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Advices on buying diamonds and rings
- What kind of advice do you have for shoppers who are buying a diamond for the first time?
Do your homework, read tutorials and stay away from anything too good to be true!
- What is the benefit of shopping diamonds and jewellery online?
Obviously, price is a big issue but where else can you look through 50,000 individually certified diamonds? A diamond of similar proportion is going to look and act the same way regardless of whether you see it before purchasing or after purchasing. Customers call us for advice and opinion.
- What are the current trends for engagement rings that you are seeing?
Platinum accounts for 70% of all of our engagement business. Our recent partnership with Platinum Guild International has proven to be a huge success. Customers understand the Pure, Rare, Eternal message. Pure - Platinum's purity endows it with a natural white luster. It allows for the true radiance of a diamond or gemstone. It also has hypoallergenic properties unlike gold. Platinum is Rare - All of our Platinum is 95% pure. It is 30 times rarer than gold. Platinum is Eternal - Platinum's strength is well known. A ring will become an heirloom. Something to be handed down through the generations.
- What are the current trends for the design of wedding bands?
It's funny, every few years we see hundreds of new styles come through. Designers push their "new and improved". They tend not to last. At some point in the cycle, consumers always come back to the basics.
About your company, Union Diamond
- What kind of a return / exchange policy do you have?
100%, no questions asked, 30 day return policy. Even includes shipping & handling!
- What kind of lab certificates do you usually offer with your diamonds?
We are pleased to offer laboratory grading reports from the GIA (Gemological Institute of America), AGS (American Gem Society) and EGL (European Gemological Laboratory).
- What are the safeguards in place to protect the consumer and your company, in case of an accidental loss, or fraud?
All of our packages are shipped securely and fully insured until the customer receives the package. With over $25,000,000.00 in credit card transactions alone, we have NEVER had a chargeback. We are the ONLY online jeweller to offer a $50,000.00 dishonesty bond underwritten by a subsidiary of CNA insurance. While we would like to think that it could never happen, we cannot guarantee that an employee could intentionally or accidentally switch a stone. We have many checks and balances but we have chosen to bond ourselves in the amount of $50,000.00 for the protection of all consumers. Those customers purchasing over $50,000.00 can request a separate rider for that purchase and we are happy to oblige.
- Many of our audience are in the market for engagement rings. Do you ship loose diamonds to your customers for inspection, before you put the diamond into a ring setting? If so, how would the whole process work?
We tried it in the past and quite frankly it does not work. We find that a 30 day, 100%, no questions asked return policy seems to work better. That way a customer can have a full 30 days to evaluate the purchase.
We also counsel our customers on the word "inspection". One of the biggest problems online today are rogue appraisers/jewellers. Customers go out of their way to educate themselves. They choose a laboratory certificate because they believe in the validity and grading process. When they receive a diamond, they take it to a jeweller/appraiser who knocks the diamond (every time we have ever had a customer take it to a jeweller/appraiser this has happened). In about five minutes they take away a consumers confidence using old tricks and scare tactics. They tell a consumer that the G color diamond graded by the GIA is actually an H or I. They don't use master grading samples, they can just tell! Sometimes they put a diamond under a scope and turn it up to 50 x magnifications to show an otherwise invisible inclusion and claim that it will affect the diamond. The reason for this is that a consumer can return the diamond and the "good guy" jeweller/appraiser will then sell the consumer a diamond without even a second look.
That is the most difficult thing in the internet business.
- Do you have a phone number that consumers can call?
Customers can call toll-free : 800-325-1251, 866-319-9155 or call collect on 770-434-1251.
- Do you have a physical retail location in the U.S.?
We have a showroom in Atlanta, GA as well as offices for the internet business.
- What sets your company apart from other online retailers?
With such a selection, we have no interest in "selling" a diamond. We match the diamond with the consumer. The consumer dictates what they want and we use our years of experience to accommodate. That's one of the reasons our return rate is less than 0.5%. Our commitment is to 100% customer satisfaction and we don't just pay it lip service.
We have been recognized in Forbes Magazine's annual 'Best of the Web'.
To find out more about Union Diamond, please visit www.uniondiamond.com
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