My first (and only) Mall Jeweler experience...

[stermag]

This morning, Boyfriend needed a haircut, so we drove to the mall. While he was getting the cut, I wandered over to Fred Meyer Jewelers across the way to see what all the hoopla about "maul" stores is about. We are already engaged, so I thought I would ask for some help under the pretext of looking for a wedding band. It was my first time at a mall jewelery store. Prior to purchasing our engagement ring (from JA), we visited T&Co and another well respected local jeweler, but that was it.

I asked the "sales specialist" who offered to help, if they had any platinum bands and was told that platinum was being "phased out" by palladium, and that they no longer carry plat. I asked why but he couldn''t offer an answer.

As we were moving over the various displays, I saw two solitaires displayed side by side. One was a 1.5ct, the other 2.0ct. I asked if I could see them and both were handed to me. They were I2, J and K respectively. My first comment was "Wow, these are the deepest stones I have ever seen," and imagine my shock when the clerk responded with "Yes, they are beautiful, aren''t they? We hand-select our stones and choose the deep ones for their sparkle."

I almost didn''t have the heart to continue the conversation, but couldn''t help myself. "Actually," I said, "the depth of these stones makes them face up much, much smaller than their carat weight indicates." I then put the 1.5ct stone against my own, also a 1.5ct and asked the clerk which was larger. "Yours, of course, but it''s probably over 2 carats, no?" "No, and that''s exactly my point, you see? My diamond is also one and a half carats." He was so confused, he insisted that I compare my diamond to the 2 carat solitaire which was now back in the display. "See? Yours must be closer to 2 carats because it looks almost exactly the size of this one" (pointing to their 2ct ring)

It was hopeless.

While there, I don''t think I saw a single SI stone. All were I1 or I2''s, with certificates from labs I had never heard of before. Most looked like somebody sprayed them with pepper - obvious, black inclusions throughout.

I realize this is nothing new to most of you. I never doubted the opinions expressed here re: mall jewelers, but also never bothered to go and check it out for myself. Perhaps Fred Meyer is a particularly poor example and not indicative of what I might have found elsewhere... but somehow I doubt this.

Anyway, just thought I''d share.

M

 

[tracys126]

Eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww. EEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek.

 

[Modified Brilliant]

As we were moving over the various displays, I saw two solitaires displayed side by side. One was a 1.5ct, the other 2.0ct. I asked if I could see them and both were handed to me.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stermag,

Interesting story. The salesperson made a huge security mistake IF he handed you both rings at the same time. The rule is ONE ring at a time in the customer's possession. That's something that's preached over and over in any retail jewelry store. Most "grab and runs" happen this way. Many mall jewelers are working short staffed and the training is inadequate. If the manager doesn't train his or her employees, then it doesn't happen. And the management has 500 other issues to deal with from corporate. Large corporations have very few trainers "in the field." The large chain executives tell their employees "Nothing happens until someone sells something." How can they hope to sell something if they lack the knowledge? I'm not saying all mall jewelers are understaffed and lack training but experiences like yours are common. Getting a shopper to open up a credit account is "the" most important requirement of a mall salesperson, in any retail store. Oh well, some things never change.

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[moon river]

OH MY!!!!!

 

[Kaleigh]

Ughh. So typical.

 

[moon river]

I wonder which eatery in the food court she worked at the week before?

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 4/8/2006 9:12:42 PM
Author: moon river
I wonder which eatery in the food court she worked at the week before?

....cleaning up spewed food material from computer screen....ha ha ha!

actually i have had some good luck in some mall stores. but i will start another thread rather than hijack this one.

 

[stermag]

Jeff,

Thank you for your response. It clarifies something for me. When I asked to see the two rings, the clerk, who was very young, perhaps in his early twenties, handed them to me... both, at the same time. I brought both close to my eyes, and when I moved my hands back down, he immediately took one of the rings back, almost snatching it out of my hand. It was very awkward. I now see he must have realized his own mistake.

I never knew of this rule, but do remember our visit to T&Co, where I hoped to compare two carat sizes side by side. I was almost frustrated because the associate helping us would hand me one or the other, and I never had the opportunity to actually see them together. At the time, I was too intimidated to ask for both simultaneously, so I just kept my mouth shut until we left the store.

Now it all makes sense.

 

[Kaleigh]

I worked for a high end jewelry store and that was the first thing they told me when I was being trained. Never hand someone 2 rings at a time. That''s a big no no!!!

 

[icekid]

not surprised either... I don''t think the sales people at those kind of stores are particularly well-trained! oh well.. we know better, fortunately.

