Valentine's Day - Buying Jewelry?

If you are considering buying jewelry for Valentine’s Day, here are five tips from Anne D’Innocenzio of The Associated Press.  

Beware of discounts – do your research.  The median price of a piece of jewelry, excluding engagement rings and wedding bands, is $350.

1.  Know Your Loved One’s Taste – if your special someone likes small earrings, don't buy big hoops.  Be aware of their likes/dislikes.
2. Do Research and Learn the Lingo – Great resource for checking out gemstones is Bluenile.com. This site defines key terms like what clarity means when talking about diamonds as well as compares prices from 150,000 independently graded diamonds.
3. Take Precautions Against Fraud – Be cautious if you see discounts of more than 50%.  If buying diamonds, make sure your stone has an accompanying independent grading report from a respected lab, like Gemological Institute of America.  Also, check the return policy to see if you get either a store credit your money back.
4. Consider Synthetic Diamonds.  Man-made diamonds are about 20% to 40%  less expensive.  Pure Grown Diamonds is the world’s largest distributor and has a directory on its website of stores by Zip Code that offer lab-grown diamonds.
5. Be Creative – Not interested in spending a lot but still want good quality?  Consider estate sales.  Also, there is a rental jewelry subscription service called Rocksbox.com which allows a member to order three items per month based on the shoppers taste. Another way to reward your Valentine all year long.

Remember, once you have purchased your jewelry, contact the agency to either add it to your jewelry policy or to obtain a jewelry policy.  Make sure you get an appraisal so that it is easy for us to insure.

Happy Valentine’s Day!