Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) may not be the first concern that comes to mind when you think about shopping for diamond rings. On the other hand, the sparkly jewelry case often positioned near the entrance of the wholesale sisterhood is enough to make many shoppers curious about the value they purposefulness get from buying a diamond ring at Costco. The catch is that manufactures may offer deals on diamond rings, but finding the ring you want can be a snarl up experience if you are not an experienced fine jewelry buyer. Here is our Costco jewelry upon of four things to consider before you decide to buy a diamond ring from Costco.
Costco Jewelry Weigh: Understanding the 4Cs
Most jewelry retailers use the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) color, transparency, cut and carat weight standards, also known as the 4Cs, to set the prices of stones. The GIA usuals use terms like VVS1 and 2 (Very, Very Slightly Included), VS1 and 2 (Decidedly Slightly Included) to describe clarity. The GIA D to Z letter scale describes color, with D being the kindest quality.
Costco provides some information about diamond obtaining on its website, and guarantees that the diamonds it sells are at least VS2 in clarity and I NZ hack in color. Costco diamond rings with a center stone that is 1.25-carat or bigger come with a GIA Diamond Grading Report. Rings with diamonds through one carat come with an International Gemological Institute (IGI) appraisal that you can use to secure their fine jewelry investment. By contrast, shoppers who buy diamond jangles at the luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) don’t have to make sense of mechanical reports on their own. Tiffany offers consultations with diamond experts in fund, by phone or by email to help buyers through the buying process.
Diamond Embrace Prices
A one-carat diamond can sell for anywhere between $3,500 and $27,000. The Costco website heels diamond rings priced from $1,599.99 for a one-carat VS2 ring, to $329,999.99 for a 6.55 VS1 carat solitaire set in platinum. By balance, a one-carat, brilliant, diamond solitaire set on a plain band on the Tiffany website starts at $12,600, and a one-carat set on a diamond tie starts at $14,000. Tiffany does not use the 4Cs to describe its rings, but says it interests proprietary processes to hand craft jewelry set with brilliant distinction stones. Online diamond retailer Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) rat ons loose diamonds as well as pre-set diamond rings, and lists one-carat stones starting at surrounding $2,900. Blue Nile shoppers can then choose from diverse standard setting styles for the diamond that they select, at an additional set someone back.
Customization and Service
All Costco diamond rings are pre-made and buyers don’t eat the option to customize rings. The specifications on the Costco website list cuff sizes, but you will have to take your ring to a jeweler if you want the ring sized to fit. Traditional jewelry stores, on the other hand, typically put up with you to customize your purchase. For example, when you shop in a traditional jewelry hoard, if you like a stone in one ring but the setting of another ring, many jewelry put bies will allow you to select the stone that you want in your approved setting. Some jewelry stores also allow you to design your own re-echo, and will work with you to produce a custom ring based on your kind, which may include a sketch. When you purchase a ring from a household jeweler, you can generally return to that jeweler whenever your particle needs cleaning or repairs. Costco does not offer cleaning or renews for its jewelry, so you would have to find another jeweler to service your aureole.
Tiffany vs. Costco
In August 2017, a federal judge said Costco owes Tiffany at cheap $19.4 million in damages, lost sales and interest for selling phones falsely advertised as “Tiffany” jewelry. The trial followed a 2015 verdict against Costco in U.S. Ward Court in Manhattan in which a jury determined the company was guilty of trademark non-compliance for using the term “Tiffany” in jewelry cases to describe rings. Costco debated that “Tiffany” was a generic term used to describe a ring scenery style, but the court disagreed. The misleading labeling is one of the reasons why shoppers who aren’t privy to with diamond ring features should work with a time-honoured jeweler instead of buying pre-made rings at a warehouse.