If the diamond is still regarded as a classic symbol of eternal love, the ways it is offered to consumers are becoming less traditional: grooms often buy diamond rings for their future spouses through the Internet, the Canadian mass media say.
According to John Marusenko, President of Canada Diamonds specialized in online sales of diamond jewelry, "60-70% of our customers are men."
"By making a purchase online, you have complete control over the process. You search and choose without leaving home. And you can find exactly what you're looking for," the businessman says.
"You're in control of the process. You're surfing from home. You can find exactly what you're looking for within your means".
Nevertheless, he advised to follow some precautions when purchasing diamond jewelry online. In particular, as Marusenko believes, gemstones purchased online must by all means have a quality certificate issued by a renowned expert institution, indicating their weight, color, clarity and cut.
"With a strong certificate you know exactly what you're going to get," Marusenko said.
As it follows from the name of the company, Canada Diamonds sells only Canadian diamonds. In addition to the classification certificate issued by the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA), a nonprofit organization in California, every stone of the trading company is accompanied by a certificate that it is sourced in the Canadian Arctic.
According to GIA expert Russell Shor, there's no shame in buying diamonds and diamond jewelry online. The main advantage of this trading method is that would-be buyers are free of any pressure from the seller’s part.
The Gemological Institute of America is recognized as the world-wide authority evaluating diamonds, precious stones and pearls. The objectivity of its reports is the guarantee for confidence in goods offered by merchants using the services of this institution.
Selling online today is practiced by such well-known manufacturers of jewelry as Tiffany, Birks and Harry Winston.
According to expert data, e-commerce accounts for 6-7% of the total online diamond jewelry sales including traditional jewelers who offer online services.
Shor also said that buying diamond jewelry by electronic means can be cheaper than in a jewelry store, but when the price is too good to be true, one should remember that there is no sort of short cut to cheap diamonds.
There are two companies in the world - Blue Nile and James Allen – which have a reputation of established online diamond retailers, but they don’t have the cachet and can’t provide expert services offered, for instance, by Tiffany, where customers pay for the brand’s elitism.
Still, the expert says, "You get just as a good a stone from Blue Nile as you can from Tiffany."
For Ran Cohen, President of Diamond.ca, the advantage of online diamond shopping is that it is available at any time and offers attractive prices and a wide choice to consumers.
"The need to cut off the middle man was clear, and the Internet provided that opportunity," said the businessman.
According to RBC Capital Markets analyst Irene Nattel, the diamond industry has recovered from the global recession of 2008-2009 and is now focused on such countries as China and India, where the market is booming. The diamond segment outperformed the broader luxury space, growing eight per cent in 2010, the analyst said.
In Marushenko’s view, despite the growth in online shopping, diamond jewelry sales are still underpinned by their classic version.
Alex Shishlo, Editor of the Rough&Polished European Bureau in Belgium
