Buying diamonds can and should be a fun experience. To make the most of it here are my top 3 tips to make for a seamless shopping experience!
Buy a diamond with a certificate. You need a diamond grading report or appraisal from a Graduate Gemologist- someone trained at the Gemological Institute of America. This will ensure your stone is graded to the highest standards and there’s no question of what you are getting.
Buy a diamond, not a certificate! This might sound contrary to my first point but it isn’t. Some buyers study reports looking for the 4 C’s but buying a diamond just based on a report without seeing it would be like buying a car without a test drive. You can do it, but grading reports don’t always show you that sparkle, fire and brilliance we want from our diamonds. Find a jeweler you can trust (oh hey!) and ask them to bring in several stones for you to choose from. You’ll be surprised at the differences between stones.
Consider factors beyond price. Buying a stone online might be cheaper but you get what you pay for. Retailers offer an in shop experience that allows you to look at multiple stones at one time. You also have the opportunity to see loose stones in different settings and retailers are the ones you go to for questions. Retailers also warranty their work and most can perform repairs. Once you find a jeweler that you trust, you will recognize the value of speaking to someone in person and getting help maximizing your budget.
The Oscars always offer a peak into future jewelry trends and the scramble starts immediately to copy those designs. This year, we saw an overwhelming majority of stars wearing large diamond dangle earrings. How fun!
Of course there were a few exceptions to the trend of large dangling earrings- the shredded gold Tiffany necklace worn by Jessica Biel and the stunning curly diamond necklace worn by Kirsten Dunst (see Jessica on the right). She is indeed smashing! The red carpet didn’t offer up much in the way of rings or bracelets either. What did accompany almost every gown was a sparkling pair of dangle diamond earrings.
Here are a few I love:
Want this look for your own special occasion? Check out a few Oscar worthy earrings in our collections:
Would you like to see more? Shop our stores on Rubylane, Etsy and eBay today.
Tiffany & Co. has been beaten up pretty badly over the last decade. The company’s growth and earnings aren’t keeping up with the competition and customer sentiment is waning. Is Lady Gaga the cure? Tiffany is know for classic designs, beautiful packaging and exceptional quality. Great service and a dependable customer experience have made the brand iconic. But tried and true doesn’t ensure the kind of loyalty with new generations that it did with previous ones. Younger consumers that used to snap up the brand’s sterling silver high margin items just aren’t as interested in the same old classic designs anymore.
Enter Lady Gaga.
This week Tiffany & Co announced that it is partnering with the entertainer to launch a new line that will be advertised during the Superbowl. That’s certainly not the spokesperson or crowd you’d imagine Tiffany taking on! Lady Gaga isn’t always know for classic or class. But in an age where competition for jewelry revenue isn’t just between jewelry retailers but also with electronics and experiences, something’s gotta give.
The company is also taking a major departure from its past by entering the fashion jewelry market. There is certainly money to be made in that category; contemporary brands like Kate Spade and Marc Jacobs derive significant portions of revenue through fashion jewelry. However, “fake” and “faux” aren’t synonymous with the Tiffany we know, and Lady Gaga’s shock value could be as shocking to purists as the base metals and synthetic stones in the collection.
Is she the right face to lead Tiffany through that kind of transition? Maybe. If Tiffany intends to woo back millennial clientele, using a familiar face might ease the translation. And who knows if it will be a success, it’s not the first time a major brand has stepped down-market. And lower margins on more product can still mean more earnings. Lady Gaga and the new fashion jewelry line may be a touchdown. One thing we do know for sure: this is not your mother’s Tiffany.
