Michael Fried

Hey there!  My name is Michael Fried, the CEO of The Diamond Pro.  I was born and raised in New York City.  While I am a New Yorker at heart, I have lived all over the world. I’m currently living in Brno, Czech Republic. I have 20+ years of experience. The first ten years I worked my way up the ladder for one of the largest diamond manufacturers in the world. For the last ten years I have been educating diamond consumers and helping people avoid all the rocks and shoals as they navigate their way to the perfect engagement ring.

In the last ten years I have secret shopped thousands of stores worldwide to give our readers the most accurate information out there. I have written hundreds of articles on every topic applicable to buying diamonds and diamond jewelry. We strive to help every reader get the best bang for their buck while making one of the most stressful purchases of their lives.

While studying International Business and Accounting in New York, I started to work part time at Leo Schachter (one of the leading diamond polishers in the world). I started out part time doing administrative work, but I quickly became more involved in the diamond side of the business.

After two years there, the company sent me to their global headquarters for an intense diamond training regimen.  As Ira explained, we weren’t just learning the academic knowledge of gemology.

We learned how to evaluate every facet (pun intended) of the diamond trade in order to maximize the value of every diamond that came through our company.

Northern Tip of Ireland

While we learned all aspects of the business, I specialized in 1ct+ certified diamonds – specifically fancy shapes (non-round).  I returned to New York and ran the fancy shape division.

My main focus was developing relationships with traditional brick and mortar independent retailers.  I traveled around the US extensively learning the ins and outs of the jewelry retail trade.

After leaving Leo Schachter in 2007, I worked at another major diamond polisher called Moshe Namdar.  I became increasingly disenchanted with the business, and finally walked away at the end of 2009.  I have been travelling ever since, occasionally having worked at an independent retailer.

When Ira first started The Diamond Pro, I was very impressed with the idea.  I loved the concept of utilizing our expertise to empower the consumer.  I was excited when Ira brought me on board early on to handle the day-to-day management of the website, including my favorite part – interacting with our fantastic readership!

I am an avid traveler who has been to more than 75 countries across the globe. I have lived in Israel, England, New Zealand, Australia, Croatia and now the Czech Republic.  I am most comfortable when I am in a foreign land, not knowing how to find the right train and arguing with some border police who I need to communicate with using hand signals.

I am honored to be recognized as a diamond industry expert by Time, People, Money, The Daily Mirror, NerdWallet, The Times Herald, Yahoo Finance Australia, The Art of Charm, The Washington Diplomat, The Next Web, and more.

James Allen James Allen is the leader in online diamond sales. Their imaging technology is the same as inspecting a diamond with a jeweler's loupe. They have the largest exclusive loose diamond inventory online and fantastic prices. They also have the nicest collection of lab created diamonds online. Save 25% off settings or  Save 10% off Lab Created Diamonds during limited time sale!

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What we love about them:

• No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
• Lifetime Warranty
• Free International Shipping
• Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
• Provide insurance appraisals
• One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
• Free ring inscriptions
• Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
• 24/7 Customer Service
• Best-in-class packaging

Blue Nile [generate_bluenile_links url="https://goto.bluenile.com/c/1323400/504049/8660?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bluenile.com%0A%2F" title="Blue Nile" cta="Blue Nile"] is the largest and most well known internet jewelry seller. They have a very large exclusive online inventory. Their high quality images are catching up to James Allens' and their prices are amazing. Blue Nile have generously offered our readers an exclusive one-time use coupon. [dp-bn-coupon message=" (Click Here to save 15% off engagement ring settings)" type_id="1"]

Click to Visit

What we love about them:

• No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. Blue Nile will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
• Lifetime Warranty
• Free Shipping
• Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
• Provide insurance appraisal
• One free resizing within the first year of purchase
• High quality images of about half of their diamonds
• 24/7 Customer Service
• 100% credit towards future upgrades (must be at least double in value)
• Best in class fulfillment