RAPAPORT... The 4Cs are not the only things that make a piece of diamond jewelry a sales winner. In an ongoing series, RDR 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: What do you think about certificates being issued for lab-grown/synthetic diamonds?
BILL FARMER, JR. PARTNER, FARMER’S JEWELRY, LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY“I don’t stock synthetics. Never had any calls for them and don’t have any interest in stocking them.
“The American Gem Society (AGS) part of me says, ‘Yes, that’s a great disclosure. It helps consumers understand what they’re getting.’ The industry part of me says, ‘Oops, it legitimizes something that I don’t think should be legitimized.’ And I think it’s kind of a double-edged sword. Anything you can do to help the consumer be better informed, yes, that’s a good thing. On the other hand, when it’s a report delineating the different types of synthetic or lab-grown [diamonds], it further desentimentalizes the whole transaction. If you want to work with the theory that commoditization has happened to diamonds, and it’s also going to happen to synthetics and eventually to colored gemstones, then this is just the next step in that course. It adds to the perceived value that somebody else had to look at this and distinguish it. The bottom line here — what they’re telling customers — in my humble opinion, is ‘this isn’t a real diamond.’ This is not carbon atoms stacked by Mother Nature; this is a seed crystal and a growth method that is as new as their car.’
“The world’s changing so fast, I guess this is one stab of an attempt for our industry to stay caught up in that rather than be bowled over by it.
“I think certificates are a crutch. It’s a third-party verification, even though they [consumers] don’t know who that third party is. It’s still a game of who do you trust; you’ve just changed some of the partners a little bit.”
WILLIAM G. UNDERWOOD, CHAIRMAN, UNDERWOOD’S JEWELERS, FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS“I don’t see any problem with that as long as the report says what it is and people understand that it is lab grown and it is a synthetic or whatever they want to call it, but it’s not the same as a real diamond. It’s like with any other synthetic stone. If somebody decides they’d rather have a lab-grown stone and would like to have a report with it, as long as it says it’s lab grown or there’s nothing on there that’s misleading in any way, I think that’s fine.
“The main trouble with most of the documents or reports or certificates, or whatever, is that they don’t really give you enough information to make a buying decision. My opinion about reports and certificates is that they are not the whole story. They need some interpretation. And so, in that regard, they have limited use.”
ED MENK, OWNER, E.L. MENK JEWELERS, BRAINERD, MINNESOTA“I sell both natural color and synthetic, lab-grown color. Both of them have their place in today’s society. Having a lab issue a report probably is a good thing to stop the unethical handling of these stones. It boils down to an ethics issue. As long as it’s known as a synthetic, lab-grown diamond, I have no problems with a lab issuing a report. It puts the unscrupulous dealers on notice that if the customer buys a stone and thinks it’s natural, the lab is going to tell them it’s not.
“I’ve sold a number of the brand name Chatham Created stones and it’s not whether it has a report or not in my customer’s opinion. Now the reason is, perhaps, because they have confidence is me.
“Not everybody can afford a Cadillac or a Mercedes or a Rolls-Royce. The synthetic has its place. If the consumer develops a taste for colored diamonds and has a positive experience buying the lab grown, when their pocketbook grows to the point where they can afford a natural stone, they’re going to buy that natural.
“I’m not advocating everybody goes out and throws a big stock of synthetic yellows or greens or blues into their inventory, but being capable of ethically showing their customers a pretty stone, I have no problem with it.”
CATHY CALHOUN, OWNER, CALHOUN JEWELERS, ROYERSFORD, PENNSYLVANIA“Here’s my answer. I don’t have one laboratory or synthetic diamond in the store. I don’t like them. I don’t want them. I don’t take them in to work on them. They can do all the lab reports on them they want to; I’m not interested. I don’t carry any synthetic colored stones. To me, if it’s not natural, why would I spend the money putting it in a beautiful mounting. I don’t even like the whole idea. The only thing I carry here would be cultured pearls. Otherwise, I’m not going there. I wouldn’t even spend the money for a lab report on a synthetic diamond.
“For natural diamonds, lab reports do make a difference. Anything I have over half a carat, I do have an American Gem Society (AGS) cert on it. I think it’s important. Maybe not to most of the customers who come in here, but it’s just one more thing and it makes our store and our employees feel better.”
GARY LITTMAN, CO-OWNER, GARY MICHAELS FINE JEWELRY, MANALAPAN, NEW JERSEY“It’s probably a good idea that Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the other labs start issuing reports. I don’t think a lot of jewelers carry synthetics, and they don’t carry them because there’s not a lot of demand for the synthetics yet. But it’s a proactive step and, this way, there’s no confusion. It seems that everything now is sold with a report.
“The report does give synthetics more validity as opposed to not having a report. In my mind, it has the same validity that we use it for with natural goods. I think any time you sell a diamond for an engagement ring, it should have a report. Although, if you have a pair of half carats that you sell for $799, I don’t know that it’s necessary to have a report for a synthetic, as long as you divulge that it’s a synthetic.”
TOM HART, OWNER, HART JEWELERS, GRANTS PASS, OREGON“We don’t stock synthetics and the fact that they’re going to have reports wouldn’t make me stock them. I’m not sure why it would be necessary, but I guess for people who do sell them, it might be a benefit.
“In our area, certificates aren’t that important. We very seldom have people who want a certificate with their diamonds. Our customers aren’t asking for lab grown.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - February 2007. To subscribe click here.