E.E. Robbins - The Engagement Ring Store - Our Blog : E.E. Robbins - The Engagement Ring Store

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Santa Taught Me So

I hope you’ve seen the movie, “Miracle on 34th Street” especially the original 1947 version. I saw it when I was a little boy and have seen it many times since then. There was one particular scene that I’ll always remember because it had a profound effect on me and even helped me to formulate my philosophy in owning and running a business. It was the scene when Santa Claus was working in the Macy’s department store in Manhattan and a woman asked him if the store carried a certain toy. The Santa there, who was the real Kris Kringle, answered that they were out of that particular toy, but that she could find it at Gimbel’s Department Store down the street. He even went on to tell her where it was located in the Gimbel’s toy department as well as its selling price. This was a simple and honest effort on his part to help this woman with her Christmas shopping. He thought nothing more of this than doing what was for him a simple courtesy. However, the Store Manager heard about it and was furious with “Santa” for sending this lady to their arch competitor’s store. However shortly after, the woman told the Store Manager how impressed she was with Macy’s service that their employees would help customers even when they didn’t have a particular item. She further said to him that because of this unique and unselfish policy, she would from that point forward be a lifetime Macy’s customer. Other customers that Ol’ Kris Kringle had similarly helped also praised this practice to Macy’s management. Soon Mr. Macy decided this was good business and he had Macy’s change their entire store policies to include recommending other stores if Macy’s didn’t have what the customer wanted.

Although you don’t find this happening in today’s tough competitive business world very often; this always struck me as the way business should be conducted. No store is going to have everything the customer wants. If you really care about helping customers, you should help them even when you aren’t going to make a sale. Why not send a customer to another store, if you can’t help them find what they are looking for?

At EE Robbins, we follow this same practice. We often recommend other stores when we don’t have what a customer is looking for. Naturally if we can get that item for the customer and it fits with our quality standards, we’ll do so. However, the core belief is that if you want customers to care about your company, you had better care about their best interests as well. I believe it’s our responsibility to have the finest quality engagement and wedding rings for the money and we work hard to help make that happen. However, sometimes a customer wants an antique setting and we don’t carry such items. Therefore we’ll recommend a store with a good reputation that specializes in antique rings. There are other times a customer may want a certain Designer style that we don’t carry. We may first ask to show them some similar styles, but if they haven’t found what they’re looking for, we’ll try to help them find a store that carries the particular line that they’re interested in. And so on…

I know that just like in the movie, this is how Santa Claus believes in doing business and I’m very glad that he taught me to do business the same way.

Whether it’s Merry Christmas or whatever holiday you happen to celebrate; we wish you good health, happiness and all the joys of the season.

Posted By Emerson At 9:36 AM • Comments (0)

Monday, November 08, 2010

Our Northwest Heritage!

One of the many reasons that I love living here in the Seattle area is the appreciation and regard for nature that so many people seem to have here. Having lived in other cities for parts of my life, I know that in most places, people just don’t have the same regard for the environment that we do here. Maybe it’s because most places just aren’t as beautiful as our own Northwest region. Or maybe it’s because of our local legacy.

I don’t know if you have ever read Chief Seattle’s historic speech when his people were forced by our government to sell their native land to the white man. If you haven’t yet read this incredible speech, I would strongly urge you to do so. Some say that many of the words were changed in the translation, but no one knows for sure. What we do know is that Chief Seattle was a very wise man, maybe even a prophet. And his speech is truly magnificently written, regardless of whom or how many others had a part in writing it. It is beautiful and at the same time extremely sad as well since this great Chief clearly saw the coming of the end to his people and their way of life.

Here are some passages from his speech that I hope will motivate you to read it in its entirety.

“Every part of the earth is sacred to my people.
every shining pine needle,
every tender shore, every vapor in the dark woods,
every clearing, and every humming insect
are holy
in the memory and experience of my people.
The sap which courses through the trees
carries the memories of the red man…
Our dead always love and remember
the earths swift rivers,
the silent footsteps of the spring, the sparkling ripples on the surface of the ponds,
the gaudy colors of the birds.
We are a part of the earth and it is a part of us.
the perfumed flowers are our sisters;
the deer, the horse, the great condor,
these are our brothers.
The rocky crests,
the juices in our meadows,
the body heat of the pony,
and man all belong to the same family.

