Why Buy a Diamond InStore vs. Online?
With everyone using the internet to purchase items online, you're probably wondering why you should go to a store to buy a diamond, right? Well, actually there’s a big difference and advantage to buying a diamond in a store vs. going online to purchase one, and the advantages range from the emotional to the practical.
[Click Here to Watch this Video as Stuart Explains the Difference Here.]
A store experience is typically more romantic than a vendor website on your computer. With both of you together in a store, you can share a unique lifelong memory and experience. So, if you're going for the romantic setting, this truly beats a computer at home, no matter how many candles you light in the room. The importance of buying in a store is you can look at them and compare two diamonds with your own eyes. You can see for yourself all the differences the numbers can't show. Plus, at Stuart Benjamin & Co. Jewelry Designs, you can buy with confidence. All the diamonds at Stuart Benjamin & Company come with a GIA certificate of the color grade, the clarity, cut grade, and carat weight, and a certificate from the Gemological Institute.
Same, but Different
First of all, there are many, many different types of diamonds. When shopping online you can get one diamond with the same grade, same weight, essentially the same quality of diamond with 10 different prices. Why is that? That’s because every diamond is different. And that’s typically due to the way the diamond is cut.
The “Sparkle”
All diamonds perform and reflect light differently. They generate varying levels of “sparkle”, one of the most alluring and valued characteristics of a diamond. Today, the amount of “sparkle” or “performance” can be measured with an ASET machine from the American Gem Society. We use the ASET machine in our store to personally show you how each diamond “performs”. That is why you can have two diamonds that share the same specifications, but one has more scintillation, more brightness, more sparkle. 
Seeing is Believing
So when you purchase a diamond in a store, you can hold the diamond in your hand, you can look at the diamond in an ASET machine and see the performance of the diamond. You can also hold the diamond with tweezers and view through a loop, so you can see the crystal inclusions within the stone. 
It's pretty clear we see multiple benefits to the consumer to shop in-store. Compared to shopping online, when you visit a jewelry store like ours, a trained and certified professional would be glad to show you those differences, answer questions, help you match a diamond for a setting, so you can actually see how it looks in a setting. Try doing that online! These are all important steps to help you make the best decision possible when buying a diamond. Enjoy your sparkle!