Wholesale Diamonds for Consumers? There Is No Such Thing.

If you've been shopping for a diamond online, you may have seen lots of ads and sites with a title of Wholesale Diamonds or something similar. Sounds great, diamonds are expensive so wholesale diamonds must be a great deal, right? THERE IS NO SUCH THING! At least not available to retail buyers like you and me. Take a look at some prices from these supposed wholesale diamond sellers and then compare them to retailers like Blue Nile, Ashford or Mondera - not much difference and sometimes the "wholesale" sites ARE MORE EXPENSIVE!

Unless you know someone who is in "the business" and has contacts with ACTUAL diamond wholesale companies, you're not going to find a diamond at true wholesale prices online or in any store, period.

I don't mean to sound angry, but this whole "advertising as wholesale" business is just plain misleading. If you want to find the best price on diamonds, use the Loose Diamonds Search Engine. You'll see inventories and prices from multiple RETAIL jewelers (because consumers can't buy from a wholesaler) and you can compare what each has and the available price differences between each.

So the next time you see an ad for "wholesale diamonds", don't believe the hype.

Diamond Prices Index Update - 134.0 UP 4.1

Our round brilliant loose diamond prices index rose 4.1 points this week to 134.0. This rise represents a 4.1% increase in the average online retail price of loose diamonds.

Diamond Prices Index Update - 129.9 Down 3.1

Our round brilliant loose diamond prices index dropped 3.1 points this week to 129.9. This drop represents a 3.1% decline in the average online retail price of loose diamonds, presenting a good buying opportunity for those planning a Valentine's Day engagement.

2005 Holiday Sales Figures From Publicly Traded Online Jewelers

Blue Nile, Inc. (Nasdaq: NILE) announced that it will release its fourth quarter and full year 2005 financial results on Tuesday, February 7, 2006. The Company will hold a conference call to discuss these results on Tuesday, February 7, 2006, at 2:00 p.m. PT/5:00 p.m. ET. The call will be broadcast live via webcast.

Abazias (OTCBB: ABZS) announced that based upon the significant holiday sales figures, it is pleased to announce preliminary fourth quarter sales for 2005 of $1.369 million, over $300,000 ahead of their projected sales. This figure is 161% over the same quarter last year which amounted to $524,407. Please note, these figures are not final and may be subject to adjustment.

GIA Makes Sweeping Changes After Scandal

Ralph Destino, former president of Cartier, Inc. was named as GIA Chairman, a newly created position. Current GIA president William Boyajian will keep his title but will now report to Destino.

Among other notable changes is the discontinuation of the GIA's "membership" structure where different clients were charged different prices based on their volume of grading submissions. There will now be a single pricing structure for all clients.

The GIA will also no longer accept or ask for donations from diamantaires whose diamonds are submitted for grading in the lab.

Linda Scholl, recently appointed to the post of Chief Compliance Officer will oversee the enforcement of compliance policies for the GIA lab. Some of the steps taken include the clear message that no employee may solicit or receive compensation in any form from lab clients. Violators will be fired. The retention of EthicsPoint, a leading provider of services to support compliance, workplace ethics and corporate governance to encourage open, anonymous and safe communication between GIA staff, clients, students and vendors.

GIA has also taken steps to strengthen its Professional Ethics and Conduct compliance statement and added a whistleblower policy whereby employees will lose their jobs if they fail to inform GIA management of any code of conduct violations that they may witness or become aware of.