I have discovered that James Allen is one of those hit-or-miss companies where the quality of the ring depends entirely on the skill of the jeweller assigned to your order. I thought I'd post this online to warn others.
I bought a ring from James Allen earlier this year with no issue, perfect setting and perfect inscription.
The second ring, however, had so many issues. As soon as I got it, I noticed the inscription was uneven and unclear (which by itself is disappointing, but not terrible), so I thought I'd send the ring back, get them to fix the inscription and at the same time maybe upgrade to a slightly better diamond I had found a few days ago. So they started a new order and added a note about the inscription.
Then a few days later, I started to notice the claw prongs were snagging on things and catching fibres. On closer inspection it seemed all the prongs were lifted, one very obviously. I researched this and found out this is a sign of poor workmanship and the diamond might be at risk if it keeps going. So I mentioned this to them and they added a note to the order to make sure the prongs are tight on the new ring.
Then a day later I noticed the diamond was tilted in the setting! I took a photo of this and sent it to them, my faith in them decreasing, to make sure the new ring would be sitting straight in the setting. Then I got a horrible customer service agent named Heather who made it sound like it was my fault I was noticing all this. She said "since there's so many notes, it's getting a little complicated so I'll pass it onto management and they'll get back to you. But there's a chance they can't guarantee everything you want." She said it's because every ring is custom so it's hard to guarantee, or something weird to that effect.
Just to clarify: what I want is for the prongs to be tight so the diamond is safe, for the diamond to sit upright in the setting and for the inscription to be even and clear, like in my first ring. And they said they might not be able to "guarantee" this. I was stunned.
My anxiety peaked after this phone call. We poured our money and hearts into this ring and its quality is severely lacking and we don't even know if this diamond or the new one will be safe. My friends suggested demanding a refund instead of asking them to fix the problems, which was definitely the right choice.
But I knew I couldn't handle the anxiety of sending my ring all the way back to the US (I live in Sydney) and wait weeks and weeks for another rude customer service agent to tell me they can't refund my ring. I have really really bad anxiety when it comes to things like this, and it's not even worth the money putting myself through it (and it is a LOT of money )
So I cancelled the repair/upgrade order. I went to a reputable local jeweller in Sydney (who confirmed they deal with at least 5 or 6 JA rings with multiple issues every week - wish I had known that earlier) and had them tighten the prongs. They don't want to fix the diamond tilt within the setting because they said that would require the prongs to be lifted and tightened which might be bad for the prongs (not sure if this sounds right? But I had no choice but to trust them) So the snagging has stopped but I've been left with a tilted diamond and a slightly botched inscription.
I think in a few years when I can afford it again, I might have these local guys set my ring properly in a good setting and with a straight inscription.
But in the meantime I'm just so stunned that JA could have sent me such a bad quality ring. I'm baffled that it passed quality control. It almost ruined an otherwise perfect engagement. I just wanted to let people know of my regrets in case it helps them make a more informed decision.
I bought a ring from James Allen earlier this year with no issue, perfect setting and perfect inscription.
The second ring, however, had so many issues. As soon as I got it, I noticed the inscription was uneven and unclear (which by itself is disappointing, but not terrