Trip to Jareds

[lumpkin]

I have to say that from the posts here about Jareds being part of the Kays chain and that their diamonds were mediocre, the settings were average, etc., I went in not expecting much.

I had a much different experience than some of the folks here. The store just opened a little while ago, so perhaps because they are new they are putting their best foot forward, but they rolled out the red carpet. I went in alone, the security guard opened the door for me, and I was immediately greeted by a gentleman in a nice suit and tie and asked if I would like a tour. It's a beautiful store. I was greeted by no fewer than 6 sales staff, asked if I'd like coffee, water or hot chocolate by several. I looked at several settings and I have to say *I* thought they were very nice. They had finished galleries, they were nice and substantial, and the diamonds were very white (made my G-H mellee look a tad off color) and sparkly. Not only that, but this was the only store in town I have been to that actually had AGS Ideals in stock. Several stores advertise them, but when I've gone in they say they don't have any currently but can order them in. Jareds had about 10 of them in various sizes in the display case. I had never seen one in person. I looked at an AGS ideal .99 H VS2 that was $7200 through an idealscope and the salesman who helped me seemed very knowlegable. I realize you could save about $1000 - 1500 on line, but their settings were extremely reasonably priced, and from what I could tell, well made, so in the end it might be a wash for someone who really does not want to buy on line. Their benchmen work in the store in a glass enclosed office so you can observe them. I left with clean rings, a nice little gift and honestly, I was more impressed than I have been in any other store, although I've not been in Tiffany's or Cartier so I can't speak to how it would compare with those stores.

Seeing the AGS ideal was very eye opening. Seeing the precision of the cut in person, my goodness! It's so incredibly sharp and crisp. Regarding the sparkliness though, I was surprised that they didn't outsparkle mine. I could notice a very discernible difference in symmetry with the naked eye if I held them just so, but not sparkle and scintillation. So the HCA score seems accurate for me (mine scores a 1.4). It seems like a very useful tool to me.

 

[Ellen]

lump, thanks for the write up!

 

[dunndeal]

Lumpkin,

Thanks for the great report. The Jareds near us still only carries IGI from what I''ve heard. Maybe they are test marketing better goods like AGS ideals in their newer stores. This would be smart given how educated the consumer is nowadays. I''ll have to keep my eyes peeled!

Best,

 

[lumpkin]

Dunndeal, the salesman did tell me that most people don't *care* about the cut and are looking for size. I hope it won't be one of those things that they can't sell enough of so they don't keep. I honestly like having B&M stores to go to and if I ever am in the market for a new diamond, it would be preferable to me to buy it in person. On the other hand, I don't know if I would pay double for ideal symmetry and polish if I can get the same amount of sparkle in a non AGS Ideal. I think it comes down to what the market will bear.

 

[Skippy123]

Lumpkin,
Kudos for the write up!!!! I bet you had a blast!

 

[SpeedracerII]

Date: 9/22/2007 3:13:09 PM
Author: dunndeal
Lumpkin,

Thanks for the great report. The Jareds near us still only carries IGI from what I''ve heard. Maybe they are test marketing better goods like AGS ideals in their newer stores. This would be smart given how educated the consumer is nowadays. I''ll have to keep my eyes peeled!

Best,

The Jareds near us is a fairly new store too and when we went there they had the usual IGI and EGL''s but in a separate display case they had <10 ideal cut stones. I forget the special name they called them but they were definitely well cut. I don''t recall what lab graded them. Probably the only place in town where we saw what could be considered ideal cut stones. They even had 2 or 3 microscopes you could use to study the stones under. But they were pricey.

 

[marcy]

Lumpkin, it sounds like you had great service and were really pleased with your purchase. Congratulations. I agree it is nice to be able to see what you are getting instead of buying online. Enjoy your new ring.

 

[lumpkin]

Ellen and Skippy, it was a blast and I had a lot of fun. I spent the better part of an hour there, which is unusual. Usually I go in, have a looksee and nothing impresses me much anymore. I've become somewhat jaded. I saw a lot of really nice settings there. Too bad I'm NOT in the market. I'm sure I would have found something lovely.

SpeedracerII, the ones I saw were called "Peerless" and were indeed graded by AGS. I was VERY surprised.

Marcyc, I'd love to say I bought something, but I've had my diamond for a year, almost. They did a nice job cleaning my rings. Someday I will probably do something else, but not for a long while.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 9/22/2007 8:15:55 PM
Author: lumpkin
Ellen and Skippy, it was a blast and I had a lot of fun. I spent the better part of an hour there, which is unusual. Usually I go in, have a looksee and nothing impresses me much anymore. I''ve become somewhat jaded. I saw a lot of really nice settings there. Too bad I''m NOT in the market. I''m sure I would have found something lovely.

SpeedracerII, the ones I saw were called ''Peerless'' and were indeed graded by AGS. I was VERY surprised.

Marcyc, I''d love to say I bought something, but I''ve had my diamond for a year, almost. They did a nice job cleaning my rings. Someday I will probably do something else, but not for a long while.

We have a Jareds and they cleaned my ring and did a great job! They were nice too.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

I have always had a good experience at the Jared's in my town. I have had some repair work done and stones set, and they do a very good job. I love the fact that you can pick up your repaired/reset item in a couple hours.

 

[marcy]

Date: 9/22/2007 8:15:55 PM
Author: lumpkin
Ellen and Skippy, it was a blast and I had a lot of fun. I spent the better part of an hour there, which is unusual. Usually I go in, have a looksee and nothing impresses me much anymore. I''ve become somewhat jaded. I saw a lot of really nice settings there. Too bad I''m NOT in the market. I''m sure I would have found something lovely.

SpeedracerII, the ones I saw were called ''Peerless'' and were indeed graded by AGS. I was VERY surprised.

Marcyc, I''d love to say I bought something, but I''ve had my diamond for a year, almost. They did a nice job cleaning my rings. Someday I will probably do something else, but not for a long while.

Oops, I didn''t read your post very well. Enjoy your clean rings then. I have had good luck with the Jareds about 60 miles from us and bought some lovely garnets there. I needed the ring sized and since I was from out of town they offered to do it for me while I waited. I thought that was really nice.

 

[ponderer]

I have a local Jareds that has been around for about 5 years my experiences have always been similar to yours (depending on the sales person). I have never bought anything as the quality has been poor or the item was over priced (compared to online). I was recently in there to look at stone sizes when my mom lost her stone.

There new line of "ideal, ideal" cut stones are refered to as Peerless line of stones. These were well cut, H&A pattern, AGS certified stones . They were heavily pushing these although they were not significantly more expensive than the regular stones. We were given an amusing sales pitch about how rare these stones are and that we would not be able to find stones of this quality available anywhere else (except on PS, I guess) . They also were very critical of the Leo stones that they carry, which I thought was a little unnecessary.

It was nice that they had more info for these stones, but I was still given an answer in millimeters when i asked for the depth and table

.

I eventually purchased a similar quality stone from a PS vendor, and saved 50% compared to Jared.

It is nice though to easily view a well cut stone in person, but I would still just go to browse and then order online. No amount of coffee is worth $1000 to me.