B & D Diamonds, a new company with years of experience, is giving the independent retailer more options when selling diamonds. Specializing in clarity enhanced diamonds; the company boasts strong numbers and plenty of satisfied customers.
Established only two years ago, Boaz Oved and Dora Leviton combined their more than 20 years worth of clarity enhanced diamond experience to open B & D Diamonds. Based in Texas, the entrepreneurial pair decided it was time to lead their own company and vowed to make it as customer-friendly as possible. “We intentionally chose Texas as our company headquarters because we knew the overhead would be much less than it would be if we worked out of, lets say, the Diamond District of New York,” states Boaz.
Having started his career in loose diamond sales in the early ‘80s, Boaz honed his loose diamond knowledge for seven or eight years until clarity enhanced diamonds were introduced. Immediately he saw the value and appeal in the process and, in his own words, “jumped on the band wagon.”
“Dora and I have been in the enhanced business since 1991. We’ve accumulated a great deal of experience. We enjoy being able to speak directly with our customers when they call and being able to hand pick our merchandise. I travel to Tel Aviv once a month to ensure we have the best possible merchandise available for our customers. That is how we make a difference to them,” states Boaz.
Despite the obvious advantages to carrying a clarity enhanced line in such a volatile economy, some jewelers are still skeptical. As with most debated issues knowledge is essential to making a wise choice. Below is basic information about clarity enhanced diamonds and the process by which they are transformed.
Are they real?
Clarity enhanced diamonds are real diamonds. They are natural, from-the-ground stones that, during the crystallization or polishing process, produced what is known as a ‘feather.’ These feathers, or flaws, block light reflection. Clarity enhancement is used to make these natural imperfections invisible.
How do they do it?
With a state-of-the-art technology process. Simply put, clarity enhanced diamonds are injected with a weightless, glass-like material which fills the feather. Filling this imperfection with a transparent material whose optical characteristics and refractive index match a natural diamond results in ‘masking’ the flaw to the naked eye, resulting in increased brilliance and clarity.
“Think of it this way,” explains Dora. “When you have a crack in the windshield of your car, if it is small enough, you hire someone to inject it with a substance that will repair the crack and restore visibility. You do not compromise the ability to see clearly through the glass nor can you see the substance that was injected. That process is similar to diamond enhancement.”
What does this mean to retailers? It means more options for their customers who are already feeling the squeeze from the downtrodden housing market, financial market meltdown and increasing cost of fuel. Being able to offer more stone for less money is a smart option in today’s economy.
Kim Clowers, daughter of Floyd Pagel, owner of Pagel and Son’s, welcomes the opportunity to offer her customers more options in loose diamonds. “We’ve been selling clarity enhanced diamonds for more than 15 years, and in the last few years our customers are talking about them more. We approach our customers with education and information about the process and lay the un-enhanced and enhanced diamonds side-by-side. That’s when they see that they can buy the better looking, larger stone for less money. In fact, our total diamond sales have increased due to carrying clarity enhanced diamonds.”
Putting clarity enhanced diamonds next to non-enhanced stones worth the same amount may seem like risky business. However, when the salesperson is knowledgeable about the process the end result is customer satisfaction. Giving your customers options puts them in the drivers’ seat.
“B & D Diamonds carries only top quality stones,” states Oved. “We believe our business is about quality and honesty. We describe our stones just as they are, in GIA terms. Our customers know our descriptions are reliable, honest and accurate.”
For more information about clarity enhanced diamonds contact Dora or Boaz at 877-683-3426 or by e-mail at bandddiamonds@gmail.com.
