Charmed
Shiny_Rock
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Barmakian Jewelers in New Hampsire anyone?????
- Thread starter Charmed
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DancinGirl
Shiny_Rock
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I have heard of Barmakian in Nashua, NH. I was actually going to check them out, but they weren't open the day I was able to go. (Sunday) There is also a Barmakian Bros in the Jewelry Exchange in Boston at 333 Washington St. - I am not sure if they are the same ones. I have heard good things about the one in Nashua - but I can't say I have been myself yet. Are you from NH too?
Dancin Girl
Dancin Girl
niceice
Brilliant_Rock
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my fiance and I recently purchased a ring from Barmakians in NH. We were actually dismayed at the service. The first time we went they were rather abrupt and kept looking at the time when they found out we weren't there to buy that day. When we came back the second time to pick out a center stone for my ring they stayed an extra hour to help us and were very friendly when our check book was out. As soon as they has out money they seemed done with us. I went back a few days later to have my ring resized and they seemed less then thrilled to deal with me. It seems once they had our money they didn't much care. The only reason we got the ring there was they has the mount that I has been looking for that was hard to find. My advise if you are just looking for a diamond go somewhere else because if your are treated well for paying that amount of money thats just wrong.
DancinGirl
Shiny_Rock
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cushionsearcher
Rough_Rock
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DancinGirl
Shiny_Rock
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That's a tough one because I haven't actually purchased from anyone in NH - just looked a lot.
The ones I have found most FRIENDLY and with good quality were:
Springer's Jewelers in Portsmouth, NH
Long's Jeweler's in Newington (Fox Run Mall), NH
Finn & Co. in Portsmouth, NH
I am by the Seacoast - so that's all I know right now.
GOOD LUCK!
~Dancin Girl
The ones I have found most FRIENDLY and with good quality were:
Springer's Jewelers in Portsmouth, NH
Long's Jeweler's in Newington (Fox Run Mall), NH
Finn & Co. in Portsmouth, NH
I am by the Seacoast - so that's all I know right now.
GOOD LUCK!
~Dancin Girl
This past Christmas my husband and I purchased a 5 stone anniversary band (for me!) from Barmakian's Nashua store. I could not have been happier with the service! The atmosphere at Barmakian's is absolutely fabulous! We had been searching around for about a month when my future brother in law suggested Barmakians. We had certainly been past it before, but had always been intimidated by it's HUGENESS! He had purchased my sister's engagement ring there and had been blown away by both the service and the PRICES! So we went, looked around - they let me try on practically every ring in the place and helped me narrow the search. I was pleasantly surprised at the attention we recevied - especially since we are young (I was 24) and look even younger - people tend to not take us seriously. I was amazed by the low prices they can offer and the wide variety of stones and settings. I would recommend ANYONE to try it out - we are sure glad we did!
I purchased my engagement ring for my fiance at the Barmakian Bros. in the Boston Jewelry Building. They were fantastic, and have been since then. We've gone in there multiple times to had her ring cleaned, and they are always very nice about it.
We were there just today looking at wedding bands, again, very friendly, very helpful, not pushy in any way. I recommend them.
-Val
We were there just today looking at wedding bands, again, very friendly, very helpful, not pushy in any way. I recommend them.
-Val
2 friends of mine purchased their rings there. They said that when you first walk in it looks as if you can not afford anything in the store, but believe it or not they are reasonably priced and you can design your ring the way that you want. They recommended Barmakian Jewelers to me for my Wedding band. They are cheaper than any place that I have been to ie:Belden's, Naser & Kay.
I hope that I could answer your question!
[email protected]
Rough_Rock
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- Aug 29, 2003
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I am the Service Manager at the NASHUA BARMAKIAN JEWELER'S
and I sincerely regret your experiance and dissatisfaction
with our service. I assure you, your perception is unacceptable and sincerely wish to hear from you. We, at Barmakian Jeweler's, in Boston, Framingham, and Nashua, pride ourselves in our sincere attempt to listen and please
each and every customer, regardless of the circumstance.
Please phone me at your earliest convenience, to discuss this situation.
