Why knowledge makes you a confident shopper- Marissa

A few months ago I had the amazing opportunity to visit Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. While I was there, I made my way into town to check out the dining, shopping and culture, as any tourist would do! After a delicious authentic Mexican meal, I wandered into a shopping mall that catered to high end shoppers. While browsing the various high end clothing stores, art boutiques and jewelry stores, it occurred to me: "I wonder how much they are charging for Tanzanite here in Mexico, where many products are often less expensive!" As I made my way into the upscale jewelry store, the two salesmens' eyes lit up at the site of my myself and my gentleman friend, probably thinking "Oooh! Newlyweds!" When I reached the counter and met the two gentlemen, I asked to see "The largest, most exquisite Tanzanite piece they had! One of the two gentlemen excused himself and went into a back room and I remember thinking "Oooh baby!! This is going to be gorgeous!!!!" My excitement and expectations were completely crushed when the man presented me "An 6 carat 3A tanzanite with a 1 ct mix of baguette and round diamonds." I was completely taken back because not only was the Tanzanite very light in color saturation, pushing a 2A in my opinion, it also had a very low clarity grade and looked as if it was a 2 or 3ct stone. On top of that, the diamonds didn't even compare to the eye clean diamonds we offer in our Iliana Luxury line, here at The Jewelry Channel. What was even more shocking was when he offered it to me saying excitedly, "Normally $36,000, today I take off $3,000 just for you!"

Ha! That's when the smirk crossed my face, I turned to my friend, chuckled, and I said "Really... No thank you." I then sauntered out of that store like I was the smartest, most confident girl in the world. Many of you may have heard me share this story on the air, I have used it to really draw a comparison to the incredible markup that happens in retail and educate you on the perks of shopping with The Jewelry Channel, where you have the benefit of not paying those exorbitant retail prices. Even as one of your hosts here at The Jewelry Channel, it not only took an incredible amount of research, but also some serious comparison shopping both live and also via the internet to really understand the value of the jewelry TJC has to offer and also for me to have the confidence to strongly and honestly convey that to you, the consumer.

While my recent trip to Mexico shed light on the retail world, especially when it comes to prices on rare and exotic stones, it also was an eye opening experience that taught me how knowledge really does empower us as consumers.