Walking into this store, I can't say my fiance and I were terribly impressed. They had these cheesy signs up for buying gold and financing your jewelry. Definitely not as impressive as other jewelry shops we've been inside. However, the woman we dealt with was very friendly, albeit, very casual in how she talked to us. Though she looked to be quite young (thus, presumably, less experienced) she actually surprised us with her knowledge. She was very excited to see our diamond, recognizing the uncommon cut almost immediately and calling over her coworker to look at it.
She gave us many suggestions for what to do with the ring, how to shape the ring, how to set it, and things along those lines. We weren't extraordinarily impressed with the selection (since they use the same catalog as several other commercial jewelers), but we were definitely pleased with the service. She was definitely one of the more friendly people we talked to, and seemed to be very eager to find more information. She wasn't able to answer all of our questions, but she was the only person we talked to who actually called someone to find the information we requested.
Their cards, like the over-sized posters in the store, were very tacky. Definitely, at first glance, you would probably not want to deal with this store, but we had an overall pleasant experience with them and seriously considered them for our engagement ring.
Knowledge: B+
Demeanor: A
Selection of rings: B
Willingness to find information: A+
Estimated Price: $615 (no diamond accents down the sides)
Overall Grade: B++
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Jeweler 4: Royale Jewelers
There isn't much to say about this one. My fiance an I have heard that the brothers who own the store are very nice and friendly, so we decided to check them out.
This store was actually quite busy, so the man we talked to wasn't exactly able to give us a lot of the help that we were seeking. We didn't get to see very many rings, but the emeralds we saw weren't of the best quality. I can't say how any of their other stuff is, because I didn't see anything. Despite how busy the store was, the man we talked to still tried to be quite friendly to us, and greeted us as soon as he finished with another customer. He sort of did a rush job on the estimate for the ring since there were a few other people in the store who were looking to buy something.
This store probably isn't bad for getting pre-made stuff, but we probably won't be getting a custom ring from them; we didn't get enough information about the store.
Knowledge: ???
Demeanor: B
Selection of rings: ???
Willingness to find information: B-
Estimated Price: $625 (no diamond accents down the sides)
Overall Grade: B-
This store was actually quite busy, so the man we talked to wasn't exactly able to give us a lot of the help that we were seeking. We didn't get to see very many rings, but the emeralds we saw weren't of the best quality. I can't say how any of their other stuff is, because I didn't see anything. Despite how busy the store was, the man we talked to still tried to be quite friendly to us, and greeted us as soon as he finished with another customer. He sort of did a rush job on the estimate for the ring since there were a few other people in the store who were looking to buy something.
This store probably isn't bad for getting pre-made stuff, but we probably won't be getting a custom ring from them; we didn't get enough information about the store.
Knowledge: ???
Demeanor: B
Selection of rings: ???
Willingness to find information: B-
Estimated Price: $625 (no diamond accents down the sides)
Overall Grade: B-
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Jeweler 3: Zales The Diamond Store
We were both pretty hesitant about going to Zales since we had heard that they were basically the Walmart of jewelers and that they used lesser quality materials to make their rings. We decided to give them a shot anyway; we had time to burn and we may as well be thorough in our quest to find the perfect ring setting. To Zales!
The guy we dealt with at the Zales was nice enough. He didn't exactly wow us with any sort of manners like Helzberg did, but he didn't offend us by running away at the sight of us like Reeds did. Throughout the whole dealing, he continued to be nice enough, offering his best guess at prices through the whole process, but he, like the guy at Reeds, did not consult a manual. Maybe Zales is mean and lets their employees loose without manuals, or the manual was too far away and he was too tired to go get it. Who knows?
We told him what we were looking for in a ring, and he showed up the emeralds that Zales currently had. He picked out an emerald ring that was somewhat similar to our description of what we wanted and handed it to me to look at. He asked "Were you looking for something like this?" and, looking at the totally clouded light green emeralds, I thought to myself "Sure, but with actually good emeralds, you know, bring out the AAA emeralds, c'mon!" Instead, I asked him for an estimate on better quality emeralds in the ring setting that we described to him. His price estimate was the lowest we had gotten anywhere. Suspiciously low. Though we would love to spend so little money and get a really awesome ring, that sort of thing comes along the lines of unicorns and flying pigs.
Overall, we both thought of Zales as being overwhelmingly average. The guy waited for us to come to him, but wasn't rude or curt with us. He didn't really show us any selection of rings as in a catalog like Helzberg did, nor did he really seem to have the knowledge base that even Reeds had.
Knowledge: C
Demeanor: C
Selection of rings: ???
