The question of “value” is probably the most difficult for the male jewelry buyer. Typically, he only shops for jewelry every two and a half years and then he often has the uncomfortable feeling that he is not spending his money wisely. Take the young man who entered our shop a couple of weeks ago, for instance. He’d done some online shopping and he’d shopped a few other stores before he entered ours. Kathleen greeted him and spent more than an hour with him discussing the parameters of diamond beauty; and when she was done, he asked that we get diamonds within a very tight range of weight, color, clarity and cut characteristics to show him. We agreed, even though the diamonds he’d asked to see were barely within the range of what we’d consider “O.K.”. A week later he arrived for the appointment, examined the diamonds and remarked that he didn’t like any of them very much. As we represent Hearts On Fire, the most beautiful diamond on the market, we could not disagree with him; so he and Kathy worked out a new set of characteristics that he thought would be acceptable, scheduling an appointment for a week later. The day came, he arrived and he liked these diamonds much better; but they were on the outer fringes of what he was willing to spend. Daunted by the prices, he could not make a decision, complaining that he didn’t know if he was getting a good deal our not; and there it was left. What he may do in the future is anyone’s guess; but it raises the question of the interrelationship between price and value. (more…)