August 21 2009: Costco Diamonds: A Follow-Up
Filed under Money
As a brief follow-up to yesterday’s entry on diamonds from Costco, let me state that I would have absolutely no hesitation in buying from them. Their website specifies:
We guarantee that all diamonds supplied by Costco Wholesale are as follows: Clarity to be “VS2″ or better and color to be “I” or better as outlined on the industry grading guide.
For those unfamiliar with diamond grading, VS2 stands for “very slightly included” which means that minute inclusions can only be seen with difficulty under 10 times magnification. It’s one of the best grades for both value and appearance as it is essentially flawless unless under jeweller-grade inspection. I is the grading for colour of the stone and it primarily means that the stone shows no colour to the naked eye. Note that Costco’s guarantee states “or better”, so the diamond you end up buying there could end up having even better than VS2 and I gradings.
Essentially it means that all diamonds at Costco are as near top-quality as is affordable by people on an average income. Considering they do very simple, classic, absolutely beautiful rings as well (see above photo), I don’t understand why anyone would have qualms about purchasing a ring from them.
Post jewellery servicing? You can get that at any jeweller – or even buy jewellery polish, as it’s very easy to service your jewellery yourself (I worked in a jeweller’s and serviced jewellery, it’s really not hard). Ring sizing? Get your fingers sized prior to purchasing the ring, and you can then buy the correct size at Costco. If you’re particularly pedantic about settings, you could even buy a ring from Costco, use the diamond, and get it reset in your preferred setting – it would still work out to be cheaper than buying a ring outright at a jeweller’s.
In short they do beautiful rings with good stone gradings at a price that other competitors have no hope of matching. Why would you turn it down simply because it’s from Costco?
12 Responses to “Costco Diamonds: A Follow-Up”
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It all comes down to the idea of brand names. If it isn’t a brand name or if it’s something from a “discount” store, it is usually looked down upon.
I personally have no problem with Costco or (Sam’s Club, which is another equivalent where I live).
I bought my mother a beautiful necklace for her birthday; I bought it from a jeweler (Kay Jewelers) and she had the audacity to ask me “Is this fake?!”
Little did she know, I spent a crap load on that necklace alone.
Kristine on August 22 2009 #
Woah, it’s evident from how lost I was whilst reading that post that I know NOTHING about jewellery/diamonds/brands of such things. Costco… okay in hindsight it sounds like a discounted brand like Christcos, but wtf, if it’s great then… who cares/who will know where its from?!
Amanda on August 22 2009 #
I love Costco.
Jennifer on August 22 2009 #
So there you have it. I would most definately buy from them, and don’t see why anyone else would hesitate either. People are just ridiculous.
I know some people who won’t buy anything off the sale rack. It’s the same stuff, same store, same quality, but cheaper! Aparantly its time of being in style has passed? Who knows.
Mar on August 22 2009 #
I still wouldn’t. In answer to your last question, exclusivity. I’m really that fucking fussy. I have a Gucci watch with two miniscule diamonds in it, but I know that it’s special and the diamonds are absolutely top notch.
Each to their own, right? I don’t buy from Asda even though it’s the same shit at a lower price because it just smells of sweatshop labour. :P There’s cheap, and there’s too cheap.
Macca on August 22 2009 #
I totally agree with you, Macca. You are fucking fussy.
Costco rules :P Who the hell would know it was from Costco anyway?
Stephanie on August 23 2009 #
If I was into jewellery, I’d totally buy it at The Warehouse… which I think is even more cut price than Costco. HAHA.
Darnielle on August 23 2009 #
I love Costco! They pwn, and their book selections are usually very good. Most of the books I have on my shelf that I’ve read multiple times were bought from Costco.
Costco or Tiffany’s (well, maybe not Tiffany’s but you know what I mean!), a ring is a ring. I’d accept a beautiful ring from anywhere as long as it’s real.
Although I have a lot of relatives in the jewelry business, so I can get it for free or at an extremely discounted price anyways :P
Dane on August 24 2009 #
If it’s real and it has those ratings I don’t see why one wouldn’t buy from them. Just because it’s from a website doesn’t mean it’s bad quality. They can only give those ratings on real stones or they could be sued (and probably would be if people found out it’s fake stuff).
Chans on August 25 2009 #
It makes me sad in the pants that people basically associate a value to their relationship… the bigger the rock, or the more expensive the goods, the happier they appear to be. How fucking superficial can you be?
Anyway.. if I were into that sort of thing I would be more than happy to get a Costco ring. Karl can make rings though, so I think on a personal level I’d value that level of uniqueness more.
Jem on August 25 2009 #
It makes me sad in the pants that people basically associate a value to their relationship… the bigger the rock, or the more expensive the goods, the happier they appear to be.
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I don’t think it’s that at all with me; in fact it’s the complete opposite. The fact that I would wear a ring that is supposed to symbolise a relationship, that anyone could replicate after taking a trip to the local discount store kinda defeats the whole object IMHO. If I’m going to wear a ring at all, I want it to be special and as unique to me as possible.
In that sense; I want a dirt cheap ring. Yup. I don’t want any diamonds, I want garnets. In a custom made ring preferably; but if I can’t get it custom made, then for the sheer exclusivity factor it’d be from a ‘proper’ jewellery store — the likelihood of seeing a replica of something so close to my heart would be significantly lower in that case, than if it was purchased from a discount store.
And then, I would know that my boyfriend had put more thought (and time and effort if you consider the fact he worked hard and saved hard to afford it :P) into the purchase by not simply opting for the cheapest and best value available jewellery.
That’s basically the long and short of my argument against Costco for engagement rings.
Macca on August 25 2009 #
Oh, and if I were looking for any old diamong ring for any other purpose, then I would probably buy from Costco. But not for an engagement ring.
Macca on August 25 2009 #