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Retail Rap
By Phyllis Schiller
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| Gumuchian |
The 4Cs are not the only things that make a piece of diamond jewelry a sales winner. In an ongoing series, Rapaport Magazine explores the “3Ws” — what’s selling, what’s not and why — by going straight to the people who really know — jewelry retailers. Each month, we ask a sampling of retailers to comment on the important issues that are facing the industry today. Here is what they had to say when asked: “If a stone has a Gemological Institute of America (GIA) cert, does it give customers more confidence to buy? Do you consider GIA a ‘brand’ that consumers recognize?”
“Yes, it does. And I would say yes to it being a brand, absolutely. These days, 50 percent of customers come in asking if the diamond they’re looking at has a GIA report and 50 percent of the time we suggest it, we promote it.
“It’s a very helpful tool. We also are proponents of the GemEx system. We use GIA Grading Reports and GemEx Light Performance Analysis Reports in combination. We use them very successfully together.”
“I think whenever you’re speaking to a high-end customer who has the higher purchasing capability, a cert allows you to justify the price of nicer cut diamonds. Because of that, customers do appreciate some aspects of the GIA cert. Typically, we educate customers to the value of a cert.”
“We sell Hearts on Fire and we do incredibly well with them. And they supply us with either American Gem Society (AGS) or GIA certificates. I would say a cert is a small tool that’s useful in analyzing the cut grade, especially with Hearts on Fire or an ideal cut stone. My nonHearts on Fire diamonds have GIA, EGL or AGS certs.
“With consumers who are doing some online research, GIA is definitely the number-one lab cert they ask about. But the cert is not our number-one focus. When you’re selling finer diamonds, you focus on the beauty of the diamond. If you get too technical, it confuses people. Jewelry is still an emotional purchase.”
“A cert can be a selling tool, depending on the customer. Probably 50 percent of the diamonds we sell are certed and we use either AGS or GIA. I don’t think consumers think of it as a brand, but if they shop the internet, they look for certs. At our store, we educate our customers and let them know that GIA is a great cert, but they don’t sell diamonds, they’re grading them. I don’t think certs are the main thing for most of my customers. We show them the quality difference and that if AGS or GIA say it’s that quality, then it is. But with other grading systems or independent graders, you can’t always depend on it to be true.
“While certs are beneficial, we show customers the difference between two stones, under a scope and under a color light, so they can make an educated decision. To me, it’s much more important to have education.”
“Our clientele is definitely heavily weighted toward Millennials, Generation Xers and young people. The first thing they do before they do anything is go online, and if you spend any time online, you can see that it says that GIA is definitely the way to go. So many of them do come in saying, ‘GIA is the best.’ But there are many other certs out there and no two certs are based on the same grading, so we do have to explain to them why an EGL cert on the one hand and a GIA cert on the other can say something different about a diamond.
“A GIA cert definitely helps. It’s a badge of some kind for the people who have done their due diligence, which is the vast majority of customers in our stores. For us, it’s a plus.”
“I think almost all stones should be accompanied by a GIA cert or an American Gem Society cert, followed by an EGL cert. Consumers don’t necessarily see GIA as a brand name but it’s getting close to that. There’s a pretty good understanding that the GIA guarantees that the stone is going to be correct as far as its grading goes.
“Most people who are shopping for a diamond now, at least here in the Bay area, do demand a cert. We rarely sell a stone — unless it’s an antique stone — that is not accompanied by certification. When people are spending a good amount of money on a diamond, they want to be sure it is what it is. I’m a graduate gemologist, but I don’t believe that a jeweler’s appraisal is going to suffice for most people. They’re going to need the lab document as well.”
“Yes, I think having a GIA or AGS cert makes a tremendous difference. We do have people coming in and asking specifically for a GIA cert. You do have to educate them a little bit. I always say when we’re buying diamonds, we’re not buying the paper. We always look at the diamond itself first, before we even consider the cert. But that being said, in 99 percent of the cases, the GIA cert is going to be exactly what the diamond is. It adds credibility and helps seal the sale at the end of the day.”
“A cert is very important. I would say customers do recognize GIA as a brand. They may not understand completely what it is but they’ve heard of GIA. Once we educate customers about diamonds and the different qualities, cut especially, the cert helps give them confidence that the diamond is that quality because it’s not just our word but that of an independent laboratory.
“But what also helps is the partnership we as sellers of diamonds have with GIA. We have confidence in them. Another good certificate is the American Gem Society cert. Those are the two we use — GIA, 90 percent of the time and then AGS as well.”Article from the Rapaport Magazine - April 2014. To subscribe click here.
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