•KNOW YOUR LOVED ONE’S TASTE
Look at what your partner is wearing and what’s in the jewelry box. If your special someone likes small earrings, don’t get big hoops. And if that person is active, don’t buy rings with high settings, says Gizzi. Among the trends this year: updated classics like hoop earrings with diamond chips, or layering rings or bracelets. If you plan to buy diamonds, see if there’s a way—subtly!—to find out if your partner would rather sacrifice size over quality or vice versa.
•DO RESEARCH AND LEARN THE LINGO
Check out sites like Jewelers of America and online retail sites like Blue Nile for help understanding key terms like what clarity means when you are talking about diamonds, or want to know more about how gemstones are graded. Bluenile.com, which has also begun opening in-person showrooms, offers tools to compare prices from 150,000 independently graded diamonds.
•TAKE PRECAUTIONS AGAINT FRAUD
First, be cautious about a store always offering discounts of more than 50 percent. Consumers may find the discount price is actually the average retail price elsewhere, says the Jewelers of America. Buy from a trusted retailer. Ask friends for recommendations, or go to websites like the American Gem Society, which lets you search for reputable jewelry stores by ZIP code.
As for diamonds, consumers should insist a stone be accompanied by an independent grading report from a respected lab like the Gemological Institute of America, says Josh Holland, Blue Nile’s director of brand experience.
Also, check out the return policy and find out whether you’d get your money back or would have to exchange an item for credit. And haggle—it’s a common practice in the jewelry business, Glaser says.
•CONSIDER SYNTHETIC DIAMONDS
If you want something sparkly but want to avoid gems from conflict zones, synthetic or man-made diamonds are about 20 percent to 40 percent less expensive, according to DealNews. Produced in a laboratory, they are chemically the same as mined diamonds, as opposed to simulated diamonds, which are usually cubic zirconia or moissanite. Pure Grown Diamonds, the world’s largest distributor of them, has a directory on its website of stores by zip code that offer lab-grown diamonds. While a gemologist wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between mined and synthetic diamonds, a jeweler needs to tell buyers the origin.
•BE CREATIVE
Not interested in spending a lot but still want good quality? Consider estate sales. Or if you think your partner would want to try out pieces for a while, there’s a rental jewelry subscription service called Rocksbox.com. It allows shoppers to get three items per month based on their tastes, delivered to their doors. Rocksbox.com offers memberships of three months, six months and 12 months with a gift card that can be applied to a purchase. For example, a three-month gift membership plus a $10 gift card is $49. The retail price on the jewelry ranges from $50 to $150 and includes such designers as Kate Spade and Rebecca Minkoff.
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