So when the Great Chief in Washington sends word
that he wishes to buy our land,
he asks much of us...
It will not be easy,
this land is sacred to us.
We take our pleasure in the woods and the dancing streams.
The water that moves in the brook is not water, but the blood of our ancestors,
If we sell you the land, you must remember that it is sacred to us, and forever teach your children that it is sacred…
that the rivers are our brothers,
and yours
and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness you would give to your brother…
The white man is like a snake who eats his own tail in order to live.
and the tail grows shorter and shorter.
Our ways are different from your ways. We do not live well in your cities, which seem like so many black warts on the face of the earth.
the sight of the white man’s cities pains the eyes of the red man.
like the sunlight which stabs the eyes of one emerging from a dark cave.
There is no place in the white men’s cities quiet enough to hear
the unfurling of leaves in spring or the rustle of the insects’ wings.
In the white man’s cities, one is always trying to outrun an avalanche.
the clatter only seems to pierce the ears.
but what is there to living if a man cannot hear the lonely cry of the thrush
or the arguments of the frogs around a pond at night?
But I am a red man and do not understand
I prefer the wind darting over the face of a pond
and the smell of the wind itself cleansed by a midday rain-shower.
The air is precious to the red man,
for all things share the same breath
the beasts, the trees, and man,
they are all of the same breath
The white man does not mind the foul air he breathes.
like a man in pain for many days,
he is numb to the stench.
But if we sell the land,
you must remember that the air is precious to us,
and our trees and the beasts.
The wind gave man his first breath
and receives his last sigh.
And if we sell you our land…
“Teach your children what we have taught our children,
that the earth is our mother.

Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth.
If men spits upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.
This we know.
The earth does not belong to the white man;
the white man belongs to the earth. This we know.
All things are connected
like the blood
which unites our family.
If we kill the snakes,
the field mice will multiply and destroy our corn.
All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth,
befalls the sons and daughters of the earth.
Man did not weave the web of life;
he is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web,
he does to himself.
No, day and night cannot live together. What is it that the white man wishes to buy, my people ask me?
The idea is strange to us.
How can you buy or sell the sky,
the warmth of the land, the swiftness of the antelope?
How can we sell these things to you,
and how can you buy them?
Is the earth yours to do with as you will,
merely because the red man signs a piece of paper
and gives it to the white man?
If we do not own the freshness of the air
and the sparkle of the water
How can you buy them from us?”

I’m not sure if the northwest people that existed for eons before us lived the true life and if our so called modern devices and conveniences continue to destroy the very essence of life.

Are we missing out on the pure simplicity of nature and the beauty to be found in it?
Are we destroying our world in our determination to continually make life easier?

I know that I still take joy on those days when I can view Mount Rainier in all its majesty or watch a bald eagle or a giant blue heron flying overhead. Or hear a seal barking out on the Sound or spot a tiny tree frog on our front window. I can’t help but wonder if my grandchildren not yet born will be able to enjoy these same simple pleasures?

There is a Cree proverb that goes “only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can’t eat money.” I sure hope that is not our fate. And I hope that you take the time to read Chief Seattle’s speech and that you ask yourself the same questions.

Posted By Emerson At 12:36 PM • Comments (0)

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Monsters on Maple Street

I don’t know if you remember the original Twilight Zone TV show?
I grew up on that mind-bending series. One of the things I loved about the show was how most of the episodes had a moral to the story, not to mention a twist ending. One episode that I remember I believe was entitled “Monsters on Maple Street.”

The setting was on a small street in a quiet neighborhood where the neighbors experience a mysterious black-out. Before long, the lights in the houses start going on and off. First in one house, then in another and then another... In a short time, the neighbors somehow become convinced that aliens have invaded and are hiding among them. It isn’t long after that, these neighbors who previously got along beautifully, begin accusing each other of being aliens and total chaos erupts from there.