I am available at any time, excluding Thursdays. I too am dismayed by your experiance and find it most surprising. I do wish you had brought your dissatifaction to our attention. We are a wholesale manufacturer and our sales staff does not work on commission...and that alone should, most certainly tell you something about our philosphy. Our goal.. is "ALWAYS" to provide good quality merchandise, excellent service and a most comfortable atmosphere to our customer. WE appolgize for your lack of satisfaction and do hope you will give us the opportunity to discuss your unfortunate situation. Please call Deborah @ (603)672-0516, hopefully, to remedy any dissatisfaction that you may have experienced. We would greatly appreciate the opportunity to personnally communicate with you and I implore to do so. Many thanks!!
Sincerely,
Deborah
and I sincerely regret your experiance and dissatisfaction
with our service. I assure you, your perception is unacceptable and sincerely wish to hear from you. We, at Barmakian Jeweler's, in Boston, Framingham, and Nashua, pride ourselves in our sincere attempt to listen and please
each and every customer, regardless of the circumstance.
Please phone me at your earliest convenience, to discuss this situation.
I am available at any time, excluding Thursdays. I too am dismayed by your experiance and find it most surprising. I do wish you had brought your dissatifaction to our attention. We are a wholesale manufacturer and our sales staff does not work on commission...and that alone should, most certainly tell you something about our philosphy. Our goal.. is "ALWAYS" to provide good quality merchandise, excellent service and a most comfortable atmosphere to our customer. WE appolgize for your lack of satisfaction and do hope you will give us the opportunity to discuss your unfortunate situation. Please call Deborah @ (603)672-0516, hopefully, to remedy any dissatisfaction that you may have experienced. We would greatly appreciate the opportunity to personnally communicate with you and I implore to do so. Many thanks!!
Sincerely,
Deborah
elmo
Brilliant_Rock
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- Jun 18, 2003
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Go pricescope.
Deborah, while we have your attention, I thought it was interesting to read between the lines of Robin/Todd's post:
"several of our clients have gone through them to purchase their Kretchmer rings and been quite satisfied"
It's just a thought, but if B's was doing the best possible job for it's customers, why did several customers go out of their way to purchase their stones on-line and just the settings from you? I'm not knocking your business, but it seems to me that there's a lesson to be learned here
, some room for continuous improvement.
In general, we've found that the top on-line sellers simply do a better job offering the very best cut-quality diamonds, and a significantly better price even, than the locals in our area.
Heads up!
Deborah, while we have your attention, I thought it was interesting to read between the lines of Robin/Todd's post:
"several of our clients have gone through them to purchase their Kretchmer rings and been quite satisfied"
It's just a thought, but if B's was doing the best possible job for it's customers, why did several customers go out of their way to purchase their stones on-line and just the settings from you? I'm not knocking your business, but it seems to me that there's a lesson to be learned here
In general, we've found that the top on-line sellers simply do a better job offering the very best cut-quality diamonds, and a significantly better price even, than the locals in our area.
Heads up!
aljdewey
Ideal_Rock
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Not necessarily. It could be that those customers fully intended to buy their diamonds online in the first place. However, they may not have been able to find Kutchmer settings online, and had to then go to B's to get it.
It may very well be the scenario Elmo outlined, but it's not a given to assume that those Kutchmer purchases went to B's first, decided on the setting, but then went on-line to purchase the diamond due to some deficiency at B's.
Just a devil's advocate thought for the day....
elmo
Brilliant_Rock
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Maybe, but that's a bet I think I'd take, Al
.
At least me personally, I'd pay a premium, albeit fairly small, for the opportunity of a local purchase if the selection and advice and information were similar. It may sound strange to you, but I like going to the store, hanging out, talking about business, and seeing cool things I might not be in the market for right now. Except for the shop talk, you really can't do much of that online unless you're willing to eat shipping charges.
The right local b&m has some definite advantages over on-line.
At least me personally, I'd pay a premium, albeit fairly small, for the opportunity of a local purchase if the selection and advice and information were similar. It may sound strange to you, but I like going to the store, hanging out, talking about business, and seeing cool things I might not be in the market for right now. Except for the shop talk, you really can't do much of that online unless you're willing to eat shipping charges.
The right local b&m has some definite advantages over on-line.
aljdewey
Ideal_Rock
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I guess, then, that we'd have an active bet going.----------------
On 9/1/2003 10:37:10 AM elmo wrote:
Maybe, but that's a bet I think I'd take, Al.
