Lowest Price – GIA Diamonds.
Many internet shoppers are under the mistaken belief that buying a GIA certified diamond on the internet is similar to purchasing a flat screen TV. Simple, You just find the model number that you want. Then you go to the internet and you buy it for less.
In the case of a diamond, one might figure out the size, the shape and the GIA parameters that they want. Let’s say in this case, a 2.00 carat round diamond, GIA “H” color, “SI1” clarity. Simple. We go to the internet and buy it at the lowest price.
Stop right there.
A diamond is not a flat screen TV. The GIA diamond certification report is not the same as a model number. The specifications of a TV are identical. There are thousands if not millions of the same TV made to factory specifications. Diamonds are different. A diamond is a creation of nature. Each one is unique. A GIA grading report attempts to describe a diamond like I may attempt to describe a beautiful woman. It is very hard to do without seeing the woman – or the diamond.
The point of this is that diamonds with similar specifications on a GIA grading report are not similar diamonds. There can be (and usually are) significant pricing differentials between two diamonds with similar GIA grading reports. 
And more importantly, one diamond will be significantly more beautiful than the lesser priced diamond.
Pictured below are six diamonds listed for sale on a leading internet diamond site. Each of the six diamonds weighs approximately 2.00 carats (Actual weights range from 2.01 to 2.09 carats). Each of the diamonds is graded by GIA as “H” color, “SI1” clarity. The prices for these diamonds ranges from $13,247.00 to $26,131.00. YES! One diamond is 50% “cheaper” than another. Inversely, one diamond is 100% more than the other!
And you are on the internet in search of the best price. Or is it the lowest price? Best price for what? Lowest price for what?
As a diamond merchant with more than 40 years of experience (and two generations before me!), I understand what a diamond is. It is about something beautiful. Beauty is about the brilliance and sparkle and scintillation. Low price is about a price point.
In recent years there has been a divergence within the diamond industry – sort of a “fork in the road”. There are many diamond companies that are marketing diamonds specifically for the internet. The diamonds that they sell via the internet are inferior to those that are sold in the traditional manner – to be sold via retail jewelry stores. It is the difference between the beautiful GIA H/SI1 diamond and that of the diamond that is marketed solely based on “price-point” for the internet buyer who believes he has figured out the world.
The difference is, in the “old” days, people looked at diamonds in a jewelry store with their eyes and a jewelers magnifying loupe. They were truly buying a diamond and not just a diamond grading report!.
Take a look at the info for the six diamonds featured below. These are just a random sample of different price ranges that I found.
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When looking at each of the diamonds described above, one must recognize that the pictures are fake and are all identical. These photos are not representative of the diamond in any way and, in fact, give the illusion that the diamonds are gem quality which they are not!
With regard to the diamonds listed above I know for a fact that it is not possible to purchase a “nice” 2 carat round diamond with these GIA specifications on the wholesale market within the price of the first three listings.
If I was buying a diamond for my wholesale business it would most likely be one of the three more expensive diamonds. I believe that a diamond is supposed to be something beautiful. These diamonds may be beautiful diamonds – although, even with the info provided on the GIA report, it is still necessary to SEE the diamond. The listed specifications of these diamonds provides no information with regard to the nature and location of the inclusions and, in reality, provides little insight to the overall beauty of the diamond.
One thing that I do know is that there are reasons why the cheap diamonds are cheap. It may be the make. It may be the type and location of the inclusion. Perhaps there is a color tinge. Perhaps there is a “cloud”. There are many factors that effects the overall sparkle and scintillation that makes a diamond special!
Low price is just that. It is low price. It is not a factor of value. Value, on the other hand, is a reasonable price for a Renoir – despite the fact that it may be tens of millions of dollars.
Neil Reiff