356 THE DIAMOND
be
more so if he were a good buyer. Usually, unless he has other lines
which assist him in evading the results of injudicious buying, he
cannot blunder all the time and withstand the keen competition of
to-day, in the long run. Little as people know about diamonds, somehow
it is the man who buys aright that succeeds best. If the consumer pays
too much for a stone, it is a matter of little importance. He wears or
gives one, a little poorer than he might otherwise, and that is the end
of it. But to the dealer it is vital. The cost of his merchandise is
the edge of the sword he wields in the struggle for existence. He
should lose no opportunity to learn about the stones and their values.
For him there is but one safe course, and that, to buy on his judgment.
If that is bad, he will need great good luck.
To
the consumer, the buying of a diamond is not a business, but a luxury.
He has neither the experience nor the opportunity to gauge values
closely, even though he has a natural ability, as many persons have, to
appreciate desirable and undesirable qualities. He must, therefore,
in any event, rely upon someone, to some extent. His judgment should be
exercised in selecting the man or firm in whom he will place
confidence. If the man with whom he deals is expert and honest, the
more confidence the buyer puts in his statements, the more surely will
he get a good stone and a reasonable price.
It
is a common occurrence for an intending purchaser to take an adviser
with him, or to submit a stone which he has under consideration to a
friend for an opinion of its value. It is usually the old story of "
the blind leading the blind," and the only variation in the result is,
that not both, but the buyer only, " falls into the ditch."
