the person who originally sold it was dishonest, or anybody along the way. If her grandmother took it in to be cleaned at some point, anybody could have switched it for a fake. At the same time, I know the dealer and told her that he is the most honest and trustworthy guy I know, and he would not be scamming her.

That being said, I told her before she does anything with the diamond now that she knows it is fake, she should get a second opinion, and even a third opinion on it if necessary, and if she would want I could put her in contact with experts.

She thanked me and said the dealer would be taking it to some other experts for further analysis.

That was the last I heard of it.

I just saw my friend the diamond dealer and asked him what happened with that diamond. He told me the whole story of how it was brought in, and just that day a large manufacturer came in right after and he showed it to him to ask his opinion on recutting it and that guy said it is a fake. Then another manufacturer came in and he showed it to him and he also said it is a fake.

He then brought it to a series of experts for analysis, and they discovered that the diamond is in fact a real diamond and is not a fake. The diamond was then analyzed by separate experts very thoroughly and was given a clean bill of health. The confusion was caused because of the poor quality and the cloud going through the whole stone, so the manufacturers who looked at it quickly just assumed it was a fake but had not given it a thorough analysis.

That is a great story, isn’t it? But what’s the point?

The point is that the most important part of buying a diamond, either on the internet or in a store with a jeweler in front of you, is to get it from someone who is honest and has integrity. It is so easy to be scammed – unless you yourself are a diamond dealer, you have no idea what you are actually getting. You have no idea if the diamond they put in the little jewelry box is the same one you just bought, you have no idea if the diamond you are looking at is real or what any of those dots mean, etc.

You have no idea.

The most important thing is to make sure you are buying from an honest and reputable diamond dealer.

Questions? Don’t understand something someone told you about diamonds? Not sure if you should really buy that diamond? Email me at diamonds@clarityofdiamonds.com and ask!

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