Diamonds at the best price? Opt for our smart buy approach!

15 Jul 21

Interested in buying diamonds as an investment? Then you will obviously mainly want to pay the inventory value of the gemstones. You are therefore looking for the best diamond at the best possible price. This optimal price-quality ratio is something you’ll find at BNT Diamonds. Quite a strong statement, we are well aware of that. But please do read on and discover for yourself why we are right. The secret of our price tags? Our smart buy approach. Steven Boelens, Executive Director, can explain exactly what this strategy means. The common thread: efficiency, in every way.

No exuberant profit margins, as you won’t need to cover enormous costs and because BNT Diamonds opts for efficiency.
Buying diamonds is something we do straight from the source, without any unnecessary intermediaries and their profit margins.
The sale to you is largely done online. This allows us to provide you with an optimal and cost efficient service.
We won’t buy the gemstone until they have been sold to you. This saves us having to keep large and expensive stocks. Yet we can still deliver quickly, thanks to automation.
You make a difference too, when you make sound comparisons, only opt for certified diamonds and always from a reliable trader.

No exuberant profit margins

“You will often be paying as much as a 50 to 70% gross profit margin when you want to buy gemstones as a private individual”, Steven starts. “A diamond which cost them 1000 euro will be sold for 2000 to 3000 euro. With many of the major brands you will quickly be paying four to five times the purchase price.”

Why oh why, we hear you think. Well, you’re helping to pay for their huge costs. Firstly for that expensive diamond purchase, which we will take a more detailed look at shortly. But also the costs associated with indirect marketing, like sponsoring events, paying celebrities to show off their jewellery and organising all manner of exclusive exhibitions. Plus you are financing major stocks, the incredibly expensive shops at prestigious locations and the associated staff.

That’s not how we operate. “At BNT Diamonds the diamonds are mostly priced in accordance with their underlying investment value. Our profit margin is much smaller, as we tackle every aspect of our business as (cost) efficiently as possible, without it negatively affecting the quality of our service or gemstones. It already starts with the purchase of the diamonds.”

Buying diamonds at the source

Steven Boelens: “Diamonds will change ownership four to five times with many of our competitors. Everything starts with the mining companies, like the world famous De Beers. An organisation like this mainly wants to concentrate on its core business: mining for rough diamonds. That’s why it relies on a network of intermediaries for all other matters. The diamonds first go to a cutter. Once they have been beautifully cut, the gemstones are sold on to a trader who will focus on the cutter’s region. The diamonds will subsequently continue their route to traders specialised in certain colours, sizes, etc. They, in turn, will sell the diamonds to brokers closer to the jeweller. This is how the stones eventually end up in the shop.”

This method of trading leads to a fast rising resale price and therefore eventually also a higher price tag for you. After all, each trader will take a 5-10% gross profit margin. We deal with things differently at BNT Diamonds. “We buy the diamonds straight from the cutters. So much closer to the source, without any unnecessary middlemen. This ensures all intermediate profit margins are eliminated and we can therefore make our purchases at a much lower price.”

In addition, BNT Diamonds knows exactly who to speak to for each type of diamond, always of excellent quality. This is thanks to a carefully developed network of niche diamond producers. “We often buy in India, mainly in the harbour town of Surat, the very heart of the Indian diamond production. But we will also frequently go to diamond companies from that other major world diamond trading centre: Antwerp. After all, one type of gemstone will be easier to buy here and the other will be easier in Asia. This did take some getting used to for the cutters, this working direct with the end seller. But our collaborations are incredibly strong today. Both they and we are realising huge successes with our efficient, disruptive working method.”

Efficient selling to the end customer

We will now take a look at the next reason why BNT Diamonds manages to keep its costs so low: our extensive web shop. “Our internet shop is – literally – a shining example of successful e-commerce”, Steven boasts. “Virtually 70% of our customers buy online. This allows us to optimally and cost efficiently continue to serve them. No matter how quickly our customer base grows and irrespective of the number of countries we are active in – the total number currently stands at more than fifty! After all, we don’t need to invest in expensive sales points and the associated personnel.”

“Customers can look through our complete range of top quality, certified investment diamonds and search for various different characteristics, including the price class and the 4 quality criteria Cut, Carat, Colour and Clarity. We can instantly answer all questions via our chat box, which will open up on every page. We will soon also be communicating via WeChat, the Chinese Facebook, and WhatsApp. These channels allow us to help our customers at any given time with detailed information, making sure they can make the right decision. And this assistance is still incredibly efficient, at a low cost.”

