Barmakian?

[LadyAmythyst69]

What does anyone know about them? They seem to have a wonderful selection online and great prices. Has anyone bought from them? If so, what was your experience?

Is it worth me making a trip up to the Boston area to see their store? If so, which store has the best selection?

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[blinkydoll]

The one in Nashua NH has lots.
Then there is the one in Natick-- it''s a min from the Natick Mall--which has "the Natick collection"

they have Tiffany and other high end stores in that Mall-- FUN!

 

[zoebartlett]

I''ve only been to the Nashua store and we didn''t have positive experiences either time we went. The first time we went, the sales associate was hardly paying attention to us. She shared no information with us about the engagement settings we were looking at, and barely tolerated us asking questions. I never do this, but I actually called the store the following day and spoke to the manager about how rudely we were treated. The second time we went was to see what they had to offer for men''s wedding bands. We got slightly better service this time around but we still weren''t bowled over by their customer service.

I''ve heard of others who had similar experiences at Barmakian. Maybe the other stores are better but I''d avoid the one in Nashua.

To be fair though, I will say that it might depend on what you''re looking for and which area of the store you''re shopping. I''ve been there to look at pendants and other, non-engagement type rings, and the sales associates were a little friendlier. In the Nashua store, the engagement rings and wedding bands are on the top floor and everything else is on the ground floor.

 

[LadyAmythyst69]

Date: 1/1/2008 12:59:29 PM
Author: blinkydoll
The one in Nashua NH has lots.
Then there is the one in Natick-- it''s a min from the Natick Mall--which has ''the Natick collection''

they have Tiffany and other high end stores in that Mall-- FUN!

Hmmm - that sounds like it would be fun to shop there!

Love the Blanche doll.

 

[LadyAmythyst69]

Date: 1/1/2008 1:29:22 PM
Author: zoebartlett
I''ve only been to the Nashua store and we didn''t have positive experiences either time we went. The first time we went, the sales associate was hardly paying attention to us. She shared no information with us about the engagement settings we were looking at, and barely tolerated us asking questions. I never do this, but I actually called the store the following day and spoke to the manager about how rudely we were treated. The second time we went was to see what they had to offer for men''s wedding bands. We got slightly better service this time around but we still weren''t bowled over by their customer service.

I''ve heard of others who had similar experiences at Barmakian. Maybe the other stores are better but I''d avoid the one in Nashua.

To be fair though, I will say that it might depend on what you''re looking for and which area of the store you''re shopping. I''ve been there to look at pendants and other, non-engagement type rings, and the sales associates were a little friendlier. In the Nashua store, the engagement rings and wedding bands are on the top floor and everything else is on the ground floor.

What do you think of the quality of their stock? Two floors sound awesome!!

Rude salespeople do make me feel less inclined to buy - but usually I just try to subtly remind them that they really do want to sell me something.

 

[WTNLVR]

I actually had jewelery overload when I went to the Natick, MA store. It''s really big and they have a huge amount of inventory. The sales people were really friendly. The prices and quality seemed nice. I didn''t buy anything, but I had fun looking. My aunt bought her 2ct pear there many years ago.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Barmakian is a good place to look for what you like because they have a large selection, but I definitely wouldn't buy from them.

My wedding band is from Barmakian--I work in Boston and decided to go there with a friend because I was trying to find a wedding band I liked. She got her engagement ring from Barmakian and had a positive experience. They were helpful while we were looking, so when I started to get more serious about buying I went back. At the time, I hardly knew anything about diamonds.

When I was looking I asked for a quote for an eternity band with 7 pointers, F color, VS clarity in platinum. They gave me a very competitive quote and I thought about it for a bit. I went back a week later and told them the quote I'd received and they quoted me something MUCH higher. I should have just walked out then.

But I didn't. I decided to reduce the stone size to 6 pointers and G color (still VS quality in platinum) and negotiate as best I could. I ordered the ring and asked if they could have it shipped to their Nashua store so I dind't have to pay any tax (this is what my friend did) and they refused saying they never do that (??).

I got my ring a few weeks later and immediately I regreted it. First, it was the wrong size. Also, the stones were not evenly set. The icing on the cake, however, was when I took it back the next day and a prong had already broken!!! On a PLATINUM ring?! By this point I'd learned more thanks to PS, so I was not a happy woman. I requested my money back (I wanted to get a whiteflash eternity band at this point), but they refused saying it was a "custom" ring. They said they'd fix the prong, but I laid into the salesman saying that a platinum prong wouldn't break and since they refused to give me my money back I wanted the whole thing remade from scratch. They agreed and THEN found out my original ring was in 14k white gold. Again I asked for my money back and they refused saying they remade my ring exactly how I wanted it.

GRRRR!

The diamonds they used are not well cut and there is one in particular that is a dud and it drives me nuts. My wedding band means a lot to me, but I will be replacing it with another eternity band down the road. After the Boston get together and comparing it to Alj's whiteflash 7 -stone ring with 5 ponters and looking at the stones through and idealscope, it's very evident how bad these stones are. I will keep it for sentimental reasons, but I'm so, so frustrated with the whole process and that I was stuck with a crappy wedding band. This is one reason I love pricescope, I just wish I'd found it a tiny bit sooner.

ETA: I've gone back to Barmakian twice since the wedding band incident to try some things on and now I can really tell how wonky the settings are. The prongs are super clunky and their pave work is relatively dull.

ETA (take 2!): When I was asking for my money back because the ring was not what I ordered and the prong was broken the salesman called me "crazy" and "obsessive" which really upset me since my wedding band did mean a lot to me.

 

[LadyAmythyst69]

Yikes! That is NOT a good story. The price baiting thing is really bad. I was sort of wondering why they seemed to have very good prices on their online store. Seem a little too good. Now I am wondering if your story illustrates why. Hmm...

 

[Fashionvictim]

My mom got her upgrades there and we had a wonderful experience. Her 2.05ct EC is amazingly beautiful and at a great price. I got my amethyst there and also had a great experience. The salespeople are friendly and helpful.