Just thought I'd pass along my recent experience in engagement rings as I didn't find too many recent posts from others based in Toronto. As a background I had done my homework online beforehand, I had ideas about the stone spec range I wanted and the style of ring I was leaning towards. However I wanted to see rings in person too and I was a little less sure about that.
I looked at a few other places based on personal recommendations and online reviews.
Select Diamond Imports: Very friendly, informative and not pushy. Mike spent 2 hours educating me. He showed me 3 stones of varying sizes and quality. He did primarily GemScan (he did have a few GIA ones too), and was of the mentality "well GIA is more $$, so I try and educate ppl, let them pick the stones and they can get a slightly cheaper stone in the end". He said it costs $400 to send the stone to the US (insured) and have GIA appraise it. It made sense at the time. I couldn't tell the difference between the 4 stones he showed me and actually told him I wasn't excited about them. (at this point I was worried that all diamond cost an arm and a leg and look....well, blahh). He kept talking about this .8ct would look great with a halo even after I repeatedly told him I for sure wasnt' into either). When I asked to see rings, he pulled out a dusty old box of empty dirty settings and said "well we can do whatever you want, but go simple if you're unsure". Overall I felt comfortable with the place but just wasn't excited about the stones. Oh and he took a jab at online vendors (and I didn't bring it up).
AST Jewelery: Went based on online review. I talked to Sevan for a total of 25min. This time I was more clear on diamond specs. He showed me 3 stones, GIA cert'd, and at good prices. He was very anti GemScan. The stones all looked great. When I asked about rings he again said "well we can do whatever you want, go simple if you're unsure, but you need to go and think". Okkkayyyy. I know the advice is good and they make most of their money off the stone... but what I'm trying to tell him is "HELP me make a decision on the ring too". He did have some very nice settings displayed but he didn't seem to care to help me narrow down me decision. Overall I liked him stones but thought he could have been more helpful. Also took a jab at online vendors (and I didn't bring it up).
Jewellery Exchange (downtown showroom with 30+ vendor booths): Good reviews from a friend. I only spent a few min browsing here. Not my scene but I have heard have found good priced quality stones here.
Engage Diamond Studio: Went based on online reviews. I spent 2 hours with Evelyn, who was incredibly nice, knowledgable and enthusiastic! They do things differently. First she had me look at their settings. They have all open cases with thousands of settings with 1ct CZ in them so you can try em on and see placeholder stones + settings together. Was a bit overwhelming. Alone, I picked a bunch out I liked and we went back to her desk to discuss. She guided me and we narrowed down what I liked and didn't. This was exacly what I needed. She brought up all sorts of things I would never have thought about (and no one else bothered to discuss). Eg. with that setting the wedding band will never sit flush etc. I choose a setting and we put it aside. NOTE: they actually do custom jewelery and we made some mods to the one I picked out... they don't have stock settings in store that you can just walk out with. Now to the stones: they only deal with GIA XXX stones. Apparently they had a few AGSs too. She advised against GemScan. I found her +++ knowledgable about cut, which seem to match in general the advice here on PriceScope. She was the only one that talked about steep and deep diamonds (though she didn't use those terms), which they obviously avoid. All the stones we looked at through a microscope (they don't used loupes). I saw a stones I loved and wanted to buy it. Here is the odd thing: They have amazing stones but they don't have a real stock in the store. The stone I loved was actually already sold! They have to bring in the stones from "their supplier in New York"...(maybe the have one or maybe they just look online lol)... I was suddenly skeptical but she was very confident. Anyhow see ordered me a stone with the same "premium cut" and specs as the one I loved. I put a deposit down (100% refundable) and she ordered it in. 3 days later I came back to look at the actual stone and she did not lie, it was amazing. I told them to put it in the setting I chose and 3 weeks later picked it up and then paid the balance. Price was actually higher than the other places I visited, but these diamonds were visually more stunning. The service was incredible and I didn't feel like I was paying thousands of dollars at a flea market like I did at some downtown places.
Overall Engage did things quite differently than other jewelers, but it seemed to be exactly what I needed. They were not pushy, extremely knowledgable about cut, only do GIA XXX with optimal proportions, and only do custom settings. Highly recommended for a local, non chain, B&M store in Toronto!