I was thinking about this and then how difficult the last few years have been on most people and the reactions of many to the stress and financial challenges that they are facing. The result is that I have seen more anger and hostility from people these past two or three years than in all my previous years in business. Just like the “Monsters on Maple Street” episode, many people are hastily taking out their pent-up anger and frustration out on others. Why is that when we most need to come together, we are so torn apart? You can see this clearly happening in politics, in business and in daily life. We all know that these are difficult times. Many have lost their jobs and can’t find employment. Others have had their homes repossessed or are facing that harsh reality. A huge percentage of homeowners owe more on their home, than it is now worth. Others have lost or gone through their entire retirement savings; or they can no longer afford to send their children to college. Worse yet, many are homeless and hungry. These are no doubt very tough times.

However, taking our anger and frustrations out on others doesn’t help anybody. At EE Robbins, we’ve recently seen several of our key vendors who we had strong relationships with since we first started in business do things that not only completely lacked integrity, but are downright mean-spirited. We have also experienced several disturbing customer problems in the past two or three years where customers have quickly become abusive and threatening and as a result it became even more difficult for us to help resolve the problem. Without going into the gory details; suffice it to say that in normal times I’m sure such issues could have easily been resolved in a matter of minutes. Yet, some of these situations resulted in the unhappy end to previously valued long-term relationships; relationships that had been extremely close as well as beneficial for both parties.

My take on all this is that life is short and taking out ones frustrations on others usually only results in more problems. We work hard to make sure that we hire only truly nice people at EE Robbins and we treat our associates, our vendors and our customers just as we want to be treated. We try to always live by the “Golden Rule”. Above everything, that is our number one value. At our small family owned company, it comes way above trying to make a buck or any other possible goal. We do this because it’s how we want to be; how we want to live our lives. We do it because it’s the right thing to do. We like making friends and feeling good about how we do business. However, I have unfortunately learned that there are times that no matter what you do, you just can’t make certain people happy. These are the same kind of people who could be in the “Garden of Eden” and they’d complain about the one brown leaf they found there.

I tell our associates that if they perceive a customer is going to be difficult to do business with; that they should politely encourage that customer to shop elsewhere. Yes, admittedly business is harder than ever to come by these days. But life is short and who needs to deal with people that are angry and hostile? The very same thing goes for doing business with vendors. We all have choices and our choice is to do business with vendors that treat us as nicely as we treat them. There is no customer or vendor that we can’t live without.

I guess you find out the true nature of people not when things are going their way, but when they are not. In times of trouble, you find out who truly has character and who does not. In the words of Thomas Paine, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”

Another less sophisticated saying can be found on certain bumper stickers. It reads “Mean people suck!”

Life is short. Why not try to be thoughtful of others and treat everyone as you yourself want to be treated. It sure makes life more enjoyable. And just like in the aforementioned Twilight Zone episode where the lights came back on, sometime in the not too distant future, this difficult economy too will turn around. In the meantime, let’s all make sure we don’t become monsters.

Posted By Emerson At 2:41 PM • Comments (0)

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Mokume What?

When a lot people think of a jeweler, they imagine a guy in a shiny suit wearing a big diamond pinky ring. However, none of us guys at E.E. Robbins would even come close to that description, least of all me. In fact, most of the time, you’ll find me wearing my jeans (and they’re not even designer jeans), my Ecco loafers (the most comfortable shoes on the planet) and a loose, comfortable shirt (all of which were probably purchased from Nordstrom). However, I do love my wedding band. It’s very subtle, extremely unique and ergonomically designed, not to mention very cool.

My band is made from an ancient gold-smithing technique called Mokume-Gane by one, or rather two, of our favorite designers, Michael Parrish and Daniel Jenkins, two goldsmiths from the appropriately named town of Cool, California.

