The Truth About Wholesale
Diamonds To The Public

You’ve most likely come across jewelers or dealers advertising that they sell wholesale diamonds to the public. They claim, although you are a retail buyer, they are cutting their profits and selling diamonds to you at wholesale prices. How could any sane person resist such a tempting proposition? Especially with the price of diamonds! Ever seen any of these ads directed at the retail public?

Certified Diamonds at Wholesale Prices to the Public

Diamond Jewelry at Wholesale Prices

Discount Wholesale Diamonds To You

Are they being forthright when they boast of selling wholesale diamonds to the public?

Here is what the (JVC) Jewelers Vigilance Committee has to say about the subject, read it carefully:

Wholesale to the Public: An Advertising Case Study.

"Wholesale to the Public" Can you say that?

No. Never. No exceptions. This violates both the Lanham Act and the FTC Guidelines. If you see someone advertising in this manner, please forward a copy of their advertising to the JVC.

In Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 233.5:

"[R]retailers should not advertise a retail price as a 'wholesale' price. They should not represent that they are selling at 'factory' prices when they are not selling at the prices paid by those purchasing directly from the manufacturer."

The other relevant statute is in the Lanham Act (title 15, section 1125(a)(1)), the federal trademark/unfair competition rules:

"Any person who, on or in connection with any goods or services . . . uses in commerce . . . any false designation of origin, false or misleading description of fact, or false or misleading representation of fact, which is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive . . . as to the origin . . . of his or her goods . . . shall be liable in a civil action by any person who believes that he or she is or is likely to be damaged by such act."

In case you’re wondering or asking the question, “Who is the (JVC) Jewelers Vigilance Committee? Here is your answer. The JVC is the jewelry industry’s guardian of ethics and integrity. Founded in 1917, the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), the legal compliance experts in the jewelry industry, is a not-for-profit trade association whose mission is to maintain the jewelry industry's highest ethical standards.

In a nutshell, there you have it, directly from the horse’s mouth. No bona fide, legitimate jeweler or diamond dealer can claim to sell wholesale diamonds to the public. And did you read guidelines carefully; there are NO EXCEPTIONS!

Search for: Brilliant Cut Diamonds, Unique Diamond Engagement Rings, Asscher Cut Engagement Rings, and Cushion Cut Engagement Rings.

If someone is advertising wholesale diamonds to the public in any manner, they are in violation of the Lanham Act and the FTC Guidelines and those are serious lines no law-abiding jeweler or dealer will ever cross.

If you believed you purchased a retail diamond at wholesale prices, I’d strongly urge you to get a certified appraisal, to ascertain that you didn’t get taken.

There is just too much control of the diamond market by the De Beers, to allow a company the latitude of selling wholesale diamonds to the public, even if there wasn’t any strict ethical guidelines against doing so.

Source: Vicente Ross, http://DiamondExperts.biz/