 

[Mara]

at Joe E they will take out various rings for you to see but the sales gal keeps them in a little ring holder right next to her...so you don''t get to hold 2 at a time but they do allow you to have 2 rings out with her..they also have a big security guy at the front door!!

 

[Small]

I was also surprised to hear they''d let you take two at the same time...LOL...that''s a big security breech!
The last mall store I was in (can''t remember the name???) they actually had a security wand that each time they took the item out of the case they had to scan in before I could see it. I thought that quite a good idea actually.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

I run a couple of destination stores and we sit people down (coffee etc) and it is not uncommon that we would have 10 large diamond rings out at once.

I believe that trust is most important in our industry. If i am not prepared to trust customers - then why should they trust me?
We loose a big piece every year or 2 - and it hurts - but I could not be that rude - nor expect my staff to be rude either.

 

[marriahlyn]

I''ve been to a few mall stores since I bought my stone and I''m so flabbergasted by their comments, I can''t even stand up to them, they don''t know anyway. I am planning on working part time at a jewelry store when my little one goes to preschool or kindergarten (which will be awhile), but hopefully I will find a nice store. There are some reputable ones around.....like my jeweler who only sells Ideal/VG stones......he''s even sat me down at the microscope to show me a few cool inclusions even though I never bought a stone from him. Won''t work there though, don''t like one of the girls there. She never smiles and I''m in there all the time.

In my interview, I surely won''t tell my interviewer that I''ll only sell a customer an ideal diamond ROFL.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 4/9/2006 2:32:59 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
I run a couple of destination stores and we sit people down (coffee etc) and it is not uncommon that we would have 10 large diamond rings out at once.


I believe that trust is most important in our industry. If i am not prepared to trust customers - then why should they trust me?

We loose a big piece every year or 2 - and it hurts - but I could not be that rude - nor expect my staff to be rude either.

yep iv left more than one without buying because they wouldn''t show me 2 at once when I was looking for my wifey2b''s diamond.
Don''t trust me then I don''t trust you.
One of the places that will show more than one and has no security guard by the door is a mom and pop place it was unusual enough I asked them about it and they said they had the same amount snatched and ran with if they showed one or 5 at a time so they long ago got rid of that rule because it was costing them sales.
They didn''t have video camera''s all over the place either, just one by the entrance.
If they would have had what I was looking for id have bought there.
They retired and moved to florida a year or so ago.

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Date: 4/9/2006 2:32:59 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
I run a couple of destination stores and we sit people down (coffee etc) and it is not uncommon that we would have 10 large diamond rings out at once.

I believe that trust is most important in our industry. If i am not prepared to trust customers - then why should they trust me?
We loose a big piece every year or 2 - and it hurts - but I could not be that rude - nor expect my staff to be rude either.

Garry,
Trust IS very important in our industry, I agree. Unfortunately, it''s the lack of training that causes customers to be treated rudely. Showing one item at a time can be done tactfully and without offending the customer. You have been lucky in minimizing your losses. Showing multiple rings in a mall environment would show that the store is an "easy mark" once the word got out. An independent jeweler is more likely to loosen the standards and show more than one ring at a time. We live in a difficult world.

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[woobug02]

Wooo, I have had the same experience. While out looking for side bands and a possible upgrade center I have run to the same thing. No cert or IGI cert. Then the stones are all I1 and no PLATINUM in the store. I found one platinum set in the entire mall..... Before I came to Pricescope I bought one of those big terrible clarity stones and it stopped traffic in my little town but the visable flaws drove me nuts. Everyone was devistated when I bought a much smaller stone with much better cut and clarity for my ring.

 

[CareBear]

Date: 4/8/2006 9:34:10 PM
Author: stermag
Jeff,

Thank you for your response. It clarifies something for me. When I asked to see the two rings, the clerk, who was very young, perhaps in his early twenties, handed them to me... both, at the same time. I brought both close to my eyes, and when I moved my hands back down, he immediately took one of the rings back, almost snatching it out of my hand. It was very awkward. I now see he must have realized his own mistake.

I never knew of this rule, but do remember our visit to T&Co, where I hoped to compare two carat sizes side by side. I was almost frustrated because the associate helping us would hand me one or the other, and I never had the opportunity to actually see them together. At the time, I was too intimidated to ask for both simultaneously, so I just kept my mouth shut until we left the store.

Now it all makes sense.

I was at T&Co once where the lady let me put 2 rings on the same finger to compare. She actually had 3 rings out at the same time for me to see. I guess she musta been new! I wonder if she got in trouble for that.

