High End Jewelry Stores

[donder4]

Hello
I have been lurking around here, learning what a "good" diamond is, I now know thanks to you folks.

I saw some bad spread about some of the diamond chains. I suppose I am asking about some of the higher end ones that did not get touched on. I live near Beverly Hills California, I was going to go there with my new info on diamonds to get an engagement ring. For instance to Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arples... etc.

Are there other stores that I should look at or avoid in So. California? Any recomendations would be greatly appreciated.

Eric

 

[reena]

well, there's an exceptionally lively T&CO thread going on right now on this very board. Check it out, yo.

and welcome to the site!

 

[fancyrock]

If you are in SoCal... why not make a trip to downtown LA the Jewelry District. A lot of vendors there and a lot of "bling" to choose from.

 

[donder4]

Yeah, I saw that. I suppose I am familiar with Tiffanys. I am curious about the so cali market. For instance, if I am missing something by dealing primarially with stores on Rodeo dr.

Basically, are there stores in other places that I am missing. In Santa Monica or Hermosa or downtown.... etc.

There are other places I have heard advertised like Robbins bros. and Diamond exchange that I know absolutely nothing about.

 

[donder4]

Yea, I heard of this place in downtown. I always thought it was bad like where you get fake rolex watches. They have good stuff?

 

[Morticia]

This place is in Beverly Hills and I've heard some good things about them. Good luck!

Edit: Duh! I forgot to post the link! Sorry!

http://www.icestore.com/initiate/diamond.asp

 

[Kaili]

Hi Eric,
I live in Los Angeles, but I ended up buying my diamond online.

Is there a reason that you are looking at Rodeo Drive area? Do you specifically want to shop in a B&M store or are you looking for the "prestige" and service of buying at a high end store? Nothing wrong with that at all... just wanted to get some info, so I could possibly help you.

Having worked in the Beverly Hills area, I know that rent around Rodeo, Beverly, and Cannon Drive is incredibly high, so that translates into the price of your jewelry.

Are you maybe looking for something special that you can't find online?

When I know what you are looking for, I'll try to give you some of my thoughts if you would like.

 

[katrina_33]

Some suggestions from me are...

XIV Carats in Beverly Hills

23rd Street Jewelers in Santa Monica

Peter Norman in Brentwood

Servis and Taylor in West LA

 

[fancyrock]

downtown LA is a good place to start the look/search... b/c you can have different vendors show you many stones to compare and narrow things down to what you really want. Remember one thing... you have feel comfortable with the one vendor you want to give your business to. What is your comfortable level?

 

[donder4]

Hi Kaili

It's an engagement ring. I have never purchased jewelery in LA. And my experience period, does not go much further than Dillards for moms christmas present. I just know that place has a reputation. I have not seen it discussed here so I thought I would throw it out to see what others thought.

I dont think my girlfriend would care where I got it. I am not sure what to do.

Are you maybe looking for something special that you can't find online?

This is new to me... infact it scares me a bit.

When I know what you are looking for, I'll try to give you some of my thoughts if you would like.

I would like that very much!

Eric

 

[donder4]

Ok, I will look into these thank you!

 

[Kaili]

I agree with Katrina
I have know people who have had good experiences with both XIV Carats in Beverly Hills and 23rd Street Jewelers in Santa Monica. Also, you might want to call and or visit Rondels in downtown LA. They don't list their higher end stones on their website, but they do have more than what is there.
http://rondels.gemspot.com/cgi-bin/rondels

What I would do, if you want to look to buy diamomds from a store in LA is to read the tutorials on PS carefully and decide exactly what your parameters are. Then I would do a search on the PS search engine to get a good idea of what diamonds within your range are being sold for. Even print out some of the prices with the specs. That way you have some leverage when you go into the stores. What I found was that the B&M stores could not compete with the PS vendors. Also, factor in tax at 8.25% from a B&M store vs. no tax from an online vendor outside of California. That amount can really become substantial.

One thing to be aware of: We found that when we told the B&M stores that we wanted an ideal cut, they would respond with "this is a very good cut" or "this is an excellent/ ideal cut," but they could not show us why. Make sure that you get all of the specs including Pavillion and crown angles from the vendors, and then run them through the Holloway Cut Advisor on this site.

We also found that after only surfing through the PS tutorial for a short time, we knew more about diamonds than many of the employees including managers at the stores we visited. We are by no means experts, but armed with information from this site, we quickly eliminated many of the diamonds and stores in our area.

Oh yah, by the way, if you go to a store like Cartier, Bulgari, Van Cleef, Harry Winston, Tiffany, etc, you will most likely find beautiful diamonds and settings, but you will pay a HEFTY pricetag for the name as well as the Real Estate.

I hope this helps...

