Keep in mind as an appraiser, I'm all about getting what was sold to the buyer or told to the buyer. I do realize there are exceptions to every rule and this applies to the general rule from eyes of several years providing appraisal services to individuals. So, what are the Seven Sins?

Sin 1. Where Are You?

You receive a telephone call from your wife. She says, "Honey, I just arrived in St. Thomas and I'm here at the jewelry store called DIAMONDS BRAND and they've assured me this is a good deal. You know we've been talking about my upgrading my diamond and I found one and they are willing to trade-in my diamond against this one and I would only have to pay nineteen thousand difference. I'd like to do this but I wanted to ask you first. They said I have 30 days to return it if I'm not satisfied or it does not appraise for double".

Wow, you are in trouble now.
First of all island resorts and places of high retail stores are not generally the place to get a good deal.
Secondly, the DIAMONDS BRAND store usually fudges in the diamond grading and then there is the trade-in on top of that.
Thirdly, have you ever tried to send merchandise back to DIAMONDS BRAND? It is the hardest thing you will ever do. They are not user friendly on returns.
Fourth, a trade with a time and distance factor is not on your side.
The end result is you usually wind up paying more than you could locally due to the fudging. Buyer-beware!

Sin 2. Forgetfulness

You have known your anniversary was coming up and you meant to do your research on various options you were thinking of but time just slipped away. Now the occasion was upon you; so, you just go out to the most convenient point and make a purchase.
Were you too busy or too lazy? Buyer Beware.

Sin 3. Greed

I'll never forget the time when a lady appeared at my place of business and asked me to please verify her recent purchase is an aquamarine. The stone was absolutely beautiful and of a nice medium seagreen hue. It would have been perfect for an aquamarine. When I discovered the stone to be singly refractive (a very simple test utilizing cross polaroids) I knew she did not have aquamarine. She had paid five thousand dollars cash to a street vendor in Rio for genuine GLASS. Too late now!

Sin 4. Inflexibility

Your lady friend told you she wanted to pick out her engagement ring. So, you allowed her and she chose a semi-diamond ring mounting (without the center diamond-so you can choose it) at your full budget. Or, your lady friend told you she wanted a princess cut diamond and showed you a picture of what the ring should look like. You later found out that generally princess cut diamonds are the worst cut for proportion on the market. Do you please her or get what you want her to have? You are boxed into a corner.

Sin 5. Assumption

We assume all jewelers are the same, we assume all appraisers are the same, we assume all gem laboratories are the same, and we assume all gem certs are the same.

This could not be further from the truth.

Sin 6. No Follow Up

Do comparison shopping from reliable jewelers (not just merchants) and you will find much difference. Make sure you comparae apples to apples. Discounts are usually discounted off price not value. We've all been in the stores marked 50-75% off. That means it was either over priced or fictitiously over priced.

A lady came to my lab the other day for an appraisal on a green labradorite. She had been told this was a good investment. She was told the price was much less than what jewelers charge. Bad advice. Jewelers generally do not sell this stone due to its softness and low demand. The mass marketers have cornered the market just for this senerio. Value on something that the only comparison is the market in which you purchased it becomes that market. So, the television networks and interet become the market.

You've heard the one about the patient that asked the doctor for a second opinion. OK he says, you are ugly too. Follow up and get a good second opinion from a second doctor.

Sin 7. Resale?

What are the clues to what resells well? It's the classic items of very few quantity that has timeless appeal.

So, the customer that has to have the diamond cluster ring that everybody has to have soon discovers this is not a good resale because everyone has one. This becomes a Limited resale.