Even the best shoppers can struggle when it comes to jewelry shopping, it gets even harder when your buying jewelry for someone else. Here are a few simple tricks of the trade you can use to save time and money when checking out your local jewelry stores. The displayed piece of jewelry is often the best quality one the store has, when you choose a piece make them give you the piece that was on display. No two pieces of jewelry are exactly the same, small errors or bumps in the manufacturing and shipping create lower quality pieces of jewelry. The display piece is the highest quality the store has, take it home and you know you don’t have an inferior product which happens a lot with handmade silver jewelry Look for a jewelry store credited by the American Gem Society (AGS). Stores credited by AGS have to follow a large range of strict guidelines in regards to the pricing and quality of jewelry that a store sells. Be careful when a store advertises being credited by other companies apart from AGS. These other creditors have a fee stores can pay to be credited. Color and clarity grades given by AGS are usually at least one grade lower than EGL and IGI report. Moissanite and other high priced diamond replicas are not worth the extra money. They are the same as cubic zirconias but with a highly inflated price. Don’t be afraid to try and barter. Nearly all jewelry stores, even big chain stores will lower their price if you ask for a deal, and a lot will lower it again if you keep bartering. The mark up on jewelry is so high that you will always be paying above the wholesale price, so keep that in mind when your negotiating the price. Avoid extra charges for lifetime warranties. All big jewelry manufactures offer lifetime warranties with their jewelry already, there is no point paying for extended warranty.
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