 

[yowahking]

Kaili,
You mentioned that B$M's can not compete with on line vendors. This is simply not true. Not all internet vendors including PS vendors are so well priced, shopping is key. Most B$M's can compete, they just don't. More and more are realizing that they must compete where competition is tough and make profit on items where it is not. Sort of like McDonalds making not much on the burger but more on the fries and drink. Good B$m's and good internet suppliers will survive and do well as the tide is constanctly changing. Some high end stores will do well as their customers do not want to buy from a computer. I met the #1 high end jeweler (multiple stores)in Hawaii on this trip to Asia. His customers drop in, look and buy. No research, no comparing. He does very well and his clients love his stuff. Some smaller B$M's will go under as they don't know how to find a niche.I know a jeweler who does not want to sell diamonds anymore, he just makes settings and does well. Some internet suppliers will go by the wayside as customers will grow tired of seeing the same diamonds on 50 lists. Remember that 85% of jewelry is sold in stores, many are doing a very good job at mixing price and quality, along with service.

 

[Kaili]

Hi Scott,
thank you for the great input regarding B&M stores. What I said in my post was, "What I found was that the B&M stores could not compete with the PS vendors."
Maybe I was not clear, and I did not mean to slam all B&M stores. I'm sorry that I came accross that way. I am positive that there are great ones out there for loose diamonds. In this thread, I actually recommended three in which my friends had good experiences, and in another thread, I wrote about one that my parents have been using since I was born.
In my experience, visiting a few, but definitely NOT EVERY B&M store in the Los Angeles area, I couldn't find anyone who could compete with the quality and price "out the door" with what I found online. That was my experience. Perhaps we just didn't know where to look. I will also mention that I did not look at EVERY PS vendor.
Scott, would you be able to recommend some great B&M's in the LA area, so we can all have them as a reference for future.
Thanks again!

 

[yowahking]

Don't worry about offending me in anyway, I have thick skin and am a bit of a smartass so I have to take some. I will be happy to post stores that I hear do a good job. I don't know off hand which ones to post now, but when I do I will be glad to do it. I tend to hear more about which ones a customer is not happy with. Same with my state.

 

[hoorray]

Hi Donder4,

Whichever way you go, whether it's a high end, brand store, a higher end independent store, or an online vendor, the most important thing to do is learn the basics so that you have some confidence in dealing with a purchase of this importance. There are great tutorials online these days. Start with the tutorial here on PS, and then check out Goodoldgold and niceice, along with some of the other vendors.

Use this site as a place to ask questions or get opinions. People here will give you straight forwrad feedback without the biases of a store. Also use the tools here like the Cut Advisor (HCA) or the AGA cut ratings at www.gemappraisers.com. This is an intimidating process when you start, but the info online cn help make it much easier.

Good luck!

 

[JOEELI7]

THE MOST IMPORTANT OF A "GOOD DIAMOND" IS THE CUT. (ASK FOR IDEAL OR NEAR IDEAL CUT)
LOOK FOR COLOR (D-H)
CLARITY (VS1-SI1)
ASK FOR ONLY GIA GRADED (LAB CERT)!!!!! MOST ACCURATE GRADING REPORT OF A DIAMOND.
DECIDE THE SHAPE BOTH OF YOU LIKE.

GOOD LUCK

 

[yowahking]

Not that I do not like GIA, but curious as to why you do not like AGS for instance?

 

[KittenKat]

We're lucky here in LA - there is so much to see! Everyone can find a place they LOVE.

I'd stay away from any radio advertised store. Robbins Bros. Jewelry exchange. I went into RB once to see if they actually lived up to their promise - they didn't.

My favorite Rodeo store is Harry Winston. They staff is wonderful, and their pricing is somewhat more fair than Tiff & Co. (At least in my experience.)

23rd Street Jewelers is great too! But very high-priced.

XIV Carats in Beverly Hills - is another great place with a HUGE selection of amazing rings. (including my favorite, Daniel K.!) That a great place to go try things on, even if you do not buy from them.

The antique places that are great - Neil Lane, Single Stone.

It's too early... I cannot think of any others at the moment.

 

[donder4]

Thank you all for great feedback! It seems there are a few places in LA many of you concur to choose from.

The online diamond thing is new for me and I am trying to embrace it. I do look around at the vendors online but isnt that a leap of faith? Lots of these vendors seem to have a stock photo of a similar one and not one of the diamond?

Since there are about 3 or 4 places you all agree on in LA area is there 3 or 4 online that you recommend that show images of the diamond itself?

 

[Kaili]

A few online are
Whiteflash
good old gold
superb cert
dirt cheap diamonds.
I found that some vendors don't have images on their websites, but can email them to you if you inquire about a particular stone.

I purchased from Mark at engagementringsdirect.com. Although they don't have pics on their website, he can send you information. I was initially very nervous about this, but I found him to be incredibly trustworthy and honest with his opinions on his stones. We sent our stone to David Atlas for appraisal, and it actually appraised out a tiny bit higher in one of the cut categories than the original sarin reported.

I'm sure other Pricescopers will give you more info as well

 

[donder4]

http://www.danielk.net

If you have not seen the pages online.

He does have some nice stuff.

 

[reena]

daniel k's stuff is gorgeous but you will probably pay more for his "designer name".

 

[KittenKat]

I tried on a Daniel K ring that had a 2.5ct center Asscher surrounded by a halo of tiny diamonds.

Let me tell you how gorgeous THAT baby was! It was phenominal. The Asscher itself was one of the most well-cut, brilliant stones I had seen.

Daniel K's work is breath taking.