 

[jaz464]

I was shopping at some mall jewelry stores myself today and yesterday, trying to get ideas for my fiance''s w-band. Today we went into Jared''s and I was checking out their selection of loose diamonds. They all appeared to be IGI certed, as that is what the little card next to each diamond said. I asked the lady behind the counter if all of their loose diamonds were IGI certified, hoping to see a few GIA. She answered by beaming at me with a big proud smile and replying proudly, " why yes they are"

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 4/9/2006 8:53:38 PM
Author: jazmine
I was shopping at some mall jewelry stores myself today and yesterday, trying to get ideas for my fiance''s w-band. Today we went into Jared''s and I was checking out their selection of loose diamonds. They all appeared to be IGI certed, as that is what the little card next to each diamond said. I asked the lady behind the counter if all of their loose diamonds were IGI certified, hoping to see a few GIA. She answered by beaming at me with a big proud smile and replying proudly, '' why yes they are''

huh, that''s weird. the jared''s by my house are all AGS.

in fact, one day i was there waiting for a ring to be reset. Sitting on the chair, trying to mind my own business but not very well, there was a family there to buy a ring for mom. they kept saying, No we want GIA No we want GIA. i think they were going off old information.

the salesman, whom i respect, was trying to get them to look at the AGS certs, to show them the ideal rounds. they were walking out when i said, the AGS certificates give you more information than the GIAs. they are just as respected. they hung for a few minutes more and then left. the salesman gave me a flustered look and "wanna job?"

 

[jaz464]

boy that is weird. I wouldn''t have touched any of the diamonds I saw in there today with a 10 ft pole

 

[zhuzhu]

I was chatting with a local jewlry store owner today. He said he is a GIA graduate appraiser, and we were just chatting away about how diamond insurance works.

I was telling him how it must be difficult to have insurance to just replace an "identical stone" according to certification (in the case of lost ring) without seeing it in person first. He said why? "all diamonds are alike as long as color, clarity, and carat weight are the same". I thought he was joking and asked him about the cut quality. he said that is something some professionals make-up as important so more profits can be made. I am very disappointed with his response, and will definately not use him as my independent appraiser (thought he''s pretty cheap at $35 a ring).

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Date: 4/9/2006 11:01:07 PM
Author: zhuzhu
I was chatting with a local jewlry store owner today. He said he is a GIA graduate appraiser, and we were just chatting away about how diamond insurance works.

I was telling him how it must be difficult to have insurance to just replace an ''identical stone'' according to certification (in the case of lost ring) without seeing it in person first. He said why? ''all diamonds are alike as long as color, clarity, and carat weight are the same''. I thought he was joking and asked him about the cut quality. he said that is something some professionals make-up as important so more profits can be made. I am very disappointed with his response, and will definately not use him as my independent appraiser (thought he''s pretty cheap at $35 a ring).

No such designation "GIA graduate appraiser." And all the other answers that he gave you are worth alot less than $35.00. More like 35 cents.

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[akw94]

Given that I do feel i''ve learned so, so much here but still have much to learn, I am a little concerned about not knowing how to tell if i''m being shown something obviously bad. Is the best way to look at the specs and compare w/what I know to be good? It seems clear that most salespersons aren''t knowledgable enough so using their info doesn''t seem very helpful.
Stermag, did you know the stones you saw were very deep just by looking at them? Have you just learned that through experience and research? I''m not sure I could determine anything just by looking, unless there were very obvious flaws. It''s important to me that we''re able to get the best that $ can buy and especially since I''m not the one buying, I want to pass on as much useful info. as possible. I have read a lot of info. and read many tutorials and I feel like that''s given me all this knowledge, I guess I''m not 100% sure how to best use that knowledge...if that makes sense?
I have a feeling my bf will not buy online so that leaves me even more worried, given these posts and others about b&m stores.

Sorry for the hijack and thanks in advance!

 

[AlliBaba]

I''m starting to think the reason the mall stores don''t have any knowledgeable employees is because nobody who truly loves diamonds and jewelry could seriously get excited about selling and/or lying about some of the drek they stock there.

That said, I bought a pendant at a mall store, and I''m quite satisfied with it. It''s a really cute design (specially made for some sort of "100th anniversary" sale) and it was cheap- plus it''s a really sparkly melee so the quality of the stones didn''t matter to me much, anyway. I''ve received tons of compliments on it.

I guess you have to be careful what you buy.

