James Allen - Poor Quality

[Miro1988]

I bought a ring on James Allen in June and was really happy with the ring when it arrived. It looked the part and while delivery was slightly delayed it was understandable due to Covid. I had never bought a ring before and JA seemed good from the reviews I read. I'm thinking now that's more to do with their value than their quality.
After a few months my fiancee noticed the diamond had moved slightly and upon closer inspection the shank that connects the ring to the prongs was damaged and seemed very weak to begin with. Given that the damage came from normal everyday wear I thought the repair might be covered under the lifetime warranty they advertise, which covers manufacturing defects, so I sent it back to them under that assumption. When they responded the fee was $140USD. In hindsight I should have taken it to a local jeweler to repair but by the time I had sent it back I was liable for the return postage fee anyway and I live in Australia so I was stung already. Just disappointed with the quality as it only took 6-8months for this to happen and that's a lot of repair fees stacking up through the years. The money they make on repairs must allow them to price the ring more reasonably to begin with.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with them?

 

[lovedogs]

Did you speak with them before sending back the ring to confirm they would pay for the repairs?

 

[Miro1988]

I spoke with them before and described the damage. They said I would have to send it back so they could assess it themselves. Probably a rookie error on my part to assume it would be covered but I had read the warranty and was confident it was a manufacturing defect. In hindsight manufacturing defects are probably only visible damage to the ring when it first arrives.

 

[Lovecarats]

Hmmm. I have bought two rings from them and upgraded once (currently doing a second upgrade, so we’ll see how that goes). On the two previous rings, I never had any quality issues. The diamonds and rings that I bought were exactly as described and lived up to all expectations (and I wear my rings 24/7 except when working out ). I have heard that they sold their company, so I wonder if it’s related. I hope not for everyone’s sake.

HTH

ETA: I bought a pair of 1.9 TCW diamond studs a few of months ago that are perfect. There were no customer service issues and the craftsmanship is perfect. I ordered them the first week of December and received them before Christmas, on the target day.

Again, we’ll see how this latest upgrade goes. The sale of the company makes me wonder.

 

[lovedogs]

I know that the CS has gone downhill since the company was sold. There were multiple threads here about uneven prong work, etc. Obviously can't say for sure if the ring had issues when it was made, but it sounds like it's possible from what you are describing.

 

[monipod]

Only thing I can add re: JA is that it does appear they have been flat out in the lead up to Xmas and they either outsourced their work or had more bench people employed to help catch up. In such cases, I can see quality sliding.

I've got a fairly delicate JA setting with a 1ct stone on it which has had no issues but I bought it almost two years ago. My most recent purchase is a pair of lab studs which I wear 24/7 and no issues.

It's unfortunately costly for us Aussies to get imported things fixed so I'd say you're better off finding a local bench to do fixes if needed. Hopefully not! Very annoying for you that the damage wasn't deemed a warranty issue.

 

[Miro1988]

It looks quite sturdy from the picture but upon closer inspection the head of the ring is only attached by two small strips at the back (not visible in the picture but where the arrow is pointing). In the picture it looks like the front of the ring is attached too but in reality there's a gap in the area I've circled on both sides. That's why I would have considered it a manufacturing defect as that doesn't seem like enough stability.

Sounds like you guys have had good experiences so maybe it has only gone downhill recently. Just my luck Warning for any future purchases I suppose.

 

[monipod]

It does look sturdy overall but being a cast ring, perhaps there was a fault with how well the shank joined the head That would be on the QA people for not checking things well enough before shipping but that will be hard to prove.

Can I ask what size stone you have in it? JA claim their settings are suitable for .5 to 2ct but I can't help but some aren't suited for the heavier babies. It's the one stone size fits all nature of their settings that would worry me if I was buying 2+ ct.

 

[Miro1988]

It's a 1.5ct so within that range. I asked if they could make it more stable in the repair. The CS rep said she would request it but couldn't guarantee it wouldn't happen again and then quickly asked how I would like to pay so not sure if there's any real chance of them doing that. Fingers crossed

 

[Tayberry]

Can you please post photos?

 

[tyty333]

Yes, up close pictures would really help here. It does look like a pretty hefty setting. Curious what it was made of (doesnt
make a difference).

Does your SO wear it 24/7 or does she take it off to do housework, workouts, etc. Some people dont realize how hard they
are on their rings (not trying to say its her fault).

I hope you get a good fix and that it doesnt happen again!

 

[Inbloom]

I can show you pics of my new JA ring that has the same setting! I just can’t do it right now but will update in a few hrs. I’ve only had it for 1.5 months and seems ok so far.

 

[Inbloom]

So it does seem like the head is only soldered on at two points, not all around the donut. This does look a little flimsy/concerning. I circled the points.


Or do you mean this part got damaged? That looks thick enough to me.

 

[Miro1988]

Unfortunately the ring is still off for repair so I don't have any pictures of the actual ring at the moment. It is rose gold so not sure if that makes a difference. She does wear it every day and only takes it off when training or showering. Yours actually looks a bit sturdier although it's hard to say when I don't have the ring with me. Hopefully you have more luck than we did.

 

[Inbloom]

Geez...Some poor soul on Reddit just posted about this setting too. Those soldering points definitely are weak points.

https://imgur.com/a/6SFcmpR

 

[motownmama]

Yikes!

 

[La2020]

Same ring settings? Wow! Honestly JA might say wear n tear or that the owner was too rough or mishandled the ring.

 

[Poppy3]

I bought a ring on James Allen in June and was really happy with the ring when it arrived. It looked the part and while delivery was slightly delayed it was understandable due to Covid. I had never bought a ring before and JA seemed good from the reviews I read. I'm thinking now that's more to do with their value than their quality.
After a few months my fiancee noticed the diamond had moved slightly and upon closer inspection the shank that connects the ring to the prongs was damaged and seemed very weak to begin with. Given that the damage came from normal everyday wear I thought the repair might be covered under the lifetime warranty they advertise, which covers manufacturing defects, so I sent it back to them under that assumption. When they responded the fee was $140USD. In hindsight I should have taken it to a local jeweler to repair but by the time I had sent it back I was liable for the return postage fee anyway and I live in Australia so I was stung already. Just disappointed with the quality as it only took 6-8months for this to happen and that's a lot of repair fees stacking up through the years. The money they make on repairs must allow them to price the ring more reasonably to begin with.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with them?

I recently purchased a platinum high dome band. They sent me white gold twice and the customer service was poor. They were rude, told me it would take weeks to correct because they “have so many other customers .” After many chats, calls, emails and begging to speak to a supervisor to no avail, I got a rep who actually cared and worked to get it corrected. The rings are “inspected” with a signed card to document it, yet my ring was inscribed but they missed the metal hallmark twice ? I love my ring after 3 tries to get it right but I will never purchase from them again.