We have all seen the commercials, exclusive designs by this, so called, well known designer featured at our stores only. Enjoy the richness of cognac colored diamonds in this exclusive line of jewelry only at our stores. Every ___ begins with our company name, and so on. Want to know the truth about corporate jewelry stores? Want to see behind the curtain and see the reality of value or lack thereof? Get ready because here we go.
Nationally Branded jewelry stores are based on large investments in marketing to reach the largest number of people and sell them on merchandise that, in and of themselves, are only worth pennies on the dollar of the retail sale price. These national brands rely on large profit margins from inferior products to bank roll their marketing campaigns. Thus leaving you, the consumer with less than desirable product at an incredibly high price.
I see this almost every day, a young man or woman will come into Regent Jewelers needing to sell either an engagement ring or another piece of jewelry which was purchased at a national brand jewelry store for far more than it would ever be worth. I examine the jewelry, I use my microscope, my loupe, and other gemological test equipment and give them the bad news. They spent way too much for something which is not only low quality, but at times completely unsellable outside the high pressure, high markup world of branded jewelry stores. Many times they have been sold a diamond ring in which the center stone is very low quality and in which the total weight of the ring has been used to determine the value. Placing an inordinate amount of value on very tiny diamonds which just isn’t there. You will see the ads for a two carat diamond ring for $3,000.00 Wow! That sounds great! When you get there, you will be inundated by an overwhelming amount of choices and you will see the 2 carat ring. What they will gloss over and you should be very keen on establishing is the weight of the center diamond. This center diamond is where the actual value resides. They will show you a two carat ring in which the center diamond is less than half a carat and the rest of the diamond weight is in 100 small diamonds of very bad quality.
Another scheme to attract buyers is to produce their own exclusive product line which features some very well known designer line which they control exclusively. This further creates the opportunity for the large branded stores to sell low quality, mass produced jewelry under the guise of exclusivity. Most of the designs sold under this scheme are not original or exclusive and are almost always manufactured in mass with low quality goods and poor workmanship. True original pieces are a thing of beauty and can be well crafted and executed with the finest of gems and materials. Regent Jewelers always uses the best GIA and AGL graded gemstones to create original pieces for you, our clients.
At Regent Jewelers we have over 50 years of combined experience in this business. Between us we have seen almost everything and have resolved to stay true to ourselves and treat you, our clients, with respect, honesty and an almost insane amount of attention to detail. We pride ourselves in approaching this industry with an honest love for its traditions, craftmanship and beauty. When you shop at our store you will see our collection of estate and designer jewelry and be able to select among those or design your own jewelry with our help.
When you choose a local jewelry store like Regent Jewelers you not only select quality, you select to purchase from people who will be here in the future to help you sell your jewelry and who stand behind what we sell.
