RAPAPORT...To the Editor:
What kind of people do you hang out with? I don’t know anyone who pays $320 for jeans or $100 for T-shirts. You can go to Modell’s or L.L.Bean and get a nice pair of jeans for $50 made by Levi. I don’t know anyone who would pay more than $50 for a T-shirt, and that would be at a rock concert.
The problem is that when it comes to a diamond, it is very easy to get prices and information, whether it be online or a home shopping network. There are plenty of places for people to buy diamonds, whether it is Costco, Wal-Mart, Penney’s, the malls, mom-and-pops, etc. The romance has largely been taken out of the diamond business. Sometimes it is made up in the mounting.
On the other hand, when you are selling jewelry, you can ask for more money on a creative designer piece that can only be bought in a certain location or a second-hand antique type of item that isn’t available anywhere else.
This is the situation the way I see it on a day-to-day basis. All you have to do is go to a local jeweler and see how much easier it is to sell a wedding band than a diamond. It’s a lower-priced item and people aren’t as hung up on the measurements and pricing.
Myron Marinbach
MCM Diamond Co. Inc.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - January 2008. To subscribe click here.