The nitty-gritty of diamond purchases

With gold, buying is a fairly straight forward process. Buy when price movements are relatively less volatile and keep well away when they are. With diamonds, buying requires a lot more forethought.

“The first plan is to decide the purpose of the buy — whether it’s as an investment, for fashion or a combination of both,” said Pankti Shah, Chief Operating Officer at N. Gopaldaas Jewellers. “Then take a few minutes to understand the basic characteristics — the four Cs — of the diamond. And if you don’t want to know about the diamonds, at least know the jeweller. Ask the jeweller to commit to what he is selling in the form of a document, either as a bill or as a certificate. And retain the documents as long as you retain the jewellery.”

In the UAE, jewellery retailers are going out of their way to push diamond’s prospects vis-a-vis gold’s. For instance, Bafleh is offering a 30-day return policy, including 100 per cent cash return.

“It’s a normal trend in market that jewellers do not buy back or trade-in diamond jewellery, and that’s why customers don’t consider diamond as a investment option,” said Chirag Vora of Bafleh.

“Even after the 30 days, we do refunds after deducting 15 per cent of the total value. After one year, we offer cash back or exchange for a deduction of 25 per cent or as per the market price (whichever is higher at that time).

“It’s been observed that jewellers just put a lump sum amount or tag price for the diamond jewellery. Productwise detailed pricing is not offered in most shops. We are offering complete details in the prices or bifurcation of the jewellery such as the price for the gold and diamond components and also the making charges.”