My ZCOVA Visit

So one day Ziwei from ZCOVA pm me to have a visit to his ZCOVA showroom and see if we can form a affiliate relationship. Well, why not? So we meet up.

Their showroom is located at Kota Damansara Technology Park where you can find all sorts of light industry around. It is a strange place to locate a showroom but then Ziwei has multiple businesses to run, including a chemical company which shares the same building, so it is "strategically" located.

Upon reaching the showroom, the door bell doesn't seem to work, so I just called up ZCOVA phone number and the lady on the other side opened the door promptly, but remotely. Hmm, feels like some movie whereby everything is so secretive and the big boss is hidden somewhere and does all the talking behind some veil or curtain or maybe using some proxy. ;) Proceed through the door and went up a flight of stairs and there is yet another glass door... but this time, I can see that everything looks posh, with the nicely designed ZCOVA hanging on the wall right behind the glass door. Again, the door is opened remotely by probably the same lady. So, another flight of stairs... I am sure glad that I visited them before I get too old to walk stairs lol.

So I finally reached the showroom's main reception area. Everything looks elegant. Very well-thought. If I don't know them beforehand, I will think that they are going to sell me something like 1000% marked-up. A pretty lady handed me an Aqua Panna 250ml. What's there not to like when you were given a branded mineral water by a pretty girl while wearing t-shirt, shorts, and slippers, whereby my Birk is the most expensive wearable on me. Oh yes, there is really a curtain next to the main reception area and I was wondering whether the big boss (Ziwei) will come out from there. Nope. Instead, he walked up the stairs. First impression - Hey, he is better looking in person... and slimmer too (probably because of the stairs). Then, the second boss (Ziyin, appears from behind the curtain. So we shook hands, and sat down to talk about diamonds and what is ZCOVA all about.

Now, to be honest, I only know ZCOVA through their website and also Facebook page. They are doing things pretty alright and I would say they are trying to disrupt the market. Their website is designed pretty well and I can see they put in quite some effort. Just that, the diamonds that they displayed on their site is not something I would like to see. There are just not enough nice diamonds that can capture my attention! So naturally, we talked about this. To my surprise, the diamonds listed are not the only ones they have, instead, their inventory is actually more or less the same as Blue Nile! Now, this is really a good news. One of the reasons that they did not list out all inventory from their suppliers is because certain suppliers require them to commit a certain amount of sales before allowing ZCOVA to list out the diamonds on ZCOVA's website. Nonetheless, ZCOVA's inventory is much more than what you can see so that means they can have better options that what you are able to see online. Ziyin actually showed me a diamond that he is choosing for a customer and I am deligthed to see that the diamond looks way better than most diamonds I can see on their site. This shows that they really put in good effort to assist the customers to choose the best diamond for their budget. And by the way, that diamond is an eye-clean SI1 diamond, so I would say they are trying to assist their customers to get the best bang for their bucks. Nice. Overall, I would say that their looking website has understated their true value. I sincerely hope that they can sort that out, and be as great as Blue Nile in terms of potraying the loose diamonds.

I would highly recommend anyone that wish to purchase from them to engage them directly first before picking a diamond on the website and make payment. With this, their consultants will be able to advise you accordingly and let you experience the better part of the ZCOVA experience. In order to experience the full ZCOVA experience, I would suggest you to drop by their chic showroom located in Kota Damansara.

