6 Important Tips On Finding A Trustworthing Jeweler in NYC

Will you... ?

This post is long overdue but very much deserved and needed. 

For those who are willing to spend 250% more on a diamond from Harry Winston and Tiffany's, you can move on to the next article. And for those who care more about the size of a diamond rather than the quality (like most Americans do), you can stop reading now. You could have the money to get as big of a diamond as 3 to 6 carats from around the world, but if you wish to get a high quality diamond (minus the 250% markup) that Harry Winston sales executive would stare at and say "That's a really nice diamond ring", then keep reading.

Finding the perfect engagement ring can be stressful and challenging. While some of you might have even heard about the horrifying stories from other shoppers' experience, I would like to share with you all my personal experience and provide you the tips and insights I learned through the long process of finding the right jeweler as well as THE perfect diamond ring.


Diamond

It all started on November 2017 after my then boyfriend (now fiancé) spent months searching and learning about diamond beyond the 4Cs. Feeling defeated, he finally gave in and got me involved in searching for the right diamond as he wanted me to be completely happy with it.

We met with a handful of jewelers and looked at plenty of diamonds in NYC. It is then did I started to realize I really don't know what I'm supposed to look for in a diamond beyond the 4Cs! And the worse part? Most jewelers told me to "pick the diamond that you are drawn to". Let me tell you, if I did exactly that, I would be making a HUGE mistake, especially for most of us who know nothing about diamonds. You might as well close your eyes and randomly pick one!

I, just like most of you, understand the important of "4Cs" of a diamond's characteristics. But there are more than that in order to identify a truly great diamond. In case you didn't know, diamond prices can vary based on criteria other than the 4Cs such as "light leakage" and "light performance", which is missing (or purposely omitted) from the GIA report. In other words, just because the diamond is E color with VVS clarity, it doesn't mean it's a great diamond. That's why some diamonds with such excellent GIA grading can be a lot cheaper than others. In this post, I would like to focus on the one important aspect: the overall light performance of the diamond. 

Exhibit A: "Brilliance" or "white light return" of a diamond.

Terminology 

The commonly used terms are "Brilliance", "Fire" and "Scintillation". 

Brilliance is the white flashes/ white reflections (aka white light return) of a diamond when you tilt it in different angles. Usually seen under indoor office lighting.

Fire, however, is the rainbow color reflecting from the diamond (photo on left). It is most visible under spot light environment such as high-end restaurants! 

Scintillation is the total amount of Brilliance + Fire. 
It might sound easy to understand those terms, but trust me, you have no f-ing idea what they really mean until you see enough of diamonds in the market. It took me more than a month after looking at many diamonds to finally understand the true meaning of Brilliance, Fire and Scintillation. 


The Importance Points 

Before you start the search for the perfect diamond, it is very important to figure out what you really want from a diamond. Most girls I talked to care mostly about carat size and color rather than the overall quality and ended up getting a big but a bad quality diamond. This is a common mistake a lot of people make simply because they don't understand the importance of light performance. A good light performing diamond will get people's attention and attracts stares. And how do they notice your diamond ring you ask? Well, the constant bright flashes generate from the movement of a great diamond can really blind people's eyes. 
I remember a few years back when I was dining at WD-50 (Michelin starred restaurant for seven consecutive years but is now closed), a lady sat two tables to my right wearing a diamond ring so flashy that I couldn't help staring at it for a few seconds. That is how I realized the important of light performance. 

After getting a basic understanding of diamonds, next is finding a great and honest jeweler who won't rip you off, and you find yourself drowning in the amount of jewelers in NYC. Well, lucky for you, we have been through all that.

My fiancé had went through a few lists of "best jewelers in NYC" and narrowed down to a few after more details researching and talking to stores' representative. Here is a quick summary of why we ended up purchasing our engagement ring from ID Jewelry, a family-run business for over 30 years.