At least me personally, I'd pay a premium, albeit fairly small, for the opportunity of a local purchase if the selection and advice and information were similar. It may sound strange to you, but I like going to the store, hanging out, talking about business, and seeing cool things I might not be in the market for right now. Except for the shop talk, you really can't do much of that online unless you're willing to eat shipping charges.
The right local b&m has some definite advantages over on-line.
----------------
Sure, the local B&M could have some advantages......but you rightly mentioned IF the selection was as vast (which it typically isn't) and IF the information was similar (which is typicall isn't) and IF the staff were as knowledgable as the online resources (which they typically aren't). I can't speak for others, but my experiences with B&Ms to date finds that few can satisfy all of these "ifs".
Even if they did, my general point was this: what's perceived as an advantage or a disadvantage really depends on the mindset of each individual consumer.....not everyone enjoys "hands-on" shopping.
You note that you like going to the store, hanging out, talking about business, and seeing new things.......so for people like you, the B&M offers great advantages. But not everyone sees these as "advantages".....my boyfriend's a classic example.
My boyfriends would rather crawl across HOT COALS than have to enter a store and do the schmooze and "talk business". His first choice is ALWAYS an online purchase, and he considers it a shortcoming if he cannot find a way to buy something online instead of schlepping to the store. For him, the local B&M has *way* more disadvantages than advantages.....the crowds, the pressure from on-counter salespeople, the insincere small talk.....it all makes him want to move to an uninhabited island! He does nearly all his x-mas shopping on line! To him, the ability to shop online and never have to walk into a store again is right up there in significance with the second coming of Christ!
As far as seeing new things, he doesn't have to eat shipping to do that. He can view them online through folks like Jonathan who post a plethora of pictures, and such pictures may cause him to make the trek to a store in person if something grabs his interest.
So for some, online offers definite advantages over on-line. Some prefer hands-on storefront shopping, and some prefer online. It all depends on who the shopper is. My previous remarks were to suggest that because we don't know who the shoppers involved were, it's not a slam-dunk to assume that Barmakian's "wasn't doing the best possible job for it's customers" or to assume that a substandard B&M experience was the motivator to purchase online.
Hi. I recently got married this summer and purchased my engagement ring and wedding bands at Barmakian Jewelers. My experiences with them were all extremely positive ones. As a matter of fact, I will never buy diamonds from anywhere else! After making one of the biggest jewelery purchases ever, I can honestly say, we really got what we paid for. Prices were reasonable considering the cost of diamonds. The staff knew absolutely everything about diamonds, as well as size, what would look good, designing the ring to be the most visually appealing etc. (I mean, the sales person wasn't out to sell me the hugest diamond they had- they were honest about what looked good on my hand, etc.) as a matter of fact, the sales people in the diamond section do not even work on commission!
My point being, they really have the customers interest at heart. and if i could do it again, i would definitely go back to Barmakians. I actually recently purchased a four carat garnet and diamond ring, which by the way, no other area jewelery store carries that caliber and quality of jewelery. Go to Barmakians. they are in Nashua, NH, where I went, in Framingham, MA, and in the jewelers building in Boston. Hope this helped!
Kristy S
My point being, they really have the customers interest at heart. and if i could do it again, i would definitely go back to Barmakians. I actually recently purchased a four carat garnet and diamond ring, which by the way, no other area jewelery store carries that caliber and quality of jewelery. Go to Barmakians. they are in Nashua, NH, where I went, in Framingham, MA, and in the jewelers building in Boston. Hope this helped!
Kristy S
pricescope
Ideal_Rock
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Genafrgh
Rough_Rock
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- Oct 16, 2003
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my fiance and I asked for a H&A diamond for my e-ring at Barmakians, and we were told not to worry about that, that it makes no difference in the diamond, as long as it's "ideal". We were advised to just compare a couple diamonds side-by-side to pick our preference. We were told the diamonds we were presented with were in the "ideal" range. However, after finally picking one & getting it home, on the HCA it scores only a 3.5. I was very disappointed by this because not only is the diamond not what they were selling it as, but it was also over priced. It should have sold for about $3000, but they got $4400 out of us.
