Are Amazon's Slashed Jewelry Prices A Steal...Or A Swindle?

A slashed price tag with a new number stamped in red? It's what we live for. Yes, we get a slight high from bargain shopping and many times, we find those incredible deals online, from our trusty e-tailers. So, when we heard Amazon’s jewelry section has been doing a number on us, we immediately fell from shopper’s paradise, right back down to Earth.

Gizmodo tapped Phillips Auction House cataloguer Kristen Dowling to help lift the wool from under our trinket-gazing eyes to see what the site’s marketing ploys really reveal about the baubles. For example, a pair of princess-cut diamond engagement rings may look completely blinged out and evoke daydreams of wedding bells, but according to Dowling, these majorly "discounted" pieces (at half the original price) aren’t exactly on sale. By analyzing sneaky details (i.e. how the 25 diamonds are split between the two rings and a clarity that translates to being "highly included," code for imperfect cuts), Dowling is able to price the rings at $995, which is exactly its current “reduced” cost. In other words, we’re being swindled, y'all.

So, while these rates are technically fair in the realm of appropriately valuing bijous, Amazon is making us feel like we’re robbing the jewelry store, when in reality, it's the regular ol' rigmorale. And, sure, diamonds are supposed to be forever, but we think an honest market is worth its weight in gold. (Gizmodo)