WASHINGTON — Lovers intending to give Valentine’s Day gifts of diamonds might make their spouses even happier by not spending more than necessary.
“We didn’t really expect to see such huge price differences from store to store,” said Kevin Brasler, executive editor of Checkbook.org.
The consumer’s group had undercover shoppers look for carefully specified diamonds and found some D.C. area stores charged less than $11,000, while others charged more than $18,000 for what was essentially the same stone.
“For sure shop around,” Brasler said. “We shopped all kinds of different stores here in the Washington area — independents, national chains and even online suppliers — [and found] big, big price differences.”
Also, large chains overwhelmingly had higher prices than independent stores. “Almost all the independents we checked were lower priced than the big national and local chains,” Brasler said.
Another way to save, Brasler said, is not to prioritize perfect or near-perfect color and clarity. “You with your eyes aren’t going to be able to tell those differences, but you’re sure going to tell the difference in what you pay,” he said.
What is easily discernible to the naked eye comes from a stone being ranked as an “excellent” cut versus a “fair” or “poor” cut.
“The noticeable difference is in the sparkle factor: whether or not they’re reflecting a lot of light, whether they’re reflecting light in a lot of different directions,” Brasler said. “Cut is the most important thing you should be looking at as a shopper.”
Brasler also notes that an “excellent” cut diamond can easily hide internal flaws that would give it a lower ranking for clarity and, therefore, a lower price.
Checkbook recommends consumers buy diamonds that have been graded and certified by the Gemological Institute of America. “The GIA program seems to be the most stringent and has the highest standards,” Brasler said.
Access to the list is at the following link for a limited time: Washington Consumers Checkbook.
Consumers’ Checkbook/Center for the Study of Services is an independent nonprofit consumer organization founded in 1974. It has for more than 40 years been an innovator in providing information to help consumers make smarter choices.