So what is Mokume-Gane? First of all, it’s pronounced (moh’coo-may gah-nay), which is the art of fusing layers of precious metals together to form a single piece with unique markings represented by the different colors of the metals used. Mokume Gane was first developed in feudal Japan in the 17th century by Denbei Shoami to make Japanese samurai swords. These swords were sold back then for the equivalent of a king’s ransom and the ancient technique of making them remained a closely guarded secret. Then in the 1970’s, a few modern artisans studied with the great metal-smiths in Japan and brought this ancient art to the west where today only a handful of goldsmiths are able to produce this magnificent metal art. Michael Parrish and Daniel Jenkins’ company, Michael Daniels, has developed a proprietary combination of heat, pressure, forging and carving to produce their wedding bands and more.

You can read more about Mokume Gane and Michael Daniels by visiting www.mdmokume.com or visiting one of our stores and seeing these unique wedding bands for yourself. If you’re anything like me, and you like cool but subtle stuff, wedding bands just don’t get any cooler than these.

Posted By Emerson At 10:19 AM • Comments (0)

Saturday, July 03, 2010

Thank God for Mark Schneider

Mark Schneider has won more design awards than any other jewelry designer in modern history. In fact, the long list of prestigious jewelry design awards that he has won just got that much longer after winning several more honors for his bridal collection this past spring. He is one of the few jewelry Designers in the entire world to have his works exhibited in the Smithsonian Institute.

We are very proud to be among a handful of exclusive stores in the country to represent his beautiful ring line. However, it is not his unrivaled design talent or his beautiful ring creations that are the key reason why we are so grateful to feature Mark’s prestigious line of engagement and wedding rings.

The overwhelming reason we are so proud to represent his line is because Mark Schneider is simply one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He comes up to visit our stores several times a year and he knows most of our associates by name. He appreciates each and every one of our associates. He brings donuts or bagels in the mornings when he visits us. He asks about our families and shows that he truly cares about our company’s best interests, our associates and our customers. He is kind, sincere, thoughtful, humble and honest. He encompasses not only what we look for in a vendor, but the qualities you want in a close friend. I wish every one of our vendors could be like Mark Schneider. Our work would be so much more enjoyable if everyone was able to conduct their business like Mark, his wonderful wife Nancy and his caring and attentive staff.

While we do have a handful of other vendors that we love and appreciate working with; unfortunately I have to say that based on our experience, most jewelry manufacturers and Designers have proven to be the diametric opposite of Mark. All of these Manufacturers are naturally hungry for your business, but through the years, we’ve sadly learned that when it comes right down to it, most don’t really care about our company, our associates or our clients. What the majority of them seem to care about is how much you buy from them and how quickly you pay your bills. I guess this is the sad reality of the business world; maybe even the world in general. However, since I admittedly tend to be an idealist, I find this reality disturbing.

We at E.E. Robbins very much believe that a business relationship, in order to be successful, needs to be based on mutual trust and respect. A relationship where each party truly wants the other to be successful and realizes that in order to do this, both must understand and care about the others wants and needs. Just like a successful marriage, it’s best if we share common goals and views of how we want to the world to be. I guess it comes down to doing business with people who live by the Golden Rule; who believe in treating others just as we ourselves want to be treated. While this unwritten rule sure seems simple enough and most everyone talks the talk; unfortunately we have found vendors like Mark Schneider to be very rare indeed.

If you like believe in karma as we do and you are looking for a unique and beautiful engagement or wedding ring, you just can’t do better than a ring from Mark Schneider to symbolize your lifelong commitment to each other. In any case, we remain thankful that we have the privilege of doing business with people like Mark Schneider.

Posted By Emerson At 7:35 AM • Comments (0)

Monday, June 07, 2010

Symbols of our City

I can still remember going to the 1962 World’s Fair as a little tyke. (I guess that tells you I’m now an ol’ codger). I still remember being blown away by the height and majesty of the Space Needle, originally built for the World’s Fair. Ever since then, the Needle has served as the worldwide symbol of our city. In fact, there are probably just a handful of iconic symbols on the entire planet that identify a city as well as our own Space Needle does ours.