I) Knowledge on fancy cut diamond

We were looking for an Asscher Cut diamond if you haven't noticed it from the photos. From our experience, most jewelers either (1) don't have enough experience with fancy cut diamonds, so they couldn't help you find the best one or (2) they try to sell you a lesser quality diamond with a relatively higher price to make the most $ off you, so they end up not being honest about the diamond quality they show you. Since we're purchasing a larger carat size diamond, the quality difference is very noticeable.

II) Equipments/Tools

This is very important! For fancy cut diamond seekers, you need to ask for an ASET report which identify the light performance within the diamond (If a jeweler tells you ASET report is for round cut diamond, he/she is lying!). For round cut diamond seekers, ask for optic lighting report (or ideal scope report) which will tell you where the light leakage within the diamond is. Light leakage can greatly affect the diamond price!


III) Knowledge on sizing

If you think measuring your ring size is easy, you are wrong! We went to a few jewelers and each one gave me a different measurement. What you don't understand is that your fingers can expand and shrink up to one size due to temperature! Finding the correct size can save you time and money (not to mention it is very annoying to have to resize your ring!). After all, ID Jewelry is the only one who finalized on my ring size which none of the others have gotten it right.

IV) Customer service

I won't go into details as all jewelers we went to have good services and friendly sales people because they want to get our business. But Yekutiel from ID jewelry is the only one who truly cares about his customers. He assessed each diamond honestly and provided bold but honest opinions. At the time when we were looking at two high quality diamonds, he said to us "I'd love it if you pick the more expensive one because we would make more money, but in my opinion the cheaper one is a better choice for its value. That one (more expensive one) is over priced." 

That 'cheaper' diamond is THE diamond that impressed top notch jewelers like Harry Winton (see under "P.S.").

V) Prices (diamond price & ring setting price)

This is very tricky. Most jewelers claimed they have the best deal, but most of you will never find out the truth. On top of that, you can't really compare the price between different jewelers by comparing two different diamonds with the exact GIA grading. If you try to do that, you're making a mistake! Diamond price, once again, can vary due to other factors other than GIA grading. Thanks to a friend of mine who is in the jewelry industry, we're able to figure out that part of the mystery.

VI) Return Policy

Shit happens and sometimes you need to return the diamond ring even if it’s perfect (*knocking on wood*). When this occurs you would want your money back rather than store credit, which is why it's important to confirm with the jewelers about their policy (make sure it's in black and white)! 
Note: A lot of them offer a standard 30 days return policy.

As a consumer, the biggest challenge is not looking for a jeweler with the most inventory, but a jeweler with (1) reputation, (2) honesty and (3) the ability to identify and source great quality diamonds. There are way too many things to learn in diamonds, and it might take you years to be a diamond pro. Therefore having the right jeweler is crucial in find the perfect diamond ring.

We decided on our diamond with confidence and put a down payment in less than 40 minutes (don't get me wrong, those guys are not pushy at all). We have enough hard evidences to confirm the diamond quality at the best price point. Not to mention we have looked at lots of bad diamonds before coming here. Even my fiancé was completely shocked on how quick I made the decision given how picky I am!

And that ended our months long search for the perfect diamond ring! 

I hope this long article will save you time/ money and help you find the perfect diamond that you or your partner would be forever happy with and proud of!

P.S. To make sure I have a great diamond that would impressed top notch jewelers in NYC, I stopped by Harry Winston, Tiffany's, De Beers and other major jewelry stores to "look for wedding band" (the best excuse to show off your diamond ring lol). Conclusion? Harry Winston sales rep was very impressed. Tiffany's sales gave me high respect. Chopard sales thinks the diamond is too good to be true (FYI, it's very difficult to find a great Asscher cut diamond). Cartier sales was (secretly) staring at my ring, but I caught him doing that lol. And David Yurman sales kept asking me for the source (Lol, sorry but that's a secret I would only share with my loyal readers)...

To keep them out of trouble, all name are being concealed.

(Please note: All photos in this post are taken by me, except the one with me in it, so please be respectful and do not use them without my consent. Thank you.)