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Jewelry, Gold, Silver, Platinum, Gemstones, Diamonds - popular articles

Mark and Doreen Whitman were both in agreement, typical of a couple married for over 25 years. The well off couple had some extra money saved up and had decided to invest it in diamonds. Doreen already had a collection of diamond jewelry glitzy enough to make any woman envious. Now the couple wanted to purchase a diamond at a wholesale price, store it in a safe place, and wait for the price to appreciate.

Buying diamonds at wholesale prices is not as easy as it sounds. When Mark and Doreen approached their trusted neighborhood jeweler with their desire to buy loose diamonds at wholesale prices, he was more than reluctant. "Our local jeweler kept on offering us diamonds which were already set in rings and necklaces." Doreen continues, "And when he finally showed us a loose diamond with a GIA certificate, the price was not low and obviously not wholesale." To make matters worse, the jeweler which they had known for years started to get nervous and defensive when Mark pulled out his copy of the rapaport list, the diamond industries price guide, and started to haggle over the price. "Our trusted jeweler obviously didn’t trust us," Mark adds.

Throughout the years diamond merchants found themselves in an exclusive industry. A business based on trust, it is not uncommon for deals worth hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars, to be closed on a simple handshake. Most often diamond wholesalers are family run businesses going back generations. The fact that now an overwhelming amount of information on diamonds can be found through the Internet is a bit unsettling for some in the business. Now everyone is a diamond expert.

"My husband spent a lot of time studying diamonds online," explains Doreen, "he read about grading diamonds for the four C's; color, clarity, cut, and carat." Doreen continues, "We then went to the diamond district downtown to try and find a diamond at a wholesale price. We never had a chance. The dealers could see that my husband was not a merchant. Either the stone would pop out of the tweezers, or his hand would shake uncontrollably. The prices remained at inflated retail."

Mark and Doreen and the thousands like them searching to buy wholesale diamonds, continued on their quest. They thought up of more strategies to help them buy a diamond at wholesale price. "We went for hard to mistake items, only GIA certificate stones," Mark recalls, "That way we could pin the starting price according to the rapaport list and negotiate from there. Of course we understood the factors that could influence the price, like a good or bad cut."

How important is it to buy a diamond at "wholesale" price when making a long term investment. Ronen Levy, an experienced diamond dealer says it's not important at all.

"The important thing is to get as low a price as possible. Today diamond prices are rising and even wholesalers are hard pressed to find good deals. I recommend going for quality goods like flawless or VVS clarity stones. The color should be no less than J and brilliant cuts are the safest bet if you plan on reselling the diamond."

What about carat?

"That’s an easy one," Ronen laughs, "Get the biggest stone you can afford!"