Q for DC folks - Tiny Jewel Box, Friendship Heights, etc.

[blingbunny10]

My bf and I have started looking in the DC area for engagement rings. We are new to DC, so can anyone suggest additional stores or resources in the area?

Our visits and impressions so far:
-Tiffany & Co. in Friendship Heights - Visited twice, once to try on rings. LOVE the plain 6-prong setting and received excellent service. Bf would be happy purchasing here, but having lurked on Pricescope for months, I'm steering him (Well, pushing him FORCEFULLY, lol!

) toward other options.

-Tiny Jewel Box on Connecticut Ave. - Visited once while a couple of jewelers were showing there. Seemed a bit run down in a dirty rather than charming/quaint way and most of their pieces seemed to be geared toward an older crowd (We're in our late 20s). Maybe it's different when they aren't having a special jewelry showing?

-Filene's in Friendship Heights - Just for fun, we stopped in the ground level jewelry department. Nice to see what a "maul" store carries. They look to have some reasonably priced (and pretty!) diamond earrings, though!

-Cartier in Friendship Heights - Have not been here yet, but bf wants to look at wedding bands here.

-Online vendors:
-Leon: Love his pave work, but decided I'm too clumsy to wear it. I also want to wear a wedding band!
-MM: Looking at the Petite Torchiere, but honestly think the Tiffany knife-edge would match better with various bands.
-SuperbCert: Looked at this option, but I honestly don't think it matches the original. I'd rather get something beautiful that doesn't try to copy the Tiffany (like the MM, for example-- beautiful in its own right).

Thanks for your help, and sorry for the long-winded post.

 

[caribari]

How exciting! I would love to hear other people''s thoughts on this too, as I''m a Washingtonian as well!

A couple places I have heard good things about are Quest Jewelers in Fairfax and I Gorman in Dupont.

Please let us know how your experience is with DC jewelers!

 

[LRISR]

Dominion Jewelers in Falls Church and Protea Diamonds also around Fairfax/Falls Church. Both are online.

Protea is in the lower level of a non-descript shopping center but man oh man does Anthony know his stuff. Goregous diamonds there.

Dominion Jewelers does all custom work onsite which I like very much. Everything they show you has been made in the store.

Thanks,
L.

 

[vespergirl]

I got my diamond and setting at Mervis Diamond Importers in Tyson''s Corner. We weren''t on Pricescope at the time, and after looking at diamonds at several places in the DC area, Mervis had beautiful diamonds at good prices for a B&M (we compared to Bailey Banks & Biddle, Dominion Jewelers and Charleston Alexander). However, knowing what I know now, I probably would have gotten a diamond from a PS vendor (Whiteflash, James Allen, BGD) and then set it into a Leon Mege setting. My DH didn''t feel comfortable buying a diamond online at the time, because we only knew about Blue Nile, where you couldn''t see the actual diamond before purchase. If we had purchased our diamond online, though, we would have definitely paid less than we did for the same quality diamond. One great plus to purchasing from Mervis, though, was the 100% diamond trade-up policy. I orginally had an asscher cut solitaire, but when I decided to switch to an RB, we only had to pay a little more money, because they honor 100% of the price you paid for your original diamond - if your upgrade diamond costs only $1 more, than that''s all you pay for your upgrade.

If you like designer settings, Mervis had a really great selection - Tacori, Precision Set, Verragio, etc. (They had Ritani at BB&B). If you don''t mind paying the slight markup, they also had a pretty good selection of diamonds.

I have been to Tiny Jewel Box recently, and they have beautiful jewelry, but they are also an overpriced B&M in my opinion. Still, they are a great place to get ideas. Plus, if you like vintage rings, they have a great selection of one of a kind estate pieces.

 

[blingbunny10]

Date: 1/16/2010 9:01:44 AM
Author: caribari
How exciting! I would love to hear other people''s thoughts on this too, as I''m a Washingtonian as well!


A couple places I have heard good things about are Quest Jewelers in Fairfax and I Gorman in Dupont.


Please let us know how your experience is with DC jewelers!

Hi caribari,
Nice to see other DC folks on the board!

I browsed the I Gorman website, and while they have some beautiful pieces, they are a bit modern for my taste.... at least for wedding jewelry. I am getting some excellent ideas for RHRs, though!

I think I''ve seen Quest mentioned a few times here. Will check them out!

 

[blingbunny10]

LRISR and Vespergirl,

Thanks very much for your helpful replies! It seems like a Virginia trip is in order.... It''s too bad so many of the jewelers mentioned are not in the city proper, but I guess it makes sense, too. I''m finding that if you want reasonable prices and top quality-- for anything from groceries to cookware-- you''ve got to get out of DC.