It’s difficult to even imagine Seattle without the Space Needle. Every time I pass by it, whether under its shadow or viewing it from a distance, I still get a thrill from seeing it. We have some other wonderful symbols here that serve as reminders of how fortunate we are to live in such an amazing place. Pike Place Market is known around the world as a must-see place to visit while here and the outdoor sign is recognized all over the world. Seeing the ferry boats traveling across Puget Sound never fails to thrill me as does crossing the 520 bridge and looking over at the quaint houseboats on Lake Union. Of course, if we include one of nature’s creations, then nothing even comes close to Mt. Rainier as a symbol of our region.

There is, however, one other great symbol of our region that we have let get away. An icon that I find to be totally unique and impressive. It saddens me that our city didn’t embrace it. If I had Bill Gates or Howard Schultz like money, I would have found a way to help fund the restoration of this metallic relic of the past. I’m speaking of the Kalakala, the ultra cool ferry billed as “the world’s first streamlined vessel”.

Built back in 1935, the Kalakala was used off and on in our ferry system and was even voted the second biggest attraction of the World’s Fair after the Space Needle.

If you haven’t seen the Kalakala or don’t know much about it, I’d encourage you to check it out at www.kalakala.org

Steve Rodriques has been working for many years to have this amazing ship restored to its original magnificence. If after checking it out, you agree that the Kalakala should not be lost to us, you can even help save this incredible vessel.

Posted By Emerson At 9:06 AM • Comments (0)

Thursday, April 08, 2010

What to do?

I never like to talk about our competitors in a negative way and I doubt you’ve ever heard me do so in our radio ads. However, there is also a part of me that believes people have a right to know certain key facts about the products and companies that they are considering in their shopping quest. If we don’t at least inform customers about some of these potential problems, how else will they know? We can be sure that these companies won’t be volunteering information that they don’t want the public to know about.

Do we keep our mouths shut in the interest of never besmirching our so-called competition or is our allegiance to the customer who needs to know important facts that could greatly impact their potential purchase?

For example, do we inform people to be careful when considering a highly advertised Designer line? We carried a well known Designer line for several years, but we found that while they do a great job in marketing their line and building brand name awareness; they didn’t seem to put the same amount of effort in making sure that they produce a quality product. Even worse, they don’t even seem to care about this critical part of their business. So we felt we had no choice but to drop the line even though it is one of the most well known designer bridal lines around.

There was one series of ring styles that this manufacturer came out with that became especially popular. However, every store that carried these attractive designs had constant quality problems with these rings. The dainty shanks on these rings would invariably break and diamonds would often fall out within weeks or months of purchase. However, this manufacturer, instead of pulling these ring styles from their line or re-making them to resolve the quality issues, just continued to sell them. They even had the audacity to bill the store an excessive charge to have the faulty merchandise that they had originally manufactured repaired. Most stores would then in turn charge the customer for these costly repairs.

I find this especially disturbing because the company knowingly continued to manufacture these defective rings even though they knew these were someone’s engagement or wedding rings; the ring that symbolizes their love and commitment to each other. Although we obviously had no choice but to drop this popular line, customers still come in asking for this Designer brand due to this company’s heavy national magazine advertising. And I’m sure many continue to buy the questionable product made by this heartless but well known company.

Don’t customers have a right to know such vital information before they make such an important purchase? What happens if the customer falls prey to this company’s marketing prowess and they end up buying one of their rings only to have their cherished ring fall apart? Aren’t we a bit guilty of not protecting our customers if we don’t at least warn them?

Another example of this is in regards to a famous jewelry store chain that often touts their lifetime warranty in their radio ads, but naturally, they don’t bother to mention to their customers that they are currently mired in Chapter Eleven bankruptcy? What good will a lifetime warranty do their customers if this company is unable to successfully emerge from their Chapter Eleven problems and they end up going out of business? This is obviously vital information to know if one is considering an engagement or wedding ring and a lifetime warranty is an important part of their purchasing decision.

