When it comes to shopping for the perfect diamond, engagement ring or wedding set, there’s no substitute for seeing a diamond in-person. Viewing a diamond in 3D allows you to see every detail of the stone’s brilliance and sparkle.
When you purchase a diamond online, you’re essentially buying an image from an anonymous seller. Many online retailers act as a middleman for diamond brokers, with no physical inventory of their own. Shopping online means you’re not seeing the stone in person, and a diamond in isolation always looks flawless.
To discover the beauty of a diamond, it must be compared and contrasted to other stones to help you see subtle differences that impact value. For example, two diamonds with the cut grade of Excellent may reflect light very differently, even though their certificates appear identical. A local diamond expert, someone who has looked at thousands of diamonds and understands the skill required to cut a diamond to ideal proportions, can distinguish a great stone from an average stone.
Buying a diamond online comes with other risks, too. The internet is an unregulated market with numerous online jewelers selling both good and bad diamonds. If you don’t know the difference, you may make a very expensive purchase that you later regret. An online retailer may present you with a diamond grading report that’s not one you can trust, and if you decide to return the diamond, you may run into a costly situation if the seller says it’s not the same diamond you originally purchased.
When you shop for a diamond at a brick-and-mortar store, you have the opportunity to build a long-term relationship for important after sale services like sizing, cleaning, tightening, and upgrading. If you run into a problem with a missing stone or a loose prong, it’s fast and convenient to bring your ring in for repair, and you’ll often find better financing and warranty options in-store. When you work with a local jeweler who is invested in the community and has a long track record of excellence, you have the opportunity to build relationships, support your economy, and find the perfect diamond.