DancinGirl
Shiny_Rock
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- Feb 23, 2003
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diamond dazed
Rough_Rock
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Genafrgh
Rough_Rock
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DancinGirl, that's a pic of my dream ring. I don't own it *yet*, but believe me, we're saving. I found that pic when I did a search for an asscher cut diamond in a vintage box-style illusion setting. I wish I could remember where I found the picture so I could post a link, but I've had it for so long, I can't find it.
disappointed
Rough_Rock
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- Feb 12, 2004
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My fiance purchased my engagement ring at Barmakian in NH. The day after he proposed I noticed that the stone was loose in the setting. I was extremely upset because I was unable to wear the ring the next day for fear the diamond might fall out.
I immediately contacted the salesperson in NH where my fiance purchased the ring. He did not return any of my phone calls. I then contacted the Boston store and they said, "Bring it in, we'll tighten the setting."
I brought the ring into the Boston store and they tightened the setting, however, the moron that tightened it failed to notice that there were diamonds on the side of the prongs and crushed a couple of them. Also, the prongs were bent and distorted afterwards.
We have gone through hard times with Barmakian. Four months later, they now have a new setting, supposedly "perfect and ready to go." Also, they refused to give us money back and said they would only issue store credit. We are going to contact an attorney to resolve this matter.
Barmakians customer service is horrible. Their fancy stores don't impress me one bit. I recommend you go elsewhere to purchase a ring, but do your homework ahead of time.
I immediately contacted the salesperson in NH where my fiance purchased the ring. He did not return any of my phone calls. I then contacted the Boston store and they said, "Bring it in, we'll tighten the setting."
I brought the ring into the Boston store and they tightened the setting, however, the moron that tightened it failed to notice that there were diamonds on the side of the prongs and crushed a couple of them. Also, the prongs were bent and distorted afterwards.
We have gone through hard times with Barmakian. Four months later, they now have a new setting, supposedly "perfect and ready to go." Also, they refused to give us money back and said they would only issue store credit. We are going to contact an attorney to resolve this matter.
Barmakians customer service is horrible. Their fancy stores don't impress me one bit. I recommend you go elsewhere to purchase a ring, but do your homework ahead of time.
chowchow99
Rough_Rock
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- Dec 17, 2003
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I had a tremendously good experience at Barmakian's in Boston working with a wonderful salesperson named Natalie.
She practically did backflips for me to find a stone to meet my criteria. Unfortunately she was unable to find one.
Maybe because I was going to spend in the high $30' to low $40's had something to do with it but then again maybe not.
But do go there and check them out! Their prices are very competitive and Natalie is truly wonderful.
She practically did backflips for me to find a stone to meet my criteria. Unfortunately she was unable to find one.
Maybe because I was going to spend in the high $30' to low $40's had something to do with it but then again maybe not.
But do go there and check them out! Their prices are very competitive and Natalie is truly wonderful.
I'm looking for a diamond approximately 2.25 ct round very good cut with better clarity than color, maybe VVS2 and as low as K for the color to bring the price down if it doesn't look too yellow, you know maybe just a yellow hue. Because I know above 1.75 cts the white diamonds can get very expensive.
Do you think I could find such a good rating on the clarity with the K color and how much on average do you think it would cost for a diamond in this general range.
Do you think I could find such a good rating on the clarity with the K color and how much on average do you think it would cost for a diamond in this general range.
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The questions can be aesily answered... but there is one Q I feal I would need to ask: Did you get to see K colors and SI clarity? Clarity grades affect price more, but color is quite a bit more obvious. Many fail to explain that all clarity grades from VS2 up are always eye clean, and most of SI clarity stones are also eye clean. This becomes twice true if you consider mounted stones or the 'face up' look of diamonds. It is more usual for buyers to save on clarity rather than color or cut - based on what how these characteristics affect both price and visual appearance of the stone.
It may help allot to visit a high end store and see some ideal or high quality cut diamonds of VS-SI clairty and different color grades. I know Tiffany would cary I/VS2 stones and those diamonds would be well cut, if not ideal. Also, if a store nearby carries ideal cuts, you may want to see some VS2/SI stones and check wether K is white enough. For most the line for "white color" is drawn at J. Regardless of what I think and you might have heard, these decisions are best made with some visual experience to back them up. Otherwise, it is really hard to shop by numbers and grades alone and everyone can try to sway your opinion based on their taste (myself included). Not great, I suppose.
