General
Why are some ring quotes higher than others? Part 1 – Comparing Apples to Apples
Jun
Comparing Apples to Apples
When you asked Laurie Sarah and another jeweler to give you a quote on your dream ring, they both came back with very different quotes. Why? Don’t assume that both jewelers quoted apples to apples. Check out this real life example shared by one of our clients who was shocked that Laurie Sarah was “almost twice as much” as the other guy. We asked her to send us what she was quoted to make sure that she was comparing Apples to Apples.
What we at laurie sarah quoted:
- Size of the center stone – 2.20 carats
- Quality of the center stone – Excellent, gem quality
- Number of diamond side stones – 28, full cut
- Carat weight of the diamonds: .38 carats
- Quality of the diamonds – average G in color, SI1 in clarity (white and clean)
- Grams of 14k gold – 5
What they quoted:
- Size of their center stone – .70 carats (less than 2/3 of what we quoted)
- Quality of their stone – none given, leaving the possibility open for a bad quality gem
- Number of diamond side stones – not specified, full cut not specified. Why is this so important? If they are only going to use 20 diamonds instead of the 28 we quoted our client with, that means far less diamonds, and also far less labor, thus giving a good indication of why their quote was so much lower.
- Carat weight of their diamonds – .20 carats (that’s HALF of the carat weight we quoted! No wonder theirs was so much cheaper – they are using itty bitty diamonds rather than our nice sized sparkly ones.
- Grams of gold – again not specified. If they use less than the 5 grams we recommended, this bride’s engagement ring might be a much thinner ring, more prone to bend and break later. We don’t skimp on our gold.
From this example, was the other jeweler really cheaper? Not at all! With their quote, everything was much less, and since quality and amounts are not specified in many areas, you actually have no idea what you’ll be getting, leaving you open for disappointment when your “cheaper” ring arrives.
But what about if the other jeweler is quoting Apples to Apples and really is less expensive? What other factors should be considered besides just the price?
Part 2:
