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Is JA a good place to buy from? Why all the bad reviews?

mohelmo

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 30, 2016
Messages
24
Hello All,

https://www.yelp.com/biz/james-allen-diamonds-new-york-3

I've picked the loose diamond for the engagement ring from JA, I am now working on piking the setting. My girlfriend likes a couple of Verragio settings along with a couple of regular halo settings so far. I am taking her end of this week to White Flash to look at rings there. I'll have a better idea on what she likes more in terms of settings.

I was thinking it might be convenient to get both the diamond and the setting from JA yet the reviews I've been seeing lately on Yelp are really bad and scary. I know if I probably go with a Verragio this might not be a problem since I think they don't make these themselves and have to send it out. (Not sure though)

Can someone please give me insights on JA in general? Should I just get the diamond only from JA and the setting from WF ?

White Flash's reviews are amazing, yet to be honest my experience with JA customer service has been pretty good so far too.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/whiteflash-sugar-land

This is my diamond btw https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.52-carat-h-color-vvs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-2076374

This is my 3rd question in 3 days. I really appreciate the help I've been getting a lot! Thank you :)
 

tyty333

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 17, 2008
Messages
27,198
Yikes...that is a lot of bad review but its like the squeaky wheel gets the grease. People dont post as much when they are happy but
someone that is not happy post because they want everyone to know. We have seen a few disgruntled consumers on PS but not a ton
(or we would not recommend them). Most of the ones I've seen had to do with a consumer buying a stone but later finding
out its not available (virtual stone problem) even though the credit card may have been charged.

The setting complaints...We've gone through an unfortunate phase of consumers wanting thin shanks with pave. So take a 1.8mm
piece of metal and poke a lot of holes in it for pave then try wearing that 12 hours a day. People dont realize how much pressure
they put on their hands/fingers in a regular day. Maybe these rings should come with a "warning".

The schedule complaints...this is going to happen but it doesnt seem like it should happen that often. JA needs to do a better
job at estimating delivery dates then tack on extra time in case something goes wrong.

Customer Service rudeness...really no excuse. I have to admit that there were a handful of complaints where customers were
asking for JA to be responsible for problems that were not JAs responsibility. You just cant say much about those. Does sound
like JA needs to get some new CS reps though or maybe send their current ones to a training class on CS.

I did notice that JA has "Lifetime Warranty" at the top of their website which makes it seem like they are willing to fix almost anything
free of charge when reality is that "Our lifetime warranty offers free prong tightening, re-polishing, rhodium plating and cleaning services." NOT fixing damage or replacing lost stones. I think it really should say something like "Limited" Lifetime Warranty because
it really is limited.

For what its worth, I have a JA setting and everything went smoothly! I guess I should go post on Yelp :-o .
 

tyty333

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 17, 2008
Messages
27,198
Which settings at Whiteflash and JA are you looking at?
 

bensona

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 24, 2016
Messages
20
I've placed an order with them recently for a stone and a setting. The order hasn't been shipped yet so I can't really comment on their after sales customer service or the quality of the product, but they have been fantastic to work with.

I read the same reviews as you did but they didn't sway me. I work in luxury retail sales in a different industry and I am inclined to believe those reviews are from a vocal minority, some people can't be pleased and have unrealistic expectations, and the story they are writing is usually not the whole truth.
 

mohelmo

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 30, 2016
Messages
24
tyty333|1477935998|4092352 said:
Which settings at Whiteflash and JA are you looking at?


She likes Halo designs in general, I like the simpler Halo ones. I am looking at this one, it's what I like most so far. I am a bit concerned how the small F/G diamond would look next to my center H stone. I hope it won't be a problem with my H center stone.

http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/verragio-bead-set-halo-diamond-engagement-ring-1843.htm#size=6

She likes a couple of the Couture ones too, but she didn't try them yet. Going on Friday to try them. She might end up liking something completely different away from the Verragio ones, so I'll know more on Friday.

Do you have any recommendations for good Halo settings that you see either on JA or WF? something that will make the total of ring to 2ct and look good at the same time. I believe I picked a decent center stone so I want to make sure I get a setting that will show that.