Willingness to find information: C
Estimated Price: $530 (no diamond accents down the sides)
Overall Grade: C
The guy we dealt with at the Zales was nice enough. He didn't exactly wow us with any sort of manners like Helzberg did, but he didn't offend us by running away at the sight of us like Reeds did. Throughout the whole dealing, he continued to be nice enough, offering his best guess at prices through the whole process, but he, like the guy at Reeds, did not consult a manual. Maybe Zales is mean and lets their employees loose without manuals, or the manual was too far away and he was too tired to go get it. Who knows?
We told him what we were looking for in a ring, and he showed up the emeralds that Zales currently had. He picked out an emerald ring that was somewhat similar to our description of what we wanted and handed it to me to look at. He asked "Were you looking for something like this?" and, looking at the totally clouded light green emeralds, I thought to myself "Sure, but with actually good emeralds, you know, bring out the AAA emeralds, c'mon!" Instead, I asked him for an estimate on better quality emeralds in the ring setting that we described to him. His price estimate was the lowest we had gotten anywhere. Suspiciously low. Though we would love to spend so little money and get a really awesome ring, that sort of thing comes along the lines of unicorns and flying pigs.
Overall, we both thought of Zales as being overwhelmingly average. The guy waited for us to come to him, but wasn't rude or curt with us. He didn't really show us any selection of rings as in a catalog like Helzberg did, nor did he really seem to have the knowledge base that even Reeds had.
Knowledge: C
Demeanor: C
Selection of rings: ???
Willingness to find information: C
Estimated Price: $530 (no diamond accents down the sides)
Overall Grade: C
Monday, April 27, 2009
Jeweler 2: Helzberg Diamonds
We entered this store quite frustrated with our experience at Reeds, but we were greeted by three bored employees. They seemed to watch us as we entered to determine first if we were actually interested in buying something, and seeing that we clearly interested to at least talk to someone, they all greeted us very politely, even introducing themselves, shaking our hands, and even speaking with us using our first names. They were quite patient with us as we both figured out what we wanted, changed our minds, asked to see other things, and asked questions. They obviously wanted a customer, and we were satisfied with them in that respect.
They made suggestions on the style of the ring, and gave us additional information. It turned out that some of the information that they gave us was not totally accurate (thank you, Internet). I asked them if it was possible to get a ring setting that would not catch threads (since I do a number of crafts). A classic or cathedral setting with more rounded thingies to hold the diamond in place (excuse my layman-ese), for example, would be the most likely to catch threads.
Classic setting: https://www.mdcdiamonds.com/images/ProductImages/ES521BR-1.jpg
Cathedral setting: http://www.novori.com/images/products/main/198/12872211RD0101075.jpg
However, a bezel setting would hide the unique shape of our diamond!
http://micelidesigns.com/60251%20.5ct%20Bezel%20Set%20Plat%20Ring%201989.jpg
So, they told us that a trellis setting would be the perfect solution.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41oqSlKmAcL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
Of course, being a normal person, only the bezel setting looked different to me. The other three all look the same to my eyes, so, I wondered, how would there be such a drastic difference in thread-catching? Well, apparently there isn't when you have a diamond shaped like ours. We were moderately satisfied getting a small lesson in settings and differences between settings, so no hard feelings.
They also showed us a pretty nice selection of ring settings and even pointed out their personal favorites for the diamond they looked at. Though there were many to choose from, I can't say I was entirely impressed with anything they had. They didn't seem to know what cut the diamond was, though they did seem to have knowledge of which styles of ring complement the diamond we had.
We had heard people say before that Helzberg was a nice jeweler, but you will tend to pay $100-200 more for the same thing there as anywhere else. That turned out to be the case (sort of), except they were still cheaper than Reeds. They were also much nicer. Overall, Helzberg was a more pleasant experience for us than was Reeds.
Knowledge: C+
Demeanor: A+
Selection of rings: A-
Willingness to find information: B+
Estimated Price: $850 (no diamond accents down the sides)
Overall Grade: B+
They made suggestions on the style of the ring, and gave us additional information. It turned out that some of the information that they gave us was not totally accurate (thank you, Internet). I asked them if it was possible to get a ring setting that would not catch threads (since I do a number of crafts). A classic or cathedral setting with more rounded thingies to hold the diamond in place (excuse my layman-ese), for example, would be the most likely to catch threads.
Classic setting: https://www.mdcdiamonds.com/images/ProductImages/ES521BR-1.jpg
Cathedral setting: http://www.novori.com/images/products/main/198/12872211RD0101075.jpg
However, a bezel setting would hide the unique shape of our diamond!
http://micelidesigns.com/60251%20.5ct%20Bezel%20Set%20Plat%20Ring%201989.jpg
So, they told us that a trellis setting would be the perfect solution.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41oqSlKmAcL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
Of course, being a normal person, only the bezel setting looked different to me. The other three all look the same to my eyes, so, I wondered, how would there be such a drastic difference in thread-catching? Well, apparently there isn't when you have a diamond shaped like ours. We were moderately satisfied getting a small lesson in settings and differences between settings, so no hard feelings.
