Alexis offers tips on buying diamonds and jewelry
When buying jewelry, it is essential to know where it’s bought in the first place. One should have a certain level of comfort and trust in the jeweler — since trust is something money can’t buy.
With 30 years of retail experience, Alexis is the only jeweler that still manufactures its own in- house 18K fine jewelry collection and has ready inventory and resources to offer clients a wide assortment of diamonds and/ or colored stones depending upon their discriminating demands and requests.
“When buying any jewelry or diamonds for that matter, look first at the 4Cs rather than price,” says John Ortiga, managing director of Alexis. The 4Cs are broken down into cut, color, clarity and carat weight. “Together, the 4Cs determine a diamond’s value. No two diamonds are ever alike. For some, the carat weight is more important, while for others it is the cut. Both are perfectly okay, there is no right or wrong answer to this, but ultimately it all depends on the personal preference of the consumer.”
Cut, which refers to the various facets within a diamond, should clearly not be confused with shape — such as round, marquise, oval, princess ( square), etc. With regard to color, grading begins at D; the deeper into the alphabet one goes, the poorer the color. The more color a diamond has obviously means the stone is less desirable but not worthless.
Clarity refers to the presence of — or lack of — imperfections/ impurities called inclusions. Clarity is graded on a scale ranging from flawless to imperfect. The final C is carat weight, which most people believe refers to the size of a diamond, but in actuality, carat is the term used to measure a dia- mond’s weight. The larger the diamond, the greater its rarity, hence these generally have a greater value per carat as well.
“Look for the carat mark, which will tell you what percentage of pure gold is contained within your jewelry piece,” adds John. “Oftentimes, gold is alloyed with other metals, such as copper, silver, nickel and zinc to give it added strength and durability. For instance, 18K gold contains 75 percent gold, which is what clients can actually expect from every Alexis product. We do not cater to jewelry pieces of lower carat size since we believe this is our competitive advantage against the other jewelers and the rest of our competitors.
“We try to offer something unique, different and definitely value for money,” adds John. “Jewelry should be designed as a portable art while at the same time it’s an investment because you can take it with you anywhere you go.”
It is also important to have confidence in your jeweler. Alexis treats every jewelry piece with the highest ethical standards in the market today and provides their staff with ongoing education and training to adapt to modern times.
“I think it’s the ability to constantly look for and manufacture new styles, trends and demands, to weather unforeseen challenges ahead while being profitable at the same time,” adds John. “At Alexis, offering something unique yet affordable and inexpensive is our main goal.”
Alexis has branches at SM Megamall A, Mandaluyong City, 633- 7035; ground floor, main building, SM City North EDSA, QC, 927- 9749; ground floor, Midtown Wing, Robinson’s Place, Malate, Manila, 567- 1983; ground floor, Greenbelt 1, Ayala Center, Makati City, 897- 3794; second floor, main mall, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City, 556- 0078; second floor, Robinson’s Galleria, QC, 632- 9895; and on the ground floor, Glorietta 1, Ayala Center, Makati City, 542- 5418.