Now, you might be wondering whether they have performane images or not. The answer is - It depends. If the supplier provides the images, then they can provide them to you. However, according to Ziyin, sometimes suppliers might reuse the same image for different diamonds. Now, I would prefer to sit on the fence for this statement but I am inclined to believe that it is true. There is nothing to back my belief but just based on common sense. This is simply because taking all those performance images take time and time is money. So, it is possible for  certain suppliers to do some shortcut. Of course, I can always give the benefit of doubt to those suppliers and just assume that they attach the images wrongly. Ziyin mentioned that the plethora of colours used in ASET, IdealScope, Hearts & Arrows may confuse potential buyers, which I believe that it is true, but not something unteacheable. Instead, I would think that what Ziyin meant was the inconsistency in terms of images such as different photography setup, different resolution, different attention to detail (some can be sloppy images), as well as inconsistency in the availability of images for a certain carat range that really confuse people. You want to see how confusing? Visit Enchanted Diamonds. Now, Enchanted Diamonds is pretty good in their own rights but that is not the direction ZCOVA is moving towards to. ZCOVA is also not the likes of WhiteFlash, Brian Gavin Diamonds, Crafted by Infinity, Victor Canera, or Jann Paul, whereby all of them are championing in the realm of super ideal diamonds. ZCOVA is more like Blue Nile, but with their own set of principles. It is a company that aims to be your personal shopper and a company that runs by people with passion. They also refuse to mark-up diamonds based on cut quality, all they care are the 4Cs because their diamond price is based on Rapaport Price List and the price list does not even care about cut quality nor optical precision. Since they do not buy a better cut diamond at a more expensive price, they don't find any reason to incur extra cost at your side. This is actually what Ziwei wishes to highlight - Diamond is actually a commodity. They are sold based on weekly updated prices and so-called signature diamonds shouldn't be sold at a more expensive price. Just imagine diamond as durian, which is a commodity. It is sold in terms of kilogram (carat for diamond), and the durian seller (ZCOVA) will try their best to pick the best durian (best diamond) for you.

Of course, this is what I was told by ZCOVA, so I can choose to take it with a pinch of salt. However, I remembered I saw a better looking diamond that is priced cheaper than a bad looking diamond before on their website, so I am inclined to believe it is true. So does that make other companies that sell very good cut diamonds at a more expensive price bad? In my opinion, it is absolutely fine for good looking stuff to be more expensive, but the mark-up should be fair enough. As for what is fair, only you can answer that. Just remember - To achieve better cut, more time and wastage is needed, but that's a story for another day, for now, let's just focus back on ZCOVA. Overall, I would say ZCOVA will get the diamond with the best cut quality and proportions for the customers without incurring extra mark-up. The price difference that you may see will be caused by the update of the Rapaport Price List.

ZCOVA has made the first move to become Malaysia's first online-based jeweller that show loose diamonds online together with the exact diamond picture (if available). The website is beautiful and elegant. Compared to the other competitors, they are doing the online thing slightly better. Why only slightly? This is because they are well-connected to a whole lot of suppliers, yet the website is only limited to one or a few only. This, to me, has greatly understated their true ability to provide better quality stones. One of the reasons is because not all suppliers are willing to let ZCOVA to integrate their inventory into ZCOVA's website unless ZCOVA is able to hit a certain sales target, which is quite a huge amount for a young start-up. However, no fret, you can simply contact them via Facebook Messenger, which is integrated in their website, and let them know what you are looking for. They will be able to sort things out for you professionally. Now, although the website is not as functional as I would have hope, but I have confident that the 2 founders of ZCOVA will improve it gradually. For now, I would say they are running on a hybrid model - Online + Brick & Mortar (B&M), and leaning more towards B&M, which is not a bad thing! For those who are skeptical to buy online, this is definitely good news. For anyone (skeptical or not) that wishes to get an engagement ring, I would strongly encourage you to make an appointment to visit their showroom to enjoy the full ZCOVA experience.

Now you might ask - What is the full ZCOVA experience I mentioned? Basically, when you visit a normal brick & mortar, you will be greeted by a whole range of diamonds that are available in-house. However, when you visit ZCOVA, you probably won't see any! This is because ZCOVA runs on virtual inventory, and because of this, you are actually able to choose from a whole lot more diamonds compared to the typical brick & mortar. In fact, ZCOVA prides themselves as one of the diamond sellers that has access to a whole range of diamond suppliers that are as comprehensive as Blue Nile, thanks to the connection that Ziyin has built while working as a diamond consultant in Lebanon. With Ziyin's professional expertise, he is able to guide you through all the diamonds that are available and give you his insights about the pros and cons of a particular diamond. From my own brief encounter with him, I certainly enjoy looking at him choosing eye-clean SI clarity diamonds because they give some tremendous value in terms of money. Also, I have also emailed him to ask about some diamonds and he did give me some useful feedback about clarity. Although I am not a professional myself, but I really don't see the need for him to bullshit me because I see a lot of passion when he is talking about diamonds. If you visit ZCOVA, they will probably guide you through to the various virtual inventories and look for something that falls right into your budget and requirements. I don't see them as pushy people so don't worry about that. Besides, according to Ziwei, ZCOVA definitely won't upsell you anything. All they want to champion in this industry is to allow the customers to buy a diamond at the right price together with the right quality. Anyway, this is the internet, so don't take my word for it. Pay them a visit and experience yourself. Remember, my experience is solely my own, your experience is solely yours.

