| Mark and Doreen Whitman were both in | | | | with their desire to buy loose diamonds at |
| agreement, typical of a couple married for over | | | | wholesale prices, he was more than reluctant. |
| 25 years. The well off couple had some extra | | | | "Our local jeweler kept on offering us diamonds |
| money saved up and had decided to invest it in | | | | which were already set in rings and necklaces." |
| diamonds. Doreen already had a collection of | | | | Doreen continues, "And when he finally showed us |
| diamond jewelry glitzy enough to make any | | | | a loose diamond with a GIA certificate, the price |
| woman envious. Now the couple wanted to | | | | was not low and obviously not wholesale." To |
| purchase a diamond at a wholesale price, store it | | | | make matters worse, the jeweler which they had |
| in a safe place, and wait for the price to | | | | known for years started to get nervous and |
| appreciate.Buying diamonds at wholesale prices is | | | | defensive when Mark pulled out his copy of the |
| not as easy as it sounds. When Mark and Doreen | | | | rapaport list, the diamond industries price guide, |
| approached their trusted neighborhood jeweler | | | | and started to haggle over the price. |