 

[Gayletmom]

Hi Blingbunny. Just wanted to offer my two cents: if you are near Dupont Circle, stop by I Gorman and take a look around. I have a classic, traditional cathedral setting in 18K gold that I got there several years ago and I would highly recommend them. They do have some contemporary pieces but alot of traditional and even vintage-looking as well.

 

[Regular Guy]

I think it''s Friendship Heights...Maaza Galerie...I''d encourage you to check out Charles Schwartz&Co. You may end up determining to buy elsewhere, but they have good goods, I believe, branded options (hearts on fire, polar bear), and a good reputation in DC for ideal cut diamonds.

 

[vespergirl]

I can''t believe that I forgot to mention how great Quest is. I learned about them on PS, and had them add milgraining to my channel-set wedding band. They did an incredible job, and the customer service and prices are fantastic. If you want to shop locally instead of online, definitely check them out.

 

[LRISR]

Oooohh I second the Chas Schwartz recommendation. My first wedding set (Ive been divorced for about 5 years now ) is from there and Paul is great to work with. The pieces you see in that store are amazing.

While ring shopping with my BF now, we never made it to Quest but our first stop was Charleston Alexander in Falls Church. Great service but we were just starting out looking to get some general ideas. Samaya was the salesperson and she was really great to work with.

I have 3 coworkers that got their rings at May Jewelers in Tyson''s over by Tiffany''s I believe. We were headed there but also never made it. We just really liked the feel and concept of Dominion Jewelers and were really comfortable there and they were referred to me by another coworker of mine.

We took a trip to NYC also but we decided we wanted to stay local.

It''s a tirning and time consuming overwhleming process!!! But oh so worth it in the end....

L.

 

[oldminer]

Now that you are perf3cting the stores to shop the most in, I''d suggest it is time to sharpen your skills in the "price" department. Look at the size, shape and quality range of diamonds you believe suit you with the search on Pricescope. You will then better understand the competitive nature of the diamond business and become a better shopper for value in any of the stores you head to. It will prevent you making a large financial committment without knowledge of the value.

 

[blingbunny10]

Date: 1/18/2010 1:37:27 PM
Author: oldminer
Now that you are perf3cting the stores to shop the most in, I''d suggest it is time to sharpen your skills in the ''price'' department. Look at the size, shape and quality range of diamonds you believe suit you with the search on Pricescope. You will then better understand the competitive nature of the diamond business and become a better shopper for value in any of the stores you head to. It will prevent you making a large financial committment without knowledge of the value.

Thanks, oldminer!

I am primarily interested in round brilliant diamonds in the 1.5-under 2.0cts range. I am leaning toward the plain 6-prong solitaire setting (paired with a blingy band someday!

), but am certainly open to pave and other diamond-band styles.

I''ll post updates with my thoughts on other vendors if we ever get to try on rings again! It''s been a hectic winter, and I foresee a pretty busy spring, as well.

 

[winternight]

Van Cleef has some pretty and different rings if you''re in Friendship Heights anyways. I personally did a trip to NYC to look around, went to the diamond district and Cartier/Tiffany. We ended up with a second hand Tiffany solitaire at a great price (Cartier was running a close second). I didn''t check out Harry Winston in NYC, but that would be fun. No sure about any other local places, really I guess it depends in part if you want modern/vintage/simple/etc.

 

[vc10um]

Date: 1/17/2010 9:57:36 PM
Author: vespergirl
I can''t believe that I forgot to mention how great Quest is. I learned about them on PS, and had them add milgraining to my channel-set wedding band. They did an incredible job, and the customer service and prices are fantastic. If you want to shop locally instead of online, definitely check them out.

Sorry I didn''t see this thread earlier, BB10, but I just wanted to throw out another rec for Quest. They reset my grandmother''s e-ring with a lovely sapphire (see avi) and I think my SO is heading there today to look at e-rings. Their service is excellent, and the shop itself is small and lovely.

We just had a DC Area GTG at Tiny Jewel Box and I enjoyed looking at their selection. I''m looking to reproduce one of the amethyst pieces they were carrying and possibly having a custom bracelet done by one of their in-house designers for my wedding.

Best of luck!!!

 

[BarryWalsh]

I spent a good few months educating myself on all aspects of "diamonds " and jewelry manufacturing . i ended up purchasing a diamonds and engagment ring at Ascot Diamonds in Arlnigton VA. After scowering the D.C area for months I found the education , quality of diamonds and far as CUT goes and the fabrication of the setting to be the best the area had to offer, price was comparable to anything I found online at BlueNile and the settings they had were far superior.

High recomondation ...