losing faith - need an honest diamond dealer/jeweler in LA

[London]

Re: losing faith - need an honest diamond dealer/jeweler in

I agree that you have to be educated before you try to deal with jewelers in LA but you can get a good stone and a pretty CAD setting for a good price. My fiance made at least half a dozen trips to the jeweler we ended up purchasing from, and he was very specific about the color, clarity and certification he wanted (GIA or bust!). At first they tried to sell him subpar stones from their inventory, but after tons of research and calls, my fiance had picked out a stone he wanted online and had the jeweler order it in for him. he also custom designed the setting and there was a lot of back and forth on that. in the end though, i think my fiance got exactly what he (and I ) wanted but it took a lot of work on his part and basically the jeweler just did everything my fiance wanted. i wouldnt recommend the jeweler because he ended up being kind of difficult, but we did love our purchase and my fiance feels like he saved a good deal of money. We are fairly local so while the process took a few months and a lot of trips to LA, it seems as if it was worth it. You just need a lot of patience and need to press them a bit. (and only deal with jewelers that are upstairs!) Even after delving into and spending hours on end studying Pricescope (even more after the purchase than before lol), I'm still happy with our purchase. I have attached photos of my ring . haven't taken any pictures in the sunlight yet but it has AMAZING sparkle!

Yas, your ring is just lovely. They did a great job and obviously your guys's persistence paid off! Thank you for sharing your experience. Gives me hope

 

[Roqsteady]

Re: losing faith - need an honest diamond dealer/jeweler in

Have you tried Icing on the Ring? I haven't purchased from them but have talked with them a few times and they were very nice and willing to accomodate my requirements for color, clarity, table, depth, crown, and pavillion angles. If you let them know beforehand what your requirements are they can look at what they have/bring things in that fall in your parameters. I don't know if they have AGS diamonds but they may be able to call them in. They also have a brilliancescope and a H&A viewer in their office so you can view the diamonds under them in person.

 

[SandyinAnaheim]

Re: losing faith - need an honest diamond dealer/jeweler in

I'm over it. Went to Dtown LA over the weekend and it's a joke. Most diamond dealers down there think you don't know anything and as soon as they get wind that you know anything about diamonds they want nothing to do with you. I am completely turned off by the whole experience.

Edit to say: I guess it comes down to buyer be ware as it is with anything. Not all were bad but really you should be educated because they will know if you are not.

Exactly the same experience I had! And if you think they're bad, there's an outfit down here called the Jewelry Exchange, maybe you've seen them on TV? Before I purchased my precious, I wanted to see and experience stones with fluorescence and they're the only local store I could find that had any. From the second you open the door till the moment you run out, they're on top of you asking you a million questions about what you're looking for and why. I could not believe the garbage behind the counter they were calling diamonds. It's the first time I had ever seen Rs, Ms, Ns being shown as if those were the most normal colors to buy! Every stone was dingy, grey or brownish colored. Not even the gold looked like gold.

I asked for the stones with fluor and they sent me to their "high-end boutique" that had loose stones. I was shocked when they pulled out a 1.55 ct EGL J SI2 with SB for me to look at. Asking price? $19,999 with easy financing.

ArkieB is dead-on, and I learned it early in my quest, there are no too good to be true bargains or shortcuts. It's the people who don't want to go through the legwork of learning a little bit that are easy prey for shops like the one mentioned above.

 

[London]

Re: losing faith - need an honest diamond dealer/jeweler in

I'm over it. Went to Dtown LA over the weekend and it's a joke. Most diamond dealers down there think you don't know anything and as soon as they get wind that you know anything about diamonds they want nothing to do with you. I am completely turned off by the whole experience.

Edit to say: I guess it comes down to buyer be ware as it is with anything. Not all were bad but really you should be educated because they will know if you are not.

Exactly the same experience I had! And if you think they're bad, there's an outfit down here called the Jewelry Exchange, maybe you've seen them on TV? Before I purchased my precious, I wanted to see and experience stones with fluorescence and they're the only local store I could find that had any. From the second you open the door till the moment you run out, they're on top of you asking you a million questions about what you're looking for and why. I could not believe the garbage behind the counter they were calling diamonds. It's the first time I had ever seen Rs, Ms, Ns being shown as if those were the most normal colors to buy! Every stone was dingy, grey or brownish colored. Not even the gold looked like gold.

I asked for the stones with fluor and they sent me to their "high-end boutique" that had loose stones. I was shocked when they pulled out a 1.55 ct EGL J SI2 with SB for me to look at. Asking price? $19,999 with easy financing.

ArkieB is dead-on, and I learned it early in my quest, there are no too good to be true bargains or shortcuts. It's the people who don't want to go through the legwork of learning a little bit that are easy prey for shops like the one mentioned above.

Sooo true! It is sad though that some people are so quick to take you when they can. 20k EGL J SI2 SB seriously makes my stomach turn. I so hope no one falls into that trap

 

[Gypsy]

Re: losing faith - need an honest diamond dealer/jeweler in

The Jewelry Exchange is by far one of the worst outfits for diamonds I have ever seen. I was in there once and I was so appalled I almost got into a fight with one of the staff. I was a breath away from screaming "This place is a scam, get out while you can. Don't buy anything here. I'll help you find something better."

I just took a deep breathe and walked out.

 

[London]

Re: losing faith - need an honest diamond dealer/jeweler in

The Jewelry Exchange is by far one of the worst outfits for diamonds I have ever seen. I was in there once and I was so appalled I almost got into a fight with one of the staff. I was a breathe away with screaming "This place is a scam, get out while you can. Don't buy anything here. I'll help you find something better."

I just took a deep breathe and walked out.

Honestly there should be some sort of bureau to report these types of stores too! ugh

 

[jerichosmom]

Re: losing faith - need an honest diamond dealer/jeweler in

We got our wedding bands from Icing On The Ring. They are the only ones Downtown that I'd even consider going to. When I was looking for a 3ct cushion 6 yes ago they were great and showed me quite a few stones...alhough EGL (no biggie as I would get an independent appraisal anyway nd just ship it off to GIA for the certification). They've got great reviews on several wedding boards and don't do the hard sell (or treat you differently if you show some knowledge.

I got a diamond eternity band with hand engraving that looks 1000% better than my SI L'S cast version. I still love it.

Another person that I liked was Mark Broumand. There are several positive experiences that you can read here on PS. He helped "rescue" Old Lemony a few months ago and Athenaworth recently had her ring made by him. He's on my shortlist for my next project.