Where is our allegiance? Should we remain silent and focus on being a so-called “stand-up” company that never “knocks the competition” or do we instead inform customers about certain issues and potential problems that they need to be aware of when they are shopping for their most important engagement or wedding ring?

Under no circumstances, would I feel comfortable using a competitors name in a radio ad or publicly trying to negatively slur their name and reputation. The greater question is, do we inform customers that are shopping at our stores for engagement, wedding rings and/or diamonds of potential things to look out for or do we take the so-called “high road” and keep our mouths shut and if the customer decides to keep looking, let these customers do their own due diligence? In other words, caveat emptor - let the buyer beware?

What do you think? I’ve often struggled with this dilemma and would love to get your opinion. Send me an e-mail and tell me what you think is the right thing to do? I look forward to hearing from you.

You can reach me at emerson@eerobbins.com

Thank you for reading my blog.

Posted By Emerson At 12:47 PM • Comments (1045) Trackbacks (0)

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Give me a break! An insider's look at sales and discounts

On sale now! Everything in the store 50%, 60%, 70% Off!
Mother’s Day Sale, Pre-Christmas Sale, Christmas Sale, After Christmas Sale, Christmas in July Sale, Presidents Day Sale, Spring Sale, Summer Sale, Fall Sale, Back to School Sale, Easter Sale, St. Patrick’s Day Sale, Groundhog Day Sale, Millard Fillmore Birthday Sale…

How many names and reasons for sales can you name? I’ll bet a lot.

Everywhere you look today there seems to be a sale going on. The word “sale” has become one of those magic words in the shopping vocabulary right up there with “free”. But does it really make sense? More often than not, an overemphasis on sales is no more a substitute for a lack of quality or not having the right merchandise in the first place, so the company is forced to move less desirable merchandise.

A company that has sales or discounts has to work on a higher mark-up to begin with to allow for discounting. If a company discounts it’s prices, whether it’s for one sale or one day, they have to at some point make up for that loss of business another time. Every business has a target profit that they need in order to stay in business... it's Business 101. Almost everyone understands and recognizes this truth.

There are several different approaches to pricing. One is that a store marks up their merchandise to allow for sales or discounts. Another is that a store prices their merchandise as low as possible and sells that merchandise at the same low price every day.

I would personally be especially wary of jewelry stores that hold sales constantly or throw out easy discounts. One has to question that if they can give 40, 50, 60 and 70% off, what is their mark-up to begin with? Most importantly, ask yourself, what is more critical than trust and integrity in choosing a store?

After all, most people aren’t usually experts on diamonds, gold and platinum rings, etc., so they should seriously consider buying from a store that they can trust. Stores that discount and that are constantly having “sales” are, in essence, often trying to deceive people with their pricing. Can they be trusted to deliver the same quality that they are representing if they are trying to fool customers with deceptive pricing and sales?

Another consideration is that when most stores have big sales, they often times put away their best selling merchandise in the back and instead offer up only their slow moving merchandise. And in fact, for many sales, including but not limited to “going out of business” sales, outside companies bring in merchandise that has not sold at other stores around the country to help fill the cases. So you are not usually getting the most desirable merchandise at these sale prices.

Quite often customers will also ask about a discount and many more who don’t ask will wonder about a discount, so it’s important that I explain the reasons that we at E.E. Robbins don’t believe in discounting.

To begin with, is it really fair that the better negotiator gets a better price than someone else?

Is it right, for example, that a school teacher or a social worker, who may have devoted his or her life to better our society and struggles to exist on a meager salary should have to pay a higher price than for example, an attorney who makes a salary five or ten times that of the school teacher and happens to be an expert negotiator? Or fair that a store offers a sale price one day, but cannot offer that price on the day that may be best for you to buy? We don’t think so.

At E.E. Robbins we also believe that because we are selling engagement and wedding rings, i.e. rings that represent one’s commitment of love to each other, that these symbols should not be tainted with the distasteful practice of having to haggle over price. We all would love to own a new car, but yet most of us hate shopping for a car because of all the “sales games” that one often has to go through to buy one.

