The Truth on All Accounts
In this issue of DT Era we uncover the truth, the principles and the facts behind buying diamond jewelry. In our analysis of a cross section of the market, we uncovered the existence of a great deal of misinformation about diamond jewelry, and not so much about the buying process itself, but more so about post-purchase and what to expect after you become an owner of a beautiful diamond ring, necklace, bracelet or a pair of diamond earrings. In this issue we intend to clear up any misunderstandings you may have had and make you better aware of all the facts we feel you need to have when considering the purchase of any piece of diamond jewelry.
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We start our analysis with a designer diamond wedding ring (pictured above), produced in 18K white and pink gold with a total of 17 diamonds and a total diamond weight (TDW) of 0.14 carats. “Like many of our other Italian designs, this diamond wedding ring is truly a remarkable four-part design that captures a component of every jewelry movement from the 21st century – 18K white and pink gold, round brilliant diamonds, eye-burning fire and scintillation as defined by the GIA and a 100% natural, treatment-free stone creation method”, says Boris E., Encore DT’s President of Global Sourcing. We have literally received orders for this ring from everywhere starting with California to Florida, several countries in Asia and, on a regular basis, from countries in the European Union. “However”, he adds, “for the purposes of this specific issue of DT Era we must examine the facts associated with post-purchase and what to expect one, two and five years after becoming an owner of this or any other piece of diamond jewelry”.
Given the fact that most women treat their wedding bands as part of their everyday jewelry collection, it will be subject to certain types of everyday wear and tear – scratches from cleaning, cooking, scrubbing the dishes or any other form of ‘rough work’. In addition, subjecting your diamond jewelry to common household chemicals, including but not limited to oils and creams, cleaning supplies and hair products causes buildup that will reduce the fire and scintillation (sparkle) of the diamonds and underlying metals of the jewelry (gold, rhodium plating on white gold, etc…). And finally, the settings that secure the diamonds in place will loosen over time, which must be addressed in a timely fashion in order to keep the diamonds from falling out.
Diamond Jewelry – So What’s the Bottom Line?
“When it comes to diamond jewelry, in educating our customers I like to use the analogy of car maintenance”, says Joseph D., Encore DT’s Director of Call Center Operations. “Just like you change your oil every 3,000-10,000 miles, depending on which type of oil your car uses and how much you drive, so should you take your diamond jewelry to a professional jeweler every 6-24 months, depending on how often you wear it”, he adds. “And finally, just like you wash your car every so often, your diamond jewelry needs to be gently cleaned and polished to maintain its brilliance and overall aesthetic appearance”. “The main issue we’re addressing here”, says Boris E., Encore DT’s President of Global Sourcing, “is that our customers frequently inquire about and purchase diamond jewelry without realizing the existence of the maintenance component, which is necessary to keep your diamond jewelry looking its absolute best.”
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“The Italian diamond earrings pictured above”, Boris adds, “feature 18K white and pink gold with 26 total diamonds and 0.22 carats of total diamond weight. When you see these earrings on a woman’s ear, they are uncompromisingly astounding, but try wearing them or any other piece of diamond jewelry on a regular basis for 2-3 years without a single cleaning, polishing and/or physical inspection, and all of these qualities will surely be compromised”.
A Special Note on Diamond Necklaces
“From a production standpoint, we do everything we can to maximize the versatility of all the diamond jewelry we sell”, says Michael A., EncoreDT’s President of Operations. “However”, he adds, “in the context of jewelry, as a rule of thumb, higher quality generally means higher fragility. 18K gold (75% gold), for example, is significantly more fragile than 14K gold, which is really only 50% gold with the rest being other metals, such as silver and copper, but our customers almost invariably go for the higher quality, and why wouldn’t they? They want the best for themselves no less than we want the best for them. We often repeat a comment one of our customers made to a call center rep at the office, ‘If I wanted silver, I’d get silver. If I wanted copper, I’d become a plumber. I want gold!'”.
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We produce the above-pictured 18K white gold designer diamond necklace in Via Ca’, Italy. It’s a three-strand necklace with 8.8 grams of gold, 6 diamonds and a total diamond weight of 0.28 carats. “Now imagine wearing this necklace on a regular basis”, says Michael. “Necklaces are especially prone to wear and tear because they absorb all of the body oils and sweat resulting from daily circumstances. Now, armed with all of the information we presented, try to envision wearing this necklace on a regular basis for one year. It will certainly need some TLC”.
A Final Word About Diamond Jewelry
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As we often say in many issues of DT Era that we publish, the main reason we offer over 4,000 styles of diamond jewelry for our customers to choose from is that no two tastes are exactly alike. We want each of our customers to have the ability to discover a style that completes their look to their satisfaction and meets or exceeds their style and design expectations every time. And with this goal, we hope that this issue of DT Era helped shed some light on the reality of owning diamond jewelry, with all of the privileges and responsibilities that it entails.
Copyright © 2013 Encore DT Co., All rights reserved. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced without the expressed written permission from Encore DT.
