The options available for purchasing a diamond are almost limitless. The consumer can choose between mall discount stores, independent retail jewelers, home shopping channels and even diamond vendors on the internet. Deciding where to shop for a diamond is almost as difficult as deciding which diamond to buy.

One alternative which is gaining popularity among consumers is to hire a diamond broker. The legitimate diamond broker acts as your representative to help you locate and purchase a diamond of high quality and value. The broker does not own the diamonds, but acts as your agent to find just the right gemstone in one of the alternative markets. Among these alternative markets are private sales, auctions, diamond cutters and wholesalers. For this service the broker charges a preset fee.

The advantages of working with a diamond broker are three-fold: lower cost, higher quality and time saved.

1. Lower Cost - By working with a broker the consumer is in effect buying a diamond from a cutter, dealer or wholesaler. The total cost to the consumer is the wholesale cost of the stone plus the broker's fee, usually an additional 10 to 20% of the wholesale cost. This is significantly less than the typical 50 to 200% retail mark-ups.

2. Higher Quality - A qualified diamond broker is an expert in the grading and evaluation of diamonds. The broker assures that the stone you are buying has been accurately graded and is fairly priced. As an expert in the diamond markets, the broker also knows where to go to get just the right gems to meet your needs.

3. Time Saved - At Bijoux Extraordinaire when we broker a diamond for a client we locate the best 3 or 4 diamonds that meet the client's desires. We then have the diamonds shipped to our offices where the client can examine each stone and select the one that he/she likes the most. This saves you the time and frustration of "shopping around" and mentally trying to compare diamonds from different stores.

Once you have decided to work with a diamond broker, your next challenge is find one who is qualified and will work diligently for you. In my next artcile I will discuss how you select a qualified diamond broker, but for now I offer a few words of caution.

Caveat emptor! Not all diamond brokers are created equal.

Increasing consumer interest in working with a diamond broker (and saving time and money) has lead some unscrupulous retailers and diamond merchants to misrepresent themselves as brokers working for the public.

Whether you are shopping at the mall, in an independent jewelry store or on the internet, you should be wary of vendors offering to sell you "diamonds at or below wholesale cost." Often times they are merely selling stones they have purchased for inventory and are misrepresenting the quality grade and wholesale value of the diamonds.

A true diamond broker does not own the diamonds they help a client purchase. The broker's responsibility is to help the client locate and purchase the best diamond available in the marketplace.

Bijoux Extraordinaire is a practice of diamond and jewelry experts who can help you purchase a beautiful diamond of high quality and value. Among the services we offer are diamond brokering, custom jewelry design and jewelry appraisals. For more information about our diamond brokering services, please visit our Diamond and Gemstone Brokering page.