GETTING WHAT YOU PAY FOR

The second rule in buying jewelry sounds simple. It is to expect to pay for what you get-and to get what you pay for. To put it another way, jewelry that's a "steal" may literally be stolen or it ma~ not be genuine. Simple as that sounds, unfortunately, buying jewelry is not simple, Knowing what to look for in jewelry can and may help protect you from being cheated, but the primary protection is not to listen the larceny in your soul. Human nature may be such that we a want something for nothing, especially expensive " somethings." Yet, getting fine jewelry-such as karat gold and diamonds of top clarity color, cut, and size-for next to nothing is impossible.

Nobody. "gives away" such valuable items, or any other valuable item out of the goodness of his heart or because you have an appealing face.

To go back to cars and furs. No one interested in buying such car could mistake a Cadillac for a Rolls-Royce. Anyone intereste. in furs can learn about them, but all that glitters is not gold – or platinum or silver. All that is diamond-bright is not a diamond. And all that is ruby-red is not a ruby. What the jewelry may actually be is the most difficult knowledge to get or learn of all luxury purchases, -i that what we see is not always what it seems to be.

The only way to be absolutely sure of what you buy is to buy from a reliable and reputable jeweler (see Chapter 6) who stands behind what he sells. That way, if the jewelry turns out to be different from what it was sold as, the jeweler will refund your money or replace the jewelry for the sake of his reputation.