Other details: 5 years of no-charge re-sizings, re-plating and inspections included. Lifetime trade up policy.
I looked at a few other places based on personal recommendations and online reviews.
Select Diamond Imports: Very friendly, informative and not pushy. Mike spent 2 hours educating me. He showed me 3 stones of varying sizes and quality. He did primarily GemScan (he did have a few GIA ones too), and was of the mentality "well GIA is more $$, so I try and educate ppl, let them pick the stones and they can get a slightly cheaper stone in the end". He said it costs $400 to send the stone to the US (insured) and have GIA appraise it. It made sense at the time. I couldn't tell the difference between the 4 stones he showed me and actually told him I wasn't excited about them. (at this point I was worried that all diamond cost an arm and a leg and look....well, blahh). He kept talking about this .8ct would look great with a halo even after I repeatedly told him I for sure wasnt' into either). When I asked to see rings, he pulled out a dusty old box of empty dirty settings and said "well we can do whatever you want, but go simple if you're unsure". Overall I felt comfortable with the place but just wasn't excited about the stones. Oh and he took a jab at online vendors (and I didn't bring it up).
AST Jewelery: Went based on online review. I talked to Sevan for a total of 25min. This time I was more clear on diamond specs. He showed me 3 stones, GIA cert'd, and at good prices. He was very anti GemScan. The stones all looked great. When I asked about rings he again said "well we can do whatever you want, go simple if you're unsure, but you need to go and think". Okkkayyyy. I know the advice is good and they make most of their money off the stone... but what I'm trying to tell him is "HELP me make a decision on the ring too". He did have some very nice settings displayed but he didn't seem to care to help me narrow down me decision. Overall I liked him stones but thought he could have been more helpful. Also took a jab at online vendors (and I didn't bring it up).
Jewellery Exchange (downtown showroom with 30+ vendor booths): Good reviews from a friend. I only spent a few min browsing here. Not my scene but I have heard have found good priced quality stones here.
Engage Diamond Studio: Went based on online reviews. I spent 2 hours with Evelyn, who was incredibly nice, knowledgable and enthusiastic! They do things differently. First she had me look at their settings. They have all open cases with thousands of settings with 1ct CZ in them so you can try em on and see placeholder stones + settings together. Was a bit overwhelming. Alone, I picked a bunch out I liked and we went back to her desk to discuss. She guided me and we narrowed down what I liked and didn't. This was exacly what I needed. She brought up all sorts of things I would never have thought about (and no one else bothered to discuss). Eg. with that setting the wedding band will never sit flush etc. I choose a setting and we put it aside. NOTE: they actually do custom jewelery and we made some mods to the one I picked out... they don't have stock settings in store that you can just walk out with. Now to the stones: they only deal with GIA XXX stones. Apparently they had a few AGSs too. She advised against GemScan. I found her +++ knowledgable about cut, which seem to match in general the advice here on PriceScope. She was the only one that talked about steep and deep diamonds (though she didn't use those terms), which they obviously avoid. All the stones we looked at through a microscope (they don't used loupes). I saw a stones I loved and wanted to buy it. Here is the odd thing: They have amazing stones but they don't have a real stock in the store. The stone I loved was actually already sold! They have to bring in the stones from "their supplier in New York"...(maybe the have one or maybe they just look online lol)... I was suddenly skeptical but she was very confident. Anyhow see ordered me a stone with the same "premium cut" and specs as the one I loved. I put a deposit down (100% refundable) and she ordered it in. 3 days later I came back to look at the actual stone and she did not lie, it was amazing. I told them to put it in the setting I chose and 3 weeks later picked it up and then paid the balance. Price was actually higher than the other places I visited, but these diamonds were visually more stunning. The service was incredible and I didn't feel like I was paying thousands of dollars at a flea market like I did at some downtown places.
Overall Engage did things quite differently than other jewelers, but it seemed to be exactly what I needed. They were not pushy, extremely knowledgable about cut, only do GIA XXX with optimal proportions, and only do custom settings. Highly recommended for a local, non chain, B&M store in Toronto!
Other details: 5 years of no-charge re-sizings, re-plating and inspections included. Lifetime trade up policy.
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