Buying an engagement or wedding ring should be one of the most exciting experiences of one’s life, an experience that’s informative, enjoyable and romantic. Haggling would instead turn this experience into an adversarial and combative struggle.

At E.E. Robbins, we avoid sales and bogus discounts. We offer up our fine quality products at very competitive prices and don’t try to entice customers with sales, gimmicky offers and other questionable promotions.

We believe that everyone is entitled to the same low price everyday of the year, no matter whom you are, and no matter when you’re ready to buy.

At E.E. Robbins, our priority is offering the finest quality engagement and wedding rings possible at a very fair value, and warm and truly caring service to help enhance the shopping experience. We treat our customers just like we want to be treated when we go shopping. We think this is the best way to do business. I hope you agree.

Emerson Robbins

Posted By Emerson At 12:58 PM • Comments (895) Trackbacks (0)

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Be wary and wise

When you purchase a diamond engagement ring, you are connecting with the company that you’re buying from for life. I say this because an engagement ring requires cleaning and inspections every so often to keep your diamond safe and your ring looking its best.

So you want to be sure that the company you buy from is going to be there for you down the line. Unfortunately, there are a few misleading practices in the jewelry industry that are fairly commonplace, so you’ll need to be careful when you purchase from many jewelry companies. The following are a few tips to keep you safe.

First off, it is really important that you have complete protection for your purchase. You likely have spent thousands of dollars or more on the ring(s) so it is very important that you have adequate insurance coverage from a respected and well rated insurance company.

Many jewelry companies including most regional and national chains will offer an enticing free lifetime diamond and/or jewelry guarantee. Some companies even try to sell you their Warranty for several hundred dollars or more. However, the problem with these warranties is that they lead you to the false impression that you are fully covered. The reality is that the number one most likely issue you will face in the future is the loss of the ring. Loss accounts for the vast majority of all jewelry insurance claims. Diamonds can crack and they can fall out of the mounting. However, these are not common occurrences. Much more common is mysterious disappearance where he or she simply misplaces the ring. And I doubt you’ll find any jewelry company warranty that will replace a lost ring for free.

The next most likely occurrence and reason for a jewelry insurance claim is that of burglary or theft. These are also not covered by any free warranties given out by jewelry companies. Thus, it is vital that you obtain an insurance policy for your cherished diamonds and jewelry. Chances are that you might not be covered under your basic homeowner’s policy. I thought the same thing until I found out last year, that for the past ten years or more, my wife’s diamond engagement ring was not covered under our homeowners and it turns out that her diamond engagement ring has been at risk all this time. When you have the proper jewelry specific insurance policy, you’ll not only be fully covered, but you’ll also have little need for one of these misleading lifetime warranties. They may sound great, but may have you believing that you don’t need to have insurance for your ring and/or diamond. These insurance premiums for jewelry are usually quite affordable and give you excellent protection for loss, for damage to your ring or diamond and most other possible. Where your jewelry company’s warranty can come in handy is with the free cleanings and inspections. Some company’s warranties will cover minor repairs and maintenance at no cost, which can save you money over the life of your ring.

Another very important point to consider, especially in today’s challenging times, is how long your jewelry company will be around. You may want to make sure that they are not already in Chapter Eleven or some other form of impending bankruptcy. This is unfortunately becoming quite common in the jewelry industry just as it is in many other industries. One major jewelry company with multiple locations here in the greater Seattle area just went out of business and another well known company is in Chapter Eleven as you read this, with more on the brink. The bottom line is that you want to think about the company you’re buying your diamond jewelry from. Are they going to be there for you after the sale? Do they stand behind their products? Is theirs a solid business that will still be around in the years to come? One thing I’ve learned, is that you find out what kind of company you are doing business with, not when you are buying the product, but when you have a problem.

Hopefully, wherever you decide to spend your hard-earned money, you’ll choose wisely.

Posted By Emerson At 10:46 AM • Comments (0)