GIA & AGS Diamonds

Our store has a certain “personality” which needs to be kept intact as we grow. This “personality” includes being a store where one can get good value, not in a mall selling lower quality at over-inflated prices with false discounts; a place where customers feel like family and come to trust us. We are honest. we give honest prices and honest deals. We have fine quality merchandise. We grade our diamonds accurately and have a large selection of quality diamonds with GIA and AGS certificates.

One of the purposes for this business is to make the jewelry trade more ethical. We are working also on a program to put a stop to, or at least make it uncomfortable for, lying in the marketplace on diamond grades. In order to do that, our business practices in the area of truthful diamond grades and prices must be the best.

Therefore, the following guidelines MUST BE FOLLOWED:

1. When purchasing diamonds, be very selective. Be very careful to grade them properly before you buy. Keep an eye out for GIA and AGS certifiable diamonds and keep in mind that we want to maintain full inventory of GIA and AGS certified diamonds, so always be on the lookout for good deals on certifiable diamonds. The policy entitled “Buying Diamonds” should be known and applied to any diamond purchase.
2. When selling GIA and AGS certified diamonds stay very close to Rapp. Don’t get greedy and go way above minimum.
3. When selling non-certified diamonds, don’t put any grade on the invoice. Do not give a grade to the customer. Customers who “shop around” will find a better deal because our stone grades are honest and others lie. If the competition claims a stone is SI1 G, it is probably an I1 J. So… our price sounds higher. Sell the beauty, value, ect. If the customer insists that you give a grade, be absolutely sure of the accuracy before saying anything, and then be sure to prime the customer that we WILL certify it if they want and guarantee the grade, or we will change our price to reflect the lesser grade. NO ONE else will do that for a customer.
4. Do not give any prices or grades over the phone.
5. If a stone in our inventory does not have a grade on it, it is probably because it is an I1/I2, or worse than K color. It is best not to use these grades as NO ONE else does. They call everything SI or GHI or “specials”. So, the I1’s and the low colors should be called just that: UNGRADED SPECIALS.
6. When you sell a certified stone, be sure to write its certificate number on the invoice as well as the grade of the stone.
7. Whenever you pull a certificate out, for any reason, please PUT IT BACK! The certificates have been organized to make them easier to locate. They will stay that way ONLY if you put them back in the proper order.