All You Have is Your Name
Mike Sarafa
Special to the Chaldean News
Integrity. It’s an old-fashioned concept; you sort of know it when you see it, or sometimes feel it.
I’ve seen integrity. I’ve seen it in action, at Joe Yatoma’s Dash Diamonds in West Bloomfield. Diamond buyers in the know are drawn to Dash for its selection, its quality, its value, and its guarantee that each diamond selling for more than $1,000 is certified by the Gemological Institute of America—the jewelry industry’s authority on geological research and authenticity. GIA tests and grades diamonds on the four Cs: carat weight, cut, color, and clarity. So, purchasing from Joe’s selection of loose stones, fine jewelry, and custom pieces brings not only quality, but also peace of mind.
A few years back, Joe’s reputation took a hit via one his vendors. Joe immediately contacted all of his impacted customers and explained the situation—some, but not all, products from this vendor included the tiniest of lab-grown diamonds. One client’s necklace was sent to a laboratory and several of those lab-grown diamonds were identified. In all, the dollar amount of affected diamonds in this case was less than $500. Joe immediately addressed the situation, changed out the diamonds and satisfied the customer.
When Joe entered the diamond business as the first Chaldean diamond wholesaler in 2017, he operated with low overhead, minimal marketing expense, and employees that were all family members. And what he saved in those expenses he passed along to his customers, sometimes at savings of up to several thousand dollars when compared to similar items offered at retail jewelers. Those same jewelers didn’t really care for the competition with Joe. A source out of the Diamond District in New York that sells to many Detroit area jewelers told me, “Joe essentially undercut the market and the big boys didn’t like that.”
Recall that necklace with the minuscule lab-grown diamonds? The client wanted to confirm its quality and took it for testing to a competing jeweler. The results showed a dozen lab-grown diamonds, many more than the previous test when, years earlier, Joe identified and replaced lab-grown diamonds with naturally grown stones.
So why did the test from this other jeweler identify even more lab-grown diamonds? Joe and the client had the same question. Together, they took it upon themselves to send the necklace to the GIA. Using the most sophisticated testing available, the GIA did identify two additional tiny lab-grown diamonds which, again, Joe immediately changed out. Remember, we’re not talking about large center diamonds here. These were near the clasp, unseen by anyone. In fact, few jewelers test these tiny diamonds at all.
What could have caused such wildly contrasting test results of the same necklace? Hard to say, but there’s no doubt that the test run by Joe’s well-known competitor was faulty, either deliberately or by mistake. Even worse, the faulty test results found their way onto social media from yet another competitor.
This story about this one necklace—and it only impacted a necklace, no engagement rings were ever affected—has been used by Joe’s competitors to cast a cloud over Joe and Dash Diamonds. As for Joe’s reputation, his most important asset, it’s been tarnished. Ironically, this issue of lab-grown diamonds mixing with naturally sourced diamonds is one that all jewelers face—every jeweler, from the biggest names in town, to national chains, to independents like Joe.
What I admire about Joe is his passion, and his commitment to his craft for his customers. In addition to his personal guarantee, every diamond ring worth more than $1,000 comes with GIA certification, and is laser inscribed with the GIA certificate number.
Talk to Joe. Explore his store. Learn from his expertise. You’re not simply buying jewelry, you’re making an investment in something you can trust.
Mike Sarafa is one of the original publishers of the Chaldean News who has recently rejoined as contributor and host of a new podcast, Mike’s Musings.