Do You Or Don't You?

Do You Or Don’t You: Offer To Inscribe Diamonds?

Published

8 years ago

February 14, 2015

Abe Sherman

Yes, WE HAVE

➤ We send the diamonds to Schumacher Diamond Cutters in Bismark, ND. They are quick and their re-cutting and repair service is exceptional. Pat Gilmore, Dunbar Jewelers, Yakima, WA

➤ We’ve had new customers ask how we know the diamonds that go out and come back are truly theirs. We built an amazing DIY microscope that is compatible with all camera phones. We clean the diamond, the customer takes a picture of it with their phone (we take a photo too), then we plot the diamond, and show them how to identify its unique characteristics. When the diamond comes back, we help them identify their diamond from the plot and photos, and show them where their inscription is on their stone. It is becoming more popular as people learn how it works. Jennifer Farnes, Revolution Jewelry Works, Colorado Springs, CO

➤ I have the stone sent to GIA. Brenda Reichel, Carats & Karats Fine Jewelry, Honolulu, HI

➤ We tell customers it can be done; so far nobody has chosen to do it. Vickie Wilson, The Goldsmith, Palo Alto, CA

➤ Everyone likes the idea but no one is patient enough to wait. Dan Decker, Decker Diamond Jewelers, Ebensburg, PA

➤ We carry Lazare Kaplan loose diamonds that are inscribed already and offer personal inscriptions when needed. We’ve found this further invests the customer in their purchase and turns the diamond into more of an heirloom. Milton Doolittle, Benold’s Jewelers, Austin, TX

➤ We offer it through Gemex. No takers so far. David Beduze, Generation Jewelers, Watertown, WI

➤ SMI Diamonds will do it for us. Brenda Hefner, Oz’s Jewelers, Hickory, NC

NO, WE HAVEN’T

➤ Most of the larger diamonds that we sell come inscribed with certificate numbers. Frank Salinardi, Linardi’s Jewelers, Plantation, FL

➤ We have sold pre-laser-inscribed diamonds for years. We encourage trading in diamonds and would have to remove any personal inscriptions. Eileen Eichhorn, Eichhorn Jewelry, Decatur, IL

➤ Gimmicks have not worked well in our store. Chuck Kuba, Iowa Diamond, West Des Moines, IA

➤ Call me backwards, but in my mind we are altering the diamond by scratching into it an inscription. To me that should make the value decrease. I realize most don’t feel this way but I have to be comfortable with what I sell. Lora S. Wright, Southern Jewelers, Sanford, NC

This article originally appeared in the March 2015 edition of INSTORE.

Time to Do What You've Always Wanted? Time to Call Wilkerson.

It was time. Teri Allen and her brother, Nick Pavlich, Jr., had been at the helm of Dearborn Jewelers of Plymouth in Plymouth, Mich., for decades. Their father, Nick Pavlich, Sr., had founded the store in 1950, but after so many wonderful years helping families around Michigan celebrate their most important moments, it was time to get some “moments” of their own. Teri says Wilkerson was the logical choice to run their retirement sale. “They’re the only company that specializes in closing jewelry stores,” she says. During the sale, Teri says a highlight was seeing so many generations of customers who wanted to buy “that one last piece of jewelry from us.” Would she recommend Wilkerson? Absolutely. “There is no way that I would have been able to do this by myself.”