Would you still rather buy on location? It goes without saying that’s possible too. BNT Diamonds has showrooms in Antwerp, Dusseldorf, Geneva, Mumbai, Nice, Paris and Zurich. You will find a representative selection from our different sizes, colours and qualities in these showrooms. “This allows us to satisfy all our customers’ preferences. Some will look online first and will subsequently come physically knocking on our door. Others prefer to do it the other way around: come and take a look first and subsequently place their order online. Anything is possible.”

Very quick delivery, without stock

Once you have found your preference in our range, you can either instantly order the diamonds online or via the showrooms. Whoever can’t find what they’re looking for can request a no obligation quotation in just a few clicks.

Steven Boelens: “We don’t buy the gemstones until they have been sold. That’s the moment when we look for the best diamonds available on the market, at the best possible price and propose this for the purchase. We therefore don’t keep large stocks, in contrast to our competitors. This significantly lowers our administrative costs and means we don’t need to have huge financial resources. A classic jeweller will work the other way around: he will first buy the gemstones and subsequently sell them. His stock will quickly be worth one and a half to two times his turnover - easily a million euro or more. We don’t want to bear this stock cost.”

Despite a limited stock, you can still enjoy a fast delivery and a quick reaction to your order or quotation from BNT Diamonds. “This is partly down to our self-made software, which allows our purchasing process to run very efficiently. If the requested diamonds aren’t in stock, the order will automatically go to the most suitable purchase source. This source will subsequently come up with a selection. This is followed by an important quality inspection by us. This ensures the customer will receive the best possible proposal barely 24 hours later, but often even quicker. We will make the purchase as soon as the customer provides his approval, exactly in line with the agreed conditions and quality requirements, as explained in the description supplied.”

You can make a difference too

So now we’ve arrived at the final link in our smart buy approach, i.e. you, our customer. The smart purchasing of diamonds also means you only contact the most reliable diamond traders. Making sure you only buy gemstones which match the exact quality and value the seller has informed you of.

“How can you realise that? By thoroughly comparing diamonds in all areas, especially the price and only opting for gemstones with a certificate issued by top laboratories like the HRD, IGI and GIA. But also by thoroughly evaluating your seller. Don’t do business with anyone who is making outrageous profit promises, who doesn’t communicate transparently and who is difficult to reach or identify. Google the trader and check independent reviews, like on Trustpilot. This will ensure you are comparing like for like and you will be making your purchase from the right source, at the most competitive price.”

Smart diamond purchases through smart trading

Buying direct from the cutters, without any unnecessary intermediaries. No exuberant profit margins, as we work incredibly efficiently throughout all of our processes and don’t need to take huge costs into the equation for large stock levels, indirect marketing and very expensive sales points. This unique, disruptive strategy: that’s our smart buy approach. This allows us to offer you the best and most extensive collection of diamonds, at the best possible price-quality ratio.

Discover the BAUNAT difference for yourself

When you compare BNT Diamonds’ prices to those of all major brands and online shops, you will soon notice you won’t find our top quality diamonds cheaper anywhere else. By now you are certainly aware why that is, but we would like to show you the difference. We sent out a number of independent ‘mystery shoppers’ in 2016 to conduct a thorough price comparison and they arrived at these conclusions.

Convinced?

Have you, as you absolutely should, thoroughly compared several players within the market? And did you reach the conclusion that BNT Diamonds is the best partner for your investment plans? Then start working on those plans today, via our four investment options.

About Fabienne Rauw

BNT Diamonds Antwerp

Fabienne, manager of the German market is able to guide every client with finding the right jewel. She takes care of most of the German orders, but also takes other task on her plate. Thanks to her six years of experience at BNT Diamonds she acquainted well with the product and the marketing around it. Her degree in PR ensures that BNT Diamonds is well presented across all media channels. For anyone looking into a new investment opportunity, Fabienne is the perfect guide in this process. No question will be left unanswered, and she will help you every step of the way.

With this article, BNT Diamonds strives to inform you thoroughly about investing in diamonds. No investment can be guaranteed to be without risk or fully according to your expectations. That is why we recommend to research the risks and aspects of investing in diamond properly to ensure that you make the right choice for your portfolio.