Since ZCOVA's site does not show all the available diamonds from their supplier due to reason mentioned above, one trick I would use is to browse some diamonds on Blue Nile and then ask ZCOVA and see if they are able to source for it. It is highly likely they are able to source the same diamond at a fair price. There is one forumer who asked me about a particular diamond offered to him by ZCOVA which is sold at Blue Nile as well. And guess what? ZCOVA price is actually cheaper. Of course, I believe there can be cases whereby the diamonds sold by ZCOVA can be more expensive as well, but in this case, you may consider using ZCOVA's price match policy and see if they are able to match the price. Please be reminded that the final decision lies with ZCOVA, and having a price match policy does not guarantee that you can get it, but it is worth a try. For your info, price match is pretty common among online diamond retailers. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't. Nonetheless, looking for a diamond a Blue Nile and then check with ZCOVA to see if they are able to get it for you is a pretty good way to get quality affordable diamonds. If you are wondering why I don't ask you to buy from Blue Nile straight away. Reason is because Blue Nile does not ship to Malaysia.

Lastly, I would like to say that ZCOVA is a trustworthy company and it is certainly safe to buy from them, whether by visiting them, or through their online store. They don't push for sales and they are willing to educate you. You will find it carefree when talking to anyone in ZCOVA. Their prices can be more affordable then what you see online, at least that is what my experience tells me, as I have picked 2 diamonds and check for their prices on ZCOVA. Quality can be better too. So, well done ZCOVA! As of now, they have 2 consultants that are able to serve you. One is Ziyin, and the other is Ms Chong Hui (based on Facebook comments). I am not sure about Ms Chong Hui's qualification, but I am sure if Ziwei and Ziyin put her up to this role, she should be pretty reliable. For Ziyin, he is actually a Graduate Gemologist (G.G.) from GIA. This is actually the highest education level you can get from GIA (as far as I know). Some may claim themselves to be gemologists but in actual fact, they probably only end up with a one or two beginner qualifications. being a G.G. means that Ziyin is capable to advice you on both diamonds and precious gem stones! This is yet another plus point for ZCOVA. So, the next time you are shopping for diamonds, you should probably pay ZCOVA a visit. By the way, ZCOVA accepts credit card and possibly installment as well!

Note: Now, some may think that this article seems contradicting because all this while I have been advocating people to buy diamonds with proper performance images. Honestly, I still believe in getting all those performance images. However, do understand that my preference does not necessarily need to become your preference. All I can do is to advice, but at the end of the day, it is you who is going to make the final call. If you have been reading my threads in Lowyat forum, you see that I have also helped people to buy from places like Wah Chan as well. Reason? Because their diamonds are pretty affordable. As for ZCOVA? They are a company with their own set of principles and I respect that. Also, I love to see a Malaysian company to succeed. They are certainly moving in the right track and I see that they will continue to grow further. If you don't know yet, I am also affiliate with Memory Jewellery not too long ago. Some may think  that I am earning good money being affiliate here and there, but I just wish to highlight that I can actually get better commissions from WhiteFlash, Brian Gavin Diamonds, or Zoara compared to Memory Jewellery. Also, I am not sure how ZCOVA can track my referrals, but I will just let it be for now. Yes, earning some commissions is one of my main purpose of writing this blog, but not my sole purpose. I believe in giving back and giving proper information to my readers. Therefore, I will try to put my articles as objective as possible when it involves different vendors. I think by helping others, what I want in life will come naturally. At least this is what some successful people taught me and this is what I believe.

"You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want." - Zig Ziglar
Thanks Todd! ;)