Many online retailers sell dozens of items from shoes to clothes and even gadgets. But there is one sector of online stores that is possibly the most delicate of them all when it comes to buying and selling their goods, and this is the jewelry industry. According to the International gem society’s website on this page, you will find 5 rules they have mentioned on how to do this. But if all you want is to buy something for yourself or your fiancé, the below information may be more geared towards you.
Due to the incredibly high demand of these items, and also the fact that at the moment, throughout the world the chances of walking into a store to purchase an engagement ring, may not be possible, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, going online is your only other option. It may be the case where majority businesses have seized to operate and you can only buy an engagement ring or piece of jewelry on an online retailer.
In such cases finding the best option may not be as easy as going onto Amazon and purchasing a garnet or diamond ring, but rather some careful deliberation needs to be considered. Finding the right online retailer, such as specialist companies like the Blue Nile that deal only in diamonds and engagement rings, is what this article is all about. We will help you to decide how to go about buying an item online and getting what you paid for below. So, keep reading to find out more.
How to Pick the Best Online Jewelry Retailer Dealing in Gemstones
The idea of buying precious stones such as diamonds online can sometimes be an unnerving process, not only because it can be a costly endeavour, but also one has no idea if they will receive what they have paid for – the genuine item, as advertised on an online store, sometimes also it needs to be checked whether whom you buy from is a legitimate business and not some “back-door” illegal operation.
Three things to know before hitting that “add to cart” button are discussed below.
Know Your Source
Items such as diamonds are usually priced according to their color, cut, clarity and carat (weight). To make sure that the jewelry offered by the retailer is legitimate and the caliber of its worth, the buyer needs to be critical of the process involved.
There are however a few ways to determine this and one of them is to ensure that what your buying is ‘conflict-free diamonds’. Which are usually found in African continents such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and mined by 12-year olds, digging the earth for hours on end in gruelling conditions plagued by sickness, dehydration and backaches.
These types of diamonds have been controversial since the early 90s and as much as steps have been taken to eradicate this type of illegal and exploitation labor, it seems there are still a lot of regions where young boys and girls are forced to work in the scorching heat, poorly ridden countries and can go for days without food and water just to fulfil the needs of the greedy. This article about the same can give one a good idea of what this is all about here: https://time.com/blood-diamonds/
Knowing your source can help with this. Most precious stones come with a GIA certificate that specifies information about it including its weight, size, clarity, origins and much more. These certificates are only given to the sellers via stringent processes by relevant authorities such as a fine jewelry retailer such as NetCoalition for instance who are uniquely qualified to provide this to retailers, both online and brick and mortar.
When these precious stones are being evaluated by the authorities they can also sometimes place their unique GIA report number on it or embed a symbol that will clear it from being a conflict-free diamond and eligible to be sold.
Know Your Seller
This may sound like the point mentioned above but it has more to do with knowing the person who will be selling the item to you and their store in general. If he or she is online, and you may have never heard of them before, the first thing to do before buying anything is to research them and their operation. Do a thorough search, not just on their website but also on search engines such as Google, for testimonials and reviews of individuals who have bought items from them.
Always look for dealers that have significant experience in the market selling precious stones. Websites that have several genuine reviews for example for a company such as JamesAllen.com, will have people praising it because it has been around for years and run by experts in the business. Having been on their website, we can vouch for their reviews which look genuine and are about everything from their outstanding customer service to the grading of their diamonds and one can read another review at Netcoalition to find out more.
Know Your Stone
This may come as a surprise to many but a lot of people get attracted by the colorful shiny pictures and details of the content on the online store pages and forget to check the finer particulars that are of more importance in the initial phases of finding the right one. A good place to start is to do some homework on the market value of the stone you would like to obtain.
Find out what the fair price is before going ahead and agreeing to a number being offered to you. If the seller is offering a wonderful deal, make sure they are selling genuine products that are backed by a guarantee. Also, go through the finer print when it comes to any shipping costs or handling extras when buying from any overseas online retailers, and if nothing is mentioned ask them upfront.
Lastly, always pay for the goods using an escrow account such as Escrow.com, which will hold your money in a safe place until you receive the goods and are happy with them, at which point they are released to the seller. This is to guarantee the security and safety of the buying process, and so that you do not get duped in the course.
We hope the above information helps make things clear on your search for that perfect engagement ring for your partner!