Now that you have decided on a shape, cut, color, clarity, and carat weight of the diamond of your choice, you are now in a position to shop around between "Bricks and Mortar" jewelry stores and Internet Sellers.
 
When you "shop around" among "Bricks and Mortar" jewelry stores, stay away from independent or chain retail jewelers who are located in large shopping malls or large strip shopping centers. Jewelers located in these type sites pay a percentage of gross sales as rent, have to maintain longer hours of operation that requires more employee personnel, and are required to participate in their shopping mall or shopping center advertising. As a result of these additional expenses, these stores have much higher operating "overhead" expenses which necessitates a higher profit margin to cover these higher expenses. In addition, sales personnel at Mall or Shopping Center jewelry stores generally lack product knowledge about diamonds and fine jewelry. This is because these salespeople have little or no training. Many of them are "minimum wage plus commission" employees. Ask them a question about the "4 C's" of diamonds, and their lack of knowledge becomes apparent.
 
Not every "Bricks and Mortar" independent jeweler (not located in a Mall or Shopping Center) can offer you the lowest and most competitive price. In order to be able to offer you the lowest and most competitive price on a particular diamond, the Diamond Merchant has to BUY that diamond at the lowest price and sell such a large volume of diamonds that he can afford to sell that particular diamond at a very, very close margin of profit. The price that a Diamond Merchant pays for a diamond is determined by how much diamond buying experience the Diamond Merchant has, the manner in which he buys, and how he pays for the diamonds he buys. In order to buy at the lowest possible price, a Diamond Merchant must:

1. Have successfully completed the GIA Diamond Grading and Appraisal Course,
2. Have at least a minimum of 20 years of Diamond Buying experience, thus establishing a track record recognized within the Diamond Trade,
3. Buy directly from Diamond "Cutters" - High quality diamonds from Diamond Cutters in Antwerp, Belgium - Lower quality diamonds (from 1/2 carat and larger) from Diamond Cutters in Tel-Aviv, Israel - and Lower Quality Small Diamonds (from 3/8 carat and smaller) from Diamond Cutters in Bombay, India. Buying directly from Diamond Cutters is buying one level away from the Diamond Mines owned by DeBeers. Buying directly from Diamond Cutters eliminates two middlemen - The Diamond Dealer and the Diamond Wholesaler. These two middlemen add a profit of 20% (each), so by buying directly from the Cutting Factories, an astute Diamond Buyer can save 40%.
4. In addition, an astute Diamond Buyer must buy in "parcel lots" and "pay cash". A parcel (also known as a "Business") is a group of diamonds sold together. The price per carat is the same for all the diamonds in the parcel, or business. A business can be as small as three to four diamonds, and as large as 100+ diamonds. The purchase of a small business carries a 10% discount; the purchase of a large business carries a 20% discount. If paying cash, an astute buyer can save as much as 10%, as opposed to paying in 90 to 120 days.

We at Bennett's Fine Jewelers buy at the lowest possible price.
We buy directly from Diamond Cutters, thus saving 40%.
We buy large parcels, 100+ diamonds, thus saving 20%.
We pay cash, thus saving an additional 10%.

This gives us a Total Savings of 70% as compared to what other Diamond Merchants pay for their diamonds.
 
At Bennett's Fine Jewelers, we have a very low "Overhead" operating expense, and we sell an extremely large volume of diamonds. Because of these two factors, we at Bennett's can afford to add a very small percentage of profit to our extremely low cost, thus we are able to sell you a diamond at the lowest possible price.