Interview Questions for your Wedding Jeweler

Before you begin your search for your wedding jeweler, you need to teach yourself a little bit about the four C's of wedding diamonds. The four C's are "color", "cut", "clarity", and "carat". Color measures how close a diamond is to being colorless, the more colorless a diamond, the more brilliant it appears under light. The cut impacts brightness and how much it sparkles when exposed to light. Clarity means diamonds contain tiny imperfections that naturally occur during it's formation. Clarity is graded by how visible markings are at 10x magnification. Carat is basically the weight relative to the size of the gem.

When you pose your interview questions to your jeweler, a good jeweler should have no problem in explaining the 4 C's of wedding diamonds to you in more detail and better yet should be able to show you diamonds and explain the 4 C's using the diamonds.

As you begin a session with a jeweler, you should start out seeing an assortment of diamonds that fall within the price range of your budget. The groom should have an idea of what shaped diamonds his lady may like, may it be round, marquise, oval, pear shaped, baquette, princess(square), heart, or emerald cut. Part of the search for your diamond ring, is learning all about the diamond and inspecting the diamond using a jeweler's binocular microscope or jeweler's loupe.

After you have picked out a diamond you should get a grading report of that diamond from an independent accredited gemologist laborer such as a GIA, whose independent generated report will ensure your diamond's value, quality, and authenticity. Your objective is to find a skillful diamond cutter who can unlock the incomparable natural beauty of a diamond by accurately arranging each facet to maximize the amount of light returned to the eye of the observer. Your questioning of the jeweler should be geared to finding one who is knowledgeable of jewelry and who is a masters craftsman who is a perfectionist on cutting diamonds.

In your search for a wedding jeweler, you should take your time and interview with numerous jewelers, you want to be sure you are getting a good deal, it's an important investment. A good jeweler is focused on you and that you are happy with your choice of your engagement and wedding ring. Don't be swayed by a jeweler that pressures you into having to buy a ring from them whether you like it or not. Also remember when buying jewelry, that the price you pay is negotiable, a process similar to buying a car from a car dealer.

Also you will have to know your love's ring size, there are a number of ways to find the ring size, 1) borrow the ring and take it to the jeweler, 2) place the ring into a bar of soap or clay, 3) place it on one of your fingers and mark where it stops on your finger, 4) measure your ladies ring size by using a piece of string or twist tie, 5) get or borrow a ring template from a jeweler, 6) have one of your lady's family members, maid of honor, or friend get you the size.

Interview Questions for your Wedding Jeweler 
1-Ask for a business card, what is the name of the jewelry store, the address, and phone number?
2-What is the jeweler's name you are interviewing, their phone number and email or other contact information?
3-How long has the jewelry store been in business? (Hopefully 2 years or more)
4-How long has the jeweler been in operation?
5-How many diamonds has the jeweler sold?
6-What made you decide to become a jeweler?
7-Can you tell me about your background and about your experience as a jeweler?
8-Can you tell me some about the 4 C's of jewelry, what do I need to know about color in a diamond?
9-What do I need to know about cut in a diamond?
10-What can you tell me about clarity of a diamond?
11-What can you tell me about carat of a diamond?
12-Who made the jewelry being sold at your business?
13-Where did most of the metal in your business come from?
14-Where were the gemstones in your business mined?
15-Can you tell me where most of your diamonds are cut?
16-Can you tell me about what wedding bands you have to offer?
17-What tools do you have to measure ring size?
18-Can you tell me about your ring mounting process?
19-Does your business offer ring repair? done in shop or sent out?
20-If you don't have what we are looking for, can you help us find what we want?
21-Can you or your business design and make custom pieces of jewelry?
22-How do we clean our jewelry?
23-Do you use the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) scale for color and clarity?
24-Are your diamond's in your business loose? (not mounted)
25-Do you relate your prices to the Rapaport Wholesale Diamond Price or New York Wholesale Price Index?
26-Can you provide a GIA appraisal with the diamond?
27-Does the jeweler have a Gem Laboratory where the stone can be viewed?
28-Does the jeweler have a GIA colorimeter or an ultraviolet light for color grading?
29-Does the jeweler have an electronic scale to weigh the diamond?
30-Does the jeweler have a Gem Scope or Microscope to view the diamond?
31-Does the jeweler offer "cut certification" from an independent graduate gemologist?
32-Does the business specialize in loose diamonds? fine jewelry? (not including birthstones)
33-Does the jeweler own their own inventory or carry on loan?
34-Will the jeweler give us 100% of what we paid for the diamond if we should decide to upgrade?
35-Does the jeweler offer an unconditional 30 day money back guarantee? what's the refund policy?
36-Does the jeweler offer 90 days same as cash financing?
37-Does the jeweler have a GIA Gemologist in staff?
38-Has the jeweler handled all outstanding complaints with the better business bureau?
39-Does the diamond have a warranty? service plan? how and where do we get insurance?
40-What's the bottom line price for each option including gemstone, wedding band, mounting, labor, other costs such as taxes?
41-Are there payment plans available?
42-What forms of payment do you accept? (credit cards, debit cards, cash, certified checks, paypal)
43-Can you provide us with contacts of three clients that purchased wedding jewelry from your business?
44-Once we order the wedding jewelry, when would the jewelry be ready to pick up?
45-Can you keep the wedding jewelry up to the time of a week before our wedding?


Remember that wedding jewelry is also an investment, if you do your homework and get the jewelry at a good price, if you should turn around and sell it later you should get your money back or more (hope you have a good marriage and this will never happen)! Don't be intimidated by any jewelers, some can be aggressive, there are many jewelers around to choose from, and until you have a deal you have the upper hand. Find a jeweler that is knowledgeable, nice, personable, and is looking out for you and one that is not too pushy. Use an independent jeweler and the GIA appraisal to evaluate the wedding jewelry you are purchasing.

The interview questions are provided as a guide for your meeting with your jeweler. Add, subtract, or change the questions in order to meet your personal situation as you see fit. One recommendation, leave a space right after your questions to put down answers from the jeweler's responses. Sometimes buying a wedding ring is a little tricky, some brides love to be surprised but want a particular diamond ring, some don't care, and some want to choose their own ring and want to buy it together with their beloved.

See you on the other side!