At James Free Jewelers, we love diamonds, but we love getting our customers just the right diamonds they’re looking for even more. Over the years, we’ve met a number of wonderful customers who came to us after bad experiences with other jewelers.

Many of these experiences could have been avoided by knowing a few simple warning signs to look for when searching for the perfect diamond.

No Diamond Guarantee

Serious jewelers will guarantee all of their buyers’ purchases. This shows confidence in the jeweler’s diamonds and a dedication to customer service and satisfaction. Any jeweler who refuses to make a guarantee on a purchase either does not trust his diamonds or does not trust you, the buyer, and there is no more disrespectful type of customer service than a lack of trust in a customer.

At James Free Jewelers, we offer a full 30-day money back guarantee and 90-day price protection on all of our diamonds. That’s because we know that when you purchase a diamond, you deserve the assurance that you’ve purchased just the right diamond at just the right price.

Assumptions on Quality

Not all diamonds are created equal.  If a jeweler tells you, “All of our diamonds are of the same quality,” we recommend finding the nearest exit. Two diamonds may have the same color and clarity, but an incorrect cut can make a perfect diamond… lifeless. It is the cut that determines the beauty and brilliance of a diamond. Remember that the right cut can make a difference by as much as 50% for a specific color and clarity grade.

Unless your diamond specialist can make quality guarantees and provide certifications of a diamond’s quality, we recommend finding another specialist.

Online “Diamond Warehouses”

Companies that sell diamonds online do not stock those diamonds. They gather diamond lists from other companies and post these diamonds to their website. That means that these purported diamond “experts” do not own and have often never even seen the diamonds they are offering you. It is impossible to tell if a diamond is well-cut simply by analyzing the depth and table percentages online. You must look at each diamond individually, under magnification, to judge for yourself.

Websites also compete on price, which means that the finest diamonds are generally not available for purchase online.  We list many of our pieces online for customers to browse, but to see our greatest treasures, we encourage you to come into our stores.

Those are just three easily avoided mistakes that first-time diamond buyers make. To learn more about how to buy a better diamond, visit our diamond buying guide.