by Ben Levinson, Dynasty Jewelry & Loan

 

So, you have been in business for over 20 years. Your customers know you as an honest and nice pawn shop with a stellar reputation and great reviews.

 

One day, a longtime customer helps his son buy a beautiful 1 carat diamond for his soon-to-be wife. After giving it to her in another city, she goes to get an appraisal for insurance, and lo and behold, it is a lab created diamond. You had no idea and talked about how beautiful this diamond was and where it was probably sourced during your sales presentation.

 

The results? Loss of credibility. Loss of customers. Embarrassment. 1-Star Google Review. BBB Complaint. Press involvement. The damage far exceeds the cost of investing in testers and training your employees.

A few helpful tips:

1. Research the testers, both moissanite and lab grown. Some do more than others. What is your risk tolerance?

2. Train all your employees on how to use testing equipment, in addition to the process you have in place

for testing all diamonds coming in. Use a good diamond/ moissanite tester first and then test with a lab-created tester.

3. Train your employees to educate the customer about what they are doing with the testing machines.

4. Test every diamond every time.

5. Test every diamond in inventory, and again as they come out, until you reach the date you started testing.

6. Keep a separate display area for natural diamonds and for man-made stones.

 

Bottom line? It only takes one slip, one stone, to destroy your hard-earned reputation and years of work building your business. Go ahead and spend the money on testing equipment and training. It protects you and takes care of your customers. It is the right thing to do.