Thank you very much for your detailed response tyty333

Probably you should give them a good review on yelp yes :)
 

mohelmo

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 30, 2016
Messages
24
bensona|1477936107|4092353 said:
I've placed an order with them recently for a stone and a setting. The order hasn't been shipped yet so I can't really comment on their after sales customer service or the quality of the product, but they have been fantastic to work with.

I read the same reviews as you did but they didn't sway me. I work in luxury retail sales in a different industry and I am inclined to believe those reviews are from a vocal minority, some people can't be pleased and have unrealistic expectations, and the story they are writing is usually not the whole truth.

I second you, my experience so far with their customer service has been absolutely great. Most of the complains I see on the review are post sales problems that is why I am a bit afraid.
 

AprilBaby

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 17, 2008
Messages
13,234
I bought an emerald diamond there a year ago and had to swap it for a different one. Everything went very smooth. No complaints from me.
 

n64bomb

Rough_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jan 8, 2015
Messages
91
The only concern I really put weight into was how long some customers it took to get their ring once ordered. Such as it took 3-4 weeks when JA told them originally 10 days or something of that nature. So I wouldn't rely on the timeframe they give you--such as if you need to propose in 7 days, I would not order from them because I don't trust the timeframe they give you about your order (a lot of this may have to do with ordering a virtual stone and the purchaser doesn't understand this process).
 

distracts

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 11, 2011
Messages
6,131
James Allen pave is not always the greatest. Though I will say that from the reviews that have pictures of their damaged rings, it is quite clearly user damage. There are other one star reviews that are kind of silly, like people being mad that they can't return the ring past the return date, and then ones that I personally don't care about but may be relevant, like delayed shipping dates (in my experience, it is best never to assume that jewelry will be ready on time).
 

kb1gra

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 6, 2012
Messages
1,118
My only gripe with James Allen is that I wish they would upgrade the appearance of their settings, which are not the cheapest. Proper small or claw prongs (that aren't a "custom change" with an upcharge) and better designs.

I ended up buying my ring from Adiamor and their STOCK settings often include claw prongs and my pave is better than what JA made for me, for less money, and they did it one week faster.
 

gm89uk

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 26, 2015
Messages
1,491
I ordered a loose stone which arrived in 2 days. No problem from that end but not much could to wrong i guess
 

Downsy

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 22, 2014
Messages
122
I bought a diamond and had it set by them and then upgraded that ring 9 months later. I had good experiences both times. Their turn around time isn't too bad - I think I got my ring within 10 days or so after placing the order. Both settings I chose were solitaires - first one was 14 k gold and most recent was platinum.

I would recommend them.
 

ChristineRose

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Messages
926
JA fills kind of a unique niche in the online diamond world. The fact that no one else has made a serious swipe at competing is telling.

When you order from Blue Nile the stone is shipped to you from where ever in the world it happens to be. Blue Nile doesn't actually get it. That saves time. When you order from a high end place they are much more likely to have your stone in house, and they can afford to spend more time on vetting, setting, and customer service.

JA is the go to vendor for people who want that elusive G SI1 really well cut but not quite premium H&A round brilliant without paying a concierge price to have it vetted for you before it shows up on the website. They have real pictures and videos, which they took themselves.

This is why they get recommended so often on PS. But they're not for everyone obviously.
 

PintoBean

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
6,589
Since JA's diamonds are virtual, you could just have Whiteflash get the stone for you, and the Veraggio setting you want (I believe they sell Veraggios - double check because my brain is like a sieve nowadays), and have Whiteflash set the stone for you. Easy peasy one stop shop!
 

diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
58,547
If you have already purchased the diamond, just go to a local jeweler who carries Verragio if that is the setting she likes and it will be easier to deal with setting problems or maintenance locally. There is no point in sending the diamond off to another diamond vendor. It If you haven't yet bought the diamond, then yes, you can buy both the diamond and setting from Whiteflash.

All pave settings are going to have to be treated with extra special care. I think most people do not understand that. So there are lots of problems with those type of settings especially in the lower price ranges.
 

mohelmo

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 30, 2016
Messages
24
Thank you all for your inputs. I got the loose diamond from JA, my experience has been great with them. I'll be giving them a good review for their customer service. If someone has either a good or a bad experience with them, may be it's a good idea to also review them. It seems more people here have good experiences vs bad and their yelp reviews tend to indicate otherwise.

I'll still decide on the setting in the next 2 weeks. I appreciate all of your inputs!
 
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