jklein1007
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2006
- Messages
- 3
I realize that this is long-winded, but trust me, it is worth the read for anyone that is going to be making a fine jewelry purchase in the future.
As I’m sure it has happened already for those of you who are reading this, or it is getting ready to happen for you…it all started with me finally finding someone I knew that I just could not live without. Even though I am a guy, I have always thought about the way that I wanted to propose marriage, if and when the day ever came. First and foremost, I wanted it to be a complete and total surprise. This included when it was to happen, where it would happen, and how it would happen. Even what the engagement ring would look like would be an unknown to her. My now fiancé never knew any of it was coming, she was totally blinded by it all. Now granted, she knew that it was all going to happen eventually, but that was pretty much the extent of it. I was sure that I wanted to get engaged, I just needed to get a ring and I refused to settle for just something that someone suggested to me at some store in the mall. I wanted something that both she and I would consider somewhat unique, gorgeous, and something that both of us would always look at as meaningful. So that’s where my search for the perfect ring began.
I have never been familiarized with expensive jewelry, diamonds, or anything of the sort before. This was my first time ever getting engaged and so I obviously had never bought an engagement ring before either. So I did exactly what I would do in any other situation that I’m green about and I started to do some research on the Internet about the topic. It will not take a person a long time who is trying to find out some diamond ring information before running across this Pricescope website. That was the first helpful thing that I found while doing my research. There is so much information in the form of real experiences and details on this website and it is all very valuable. When I first started out, I only thought that I would have to learn a little bit about the 4 C’s in order to educate myself enough to feel comfortable with purchasing a diamond – Man was I wrong! And with the more that I learned, the more obsessed that I became about it and it started to make the entire experience less enjoyable. Finding my setting took a long time, because I’m picky, but it didn’t even compare to the work and hassle that I was going through in trying to find the center stone for it. Thankfully for me, one day everything changed.
I sent an email to the “Info” account, which happens to be answered by Bill Pearlman, the owner himself, on the Pearlman’s Jewelers website and asked him if he would be able to take a look at a particular diamond’s specifications and GIA certificate for me and if he would, tell me what he thought. Now I had sent probably 6 or 7 emails to him before in regards to buying my Ritani ring/setting from him and not once had he ever mentioned selling me a center stone for it. Being that I was a newbie, I just assumed that maybe he didn’t deal with loose stones and it was fine with me, because in the beginning of the process I wanted to find it on my own anyways. Well, I was close to my wits end in trying to find the perfect center stone. I found a particular diamond at one of the many well known loose stone vendors that you can find on the Internet and through PS that seemed to fit my needs. I was limited by my budget and my setting. I needed the stone to be a princess cut between 1 and 2 carats for the setting (along with a bunch of other specs that I was looking for) and within a certain dollar amount for my budget. However, like everyone else, I wanted the nicest center stone possible that I could still afford. Bill Pearlman replied that he would be happy to take a look at it and see if it would be a good fit for my setting. In his response, he stated that he was not happy with the details on the diamond paperwork that I sent, he explained why, and he asked for my permission to see if he could find me something better while staying within my budget. All he asked me for was a little patience. I agreed.
Well, I can tell you that I had an extremely hard time holding up my end of the bargain. I mean, it was a whole day before he got back to me to tell me that he had found something better and that he could still stay within my budget. A WHOLE DAY!!! In case you can’t tell, I’m being sarcastic. I had been searching for nearly a month off and on, researching for who knows how long before and during that, and here he finds me something better in one day’s time. And just to give you a brief definition of “better” in terms of my situation – I went from a 1 carat princess, G, SI1 that I had found myself to a 1 carat princess G, VS1, AGS000 that he found and told me that he could still keep the entire package within my budget. At this point, due to our conversations that we had had, and the user reviews that I had read about him, BBB report, etc, I trusted him enough to purchase it all sight unseen. I have to admit that this decision was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Bill did not disappoint.
Ritani takes an estimated 4 weeks to set diamonds into their rings but I was on somewhat of a schedule and was afraid that I wasn’t going to meet it. I wanted to plan something for a birthday weekend getaway proposal, her B-day was on Friday and mine was on Sunday and I could disguise a trip as just a birthday deal and she would suspect nothing. I talked to Bill to see if would be possible that I could get my ring a day or two before the 4 weeks that Ritani usually takes to complete the settings. Again, Bill doesn’t disappoint. He and his co-workers (his son works with him too) contacted Ritani and haggled it to the point where Ritani would drop ship the ring directly to me in time for my plans. By this time, I was willing to change my plans because I actually wanted the finished ring to go to Pearlman’s first. I wanted them to see it and approve of it themselves, along with appraise it, before it got to me…that’s how much I trusted them (At one point, I had an hour and a half conversation on the phone with Bill, not about our business, but just about family, life in general, work…to the point where I could tell he actually cared, wanted to know about me and wanted to help). Well, they let Ritani know about my change, the ring got to Pearlman’s ahead of schedule in time for them to check it out, appraise it, and overnight it to me in time for my weekend plans. This was nothing short of AMAZING as far as I was concerned. At least I thought that was what “amazing” was until I opened the box.
Bill assured me that I would love the ring and the center stone when I saw it. He said and I quote, “This cut grade will make all of the princess cuts you''ve seen look like chopped liver. Your male friends will hate you and her girlfriends will be jealous with envy. You''ll upset the apple cart.” He was right and yet again, Bill doesn’t disappoint. I opened the package and for the first time I finally laid eyes on the Ritani ring with the center stone diamond that Bill had picked out for it. It was everything that I had hoped for and then some. It’s difficult for me to sit here and put in to typed words the level of excitement I had. I immediately emailed Bill and thanked him numerous times for everything. I didn’t know what else to say to him but I wanted him to know how much I appreciated everything that he and his people had done for me. From this one purchasing experience that I had with Pearlman’s, I will never buy another piece of fine jewelry anywhere else. I have already let him know that I plan to meet him in person (Battle Creek, MI is about 4 hours drive time away from me) and that I plan on purchasing our wedding bands from him here soon. Bill and his business are the best and I recommend him to anyone and everyone…you will not be disappointed!!!
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