Last night I bought a 2.3 CT. K Color VVS2 that looks real good, I compromised color for size but the color is very faint. I put it in a white gold setting because I could see less yellow in the white gold than the yellow gold. I have to have a clear near flawless diamond. The flaws bother me more than the color, unless of course it's strong yellow
I had a very odd experience at Barmakians in Nashua last week. I’ve been doing my due diligence learning as much as possible about how to shop for a diamond and feel almost comfortable looking and getting an idea on how a particular diamond should be priced. I’ve looked at a number of particular diamonds on bluenile, niceice, good old gold, and white flash, as well as a few B&Ms. I’ve done a decent amount of business with Barmakian in the past (actually I’ve spent far more money with them then with all other jewelry purchases combined) so I trust and respect them to a pretty high degree. Well to make a long story short, the diamonds I looked at (5 or 6 total) were all well below the price of the high end diamonds on any website (i.e. whiteflash ACA, nice ice, or good as gold) so far below in fact that I was sure something was not quite right. I guess I should mention that I specifically asked for G-H, VS1-SI1, at least VG/VG but preferably EX/EX, and ideal cut. I thought this should get me the cream of the crop. One problem I had is lights in the private viewing rooms were so intense it almost hurt my eyes! OK not a dishonest practice as any vendor wants to show his product in the best possible light (pun intended). But one nice feature in these rooms is there are both incandescent and fluorescent lights on different switches. Of course using both light sources shows off the color and brilliance/scintillation at the same time. The two switches allowed me to conduct a little experiment. After noticing that the diamonds fell off considerably when cast in a shadow, much more so then Long’s Trea diamonds I’d seen, I shut off the incandescent lights. Under fluorescent only, these rocks were dead flat (see my other post). I mean not one single sparkle from 3 stones. When I specifically asked about the cuts, I was told the GIA does not grade the cut (which I already knew of course), that these were however in the “ideal range”, and that getting anything better would just be a waste of money. I just expected that a store of their size and reputation would carry some top quality diamonds. Asking for 000 was not an option as they only carry GIA and EGL.
Now it’s important to point out that I do not feel at any time they were misrepresenting the diamonds. They were “ideal cut” with regard to the very flexible GIA standards. And I think that the prices were very attractive for what they were. I almost wish I had never done my research and could be happy with one of these stones! But knowing what I know now I have a hard time buying what I would consider an under performing cut. I just hope the GF will be as conscious of quality vs. size as I am now. So, if you know what you are buying, I agree you can get a great deal, if however you are after the top 10% of cuts, look somewhere else. I will continue to do business with them come Christmas and birthdays, but I think I will go elsewhere for the E-ring. One last thing, when I mentioned a channel or pave setting, the salesperson tried to steer me towards a plain (and much cheaper) setting, no hard selling tactics here.
Now it’s important to point out that I do not feel at any time they were misrepresenting the diamonds. They were “ideal cut” with regard to the very flexible GIA standards. And I think that the prices were very attractive for what they were. I almost wish I had never done my research and could be happy with one of these stones! But knowing what I know now I have a hard time buying what I would consider an under performing cut. I just hope the GF will be as conscious of quality vs. size as I am now. So, if you know what you are buying, I agree you can get a great deal, if however you are after the top 10% of cuts, look somewhere else. I will continue to do business with them come Christmas and birthdays, but I think I will go elsewhere for the E-ring. One last thing, when I mentioned a channel or pave setting, the salesperson tried to steer me towards a plain (and much cheaper) setting, no hard selling tactics here.
My fiance and I bought my engagement ring at Barmakian's in Nashua. We went there because of the reputation and were completely dissatisfied. They were very nice when we were ready to spend $4000 but then didn't really want to bother with you. I have had to bring my ring back four times in six months because of a faulty setting. The first three times they brushed me off and just quickly tightened it for me. I do have to say though that the service mgr. Deborah went above and beyond the call of duty and gave me an entirely new head for the ring and promise to replace the setting for me if I had any more problems. Everyone else just sent me away and failed to explain anything to me. Deborah really took the time to help me and she made me happy but I would NEVER purchase anything there again!!!!!!!!!!! I bought my wedding band at Nazarian's in Salem---much happier with the service. I vowed to never recommend Barmakian's after what happened to me
kathleen
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