 

[Rod]

Date: 4/11/2006 3:34:06 PM
Author: amy94
Given that I do feel i''ve learned so, so much here but still have much to learn, I am a little concerned about not knowing how to tell if i''m being shown something obviously bad. Is the best way to look at the specs and compare w/what I know to be good? It seems clear that most salespersons aren''t knowledgable enough so using their info doesn''t seem very helpful.
Stermag, did you know the stones you saw were very deep just by looking at them? Have you just learned that through experience and research? I''m not sure I could determine anything just by looking, unless there were very obvious flaws. It''s important to me that we''re able to get the best that $ can buy and especially since I''m not the one buying, I want to pass on as much useful info. as possible. I have read a lot of info. and read many tutorials and I feel like that''s given me all this knowledge, I guess I''m not 100% sure how to best use that knowledge...if that makes sense?
I have a feeling my bf will not buy online so that leaves me even more worried, given these posts and others about b&m stores.

Sorry for the hijack and thanks in advance!

If your BF would not buy online and since you are doing the research, then take your research to the next level, and interview prospective jewelers in your area. You''ll likely have better luck with higher quality independents. If you live in a city with a city magazine for example, you''ll likely find quality independents who frequently advertise there. That''s how I found my jewler and when I met with him, I made it clear what I had learned and what I expected and he was actually quite pleased to work with a somewhat knowledgeable consumer.

It''s sad that the average Maul store employs poorly trained salespeople and sells lower grade products, but now that you know this, you can avoid wearing a poorly cut diamond on your finger!

Good luck.......

 

[akw94]

Thanks Rod and Alli!
Alli, I think you''re right, you have to be very careful. I guess i''m just afraid that I don''t know enough and would be taken advantage of. I don''t see this happening but there''s so much to know. Boy am I thankful for PS though!!
Rod, I will look into a city magazine. I never thought of that. I live near a big city and even have a jeweler''s row, but I agree about finding higher quality independents. We are going to go looking together, and I think i''ll have to plan out carefully where we go. I am also still hoping that he''ll consider buying online but I know that first we need to look at local stores to see what''s out there. Then perhaps he''ll be willing to compare to the online stores and see that he can get a much better deal...hopefully!

 

[stermag]

Amy,

I deduced the depth of the stones based on their very poor spread. In other words, face up, the stones looked very, very small for their carat weight. The 1.5ct looked closer to what I''d expect a 1ct RB diamond to look like. I''m sure it helped to have an ideal cut 1.5ct on my finger for reference, but with or without it, the size difference was so significant, it would have been appreciable even without the benefit of a side-by-side comparison.

A diamond has to be pretty poor for me (with what little experience I have) to be able to tell... and this goes for cut and clarity... I''m a little bit better with color. In this particular case, both the cut and clarity of the stones were so poor, it took no expert to notice.

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 4/11/2006 3:34:06 PM
Author: amy94
Given that I do feel i''ve learned so, so much here but still have much to learn, I am a little concerned about not knowing how to tell if i''m being shown something obviously bad. Is the best way to look at the specs and compare w/what I know to be good? It seems clear that most salespersons aren''t knowledgable enough so using their info doesn''t seem very helpful.
Stermag, did you know the stones you saw were very deep just by looking at them? Have you just learned that through experience and research? I''m not sure I could determine anything just by looking, unless there were very obvious flaws. It''s important to me that we''re able to get the best that $ can buy and especially since I''m not the one buying, I want to pass on as much useful info. as possible. I have read a lot of info. and read many tutorials and I feel like that''s given me all this knowledge, I guess I''m not 100% sure how to best use that knowledge...if that makes sense?
I have a feeling my bf will not buy online so that leaves me even more worried, given these posts and others about b&m stores.

Sorry for the hijack and thanks in advance!

i''m not a gemologist or anything. amy -- this is what a good diamond looks like. look for the wagon wheel in the depth of the stone. should have arrows pointing off the wagon wheel spokes nice and straight.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/apparently-diamond-specs-are-not-important-in-canada.40876/

may i recommend the book The diamond ring Buying Guide by renee newman.
isbn 0-929975-32-4.

 

[jetmal]

my 2 cents.....learn everything you can about the type of stone you are searching for. Then go to whatever stores you and your BF chose, armed with knowledge.....
when you get in the store and start talking with a sales assoc. you will know pretty quickly whether or not this person knows their stuff, or if they are just b.s.''ing, or even clueless.
say thanks, and leave.....and keep going into stores until you find someone who knows their stuff. It can be done....it may just take alittle while to find the right one.
good luck