They also showed us a pretty nice selection of ring settings and even pointed out their personal favorites for the diamond they looked at. Though there were many to choose from, I can't say I was entirely impressed with anything they had. They didn't seem to know what cut the diamond was, though they did seem to have knowledge of which styles of ring complement the diamond we had.
We had heard people say before that Helzberg was a nice jeweler, but you will tend to pay $100-200 more for the same thing there as anywhere else. That turned out to be the case (sort of), except they were still cheaper than Reeds. They were also much nicer. Overall, Helzberg was a more pleasant experience for us than was Reeds.
Knowledge: C+
Demeanor: A+
Selection of rings: A-
Willingness to find information: B+
Estimated Price: $850 (no diamond accents down the sides)
Overall Grade: B+
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Jeweler 1: Reeds Jewelers
We walked into the first jeweler's place with a rough idea of what we wanted. Perhaps we should have come in a ball gown and a tux because we were clearly not the type of customer they jump at. We were both a bit put off that no one approached us, despite entering the store very decidedly and having a small jewelry box in hand. One of the workers at the store was already handling a customer, so no hard feelings there, but the other jeweler seemed to almost run away as I looked him directly in the eyes and approached him. He tried to jump behind a computer to look busy, but I was a woman on a mission, and my fiance was a man who was with a woman on a mission, so we would have none of that! None!
When we told the jeweler what we wanted in a ring and showed him the diamond that we wanted to have set in the ring, he gave us a rushed job and repeatedly told us how busy he was. I won't say he's lying, but we are in a recession and there was no one else in the store. Well, he did recognize the cut of the diamond (sort of), and he did not actually measure the diamond, but gave us his eyeball estimate of the size of the diamond (he was pretty close, to his credit). He didn't pull out any books on the price of the emerald accents, nor did he ask us what quality emerald we wanted. He did not point out any examples of emeralds that they could order, nor did he actually give us any examples of rings that we could choose from. He clearly wanted us out of the store, and that is exactly what he got.
Clearly, we won't be buying from Reed's. The workers seemed somewhat knowledgeable, but there was a blatant lack of manners toward us, and it might be because of how we look and dress (T-shirts and jeans FTW).
Knowledge: C+
Demeanor: F
Selection of rings: ???
Willingness to find information: D+
Price: $1200 (no diamond accents down the sides)
Overall Grade: D
When we told the jeweler what we wanted in a ring and showed him the diamond that we wanted to have set in the ring, he gave us a rushed job and repeatedly told us how busy he was. I won't say he's lying, but we are in a recession and there was no one else in the store. Well, he did recognize the cut of the diamond (sort of), and he did not actually measure the diamond, but gave us his eyeball estimate of the size of the diamond (he was pretty close, to his credit). He didn't pull out any books on the price of the emerald accents, nor did he ask us what quality emerald we wanted. He did not point out any examples of emeralds that they could order, nor did he actually give us any examples of rings that we could choose from. He clearly wanted us out of the store, and that is exactly what he got.
Clearly, we won't be buying from Reed's. The workers seemed somewhat knowledgeable, but there was a blatant lack of manners toward us, and it might be because of how we look and dress (T-shirts and jeans FTW).
Knowledge: C+
Demeanor: F
Selection of rings: ???
Willingness to find information: D+
Price: $1200 (no diamond accents down the sides)
Overall Grade: D
The mission
Our heroes set out on a mission to take an old family diamond pendant and turn it into a brand new shining engagement ring. They went from jeweler to jeweler, looking for the best ring to be put together by the best jeweler for the best price.
The diamond: an approximated 40 point .3ct miner's cut diamond cut between 1880 and 1920.
The goal: a 14k white gold setting with 2 natural round emeralds on either side of the diamond with diamond accents down the sides of the ring.
The budget: whatever.
The heroes quickly realized that each jeweler varied drastically, not only in the quality of their materials and the estimated price for the ring, but also in their demeanor and knowledge of diamonds and jewelery. The heroes were very impressed by some jewelers and very frustrated with others, so they decided to blog about it.
The diamond: an approximated 40 point .3ct miner's cut diamond cut between 1880 and 1920.
The goal: a 14k white gold setting with 2 natural round emeralds on either side of the diamond with diamond accents down the sides of the ring.
The budget: whatever.
The heroes quickly realized that each jeweler varied drastically, not only in the quality of their materials and the estimated price for the ring, but also in their demeanor and knowledge of diamonds and jewelery. The heroes were very impressed by some jewelers and very frustrated with others, so they decided to blog about it.
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