Mr. Roset confesses how tired he is of the particular experience in the jewellery industry, where “beautiful elderly couples come into a store to sell their fancy coloured diamonds bought as an investment for their retirement portfolio” and more than often the Jeweller is the bearer of the bad news.
In fact, for short term investment, fancy coloured diamonds will take a significant loss.n Although diamonds have proven to be a performing investment over a long term placement, a very long term.
Tyson Roset stresses that “With my connections and our buying program for heirloom diamonds we have seen all kinds of “investment” parcels”, and often they are non-collectible fancy color stones like a Dark Greenish Yellowish Brown with a ‘no name’ diamond certificate. After purchasing from a fly by night so called diamond wholesaler the only person left to feel their wrath is their local jewelry that was doing a free appraisal and has to explain they bought their investment for a retail price.
Tyson suggests for those in the Jewellery industry to “honestly represent the value of your goods and appraisals, give the truth about what can be expected as far as appreciation. Do not be greedy with your margins; know that one good sale leads to three referrals. Build your reputation of truth; this is the best investment you can make. Hold others accountable; confront, object and share if you see any practices that damage our industry.”
While, Tyson disapproves of Kijiji as an outlet for individual sales, as it devalues the product and is insecure in its proceedings, he recommends for sellers to try an estate counter in the store, where one can split the retail profits with zero $ investments. Or to try your friends in the industry, other jewelers in your buy groups, and also social media jeweler sites. In fact, trying your Canadian wholesaler is also a good idea, as it will be easier for shipping/duties and currencies. Lastly, an international wholesaler is always looking to clean up in these losses. There are different categories of investment. Rapaport divides into individual parcels so we can see live time effects of the supply and demand of the market of bread and butter stones. True “investment” diamonds are difficult to replace by Size, Colour, Clarity, and shape. And so it is a good idea to back up your investment with a quality diamond grading certificate and an inscription.
Tyson’s advice is to try and stay ahead of the trends and know what will be appreciated by your buyers. Ovals are reported to have done very well last year and were appreciated by over 20%, while Cushions and Princess conveyed an inverse trend. Indeed, trends for this year show an increased demand in Old Cuts, Marquise and Pears. Fancy Brown and Yellows (even with all the mystery around the Argyle mine closure) have been very soft while unique overtone diamonds (J-S colour) are on the rise. Gemstones follow the same rules of supply and demand; Morganite is becoming unexpectedly popular.
Far less profit is made from selling investments than selling romance. That is to say, a diamond will never be worth as much as it is at the moment of proposal or wedding day. Tyson confesses “We get more traffic from one good referral than 1000 commercials on YouTube. We work with the rarest commodities and there is no reason to exaggerate, although we don’t suggest to undersell yourself either”. Furthermore, he says “We all LOVE to sell but do not undervalue your products, services and especially your time. In the long term, it does not help the industry when someone is having a flash sale. Know your replacement costs, stick to what it is worth and we will all make more.”
Holding your store and your wholesalers to a higher standard is a key, which will also result in your customer’s higher confidence in you as a dependable supplier. Tyson continues by stressing how “your wholesaler should be recognized by organizations like RJO, CJA, CDCC as well as take the responsibly to verify the supply chain. We need to do more than just the Kimberly process to ensure non-conflict and have your suppliers complete a KYC form for you”. Millennial shoppers love to know the story of their jewelry and the more detailed the better!
Lastly, he suggests that every diamond wholesaler should offer a buyback program as it shows their confidence in their pricing. Any Diamond of Value should have a trustworthy grading certificate. “if I see a 2ct non-certified I am sure someone was hiding something from the uneducated customer. Do your research, Make a couple calls for one diamond; get a few quotes so you are confidently giving your best price on every call.
Diamonds do not lose value the second they leave the store. Your wholesalers should offer a return policy that accounts for buyer’s remorse as well there is a limited pool of customers in Canada for wholesalers. He finishes by saying that “there is a trend back to customer service in business as online purchases have left customers wanting more. Try to remember this quote from Les Brown “Help others achieve their dreams and you will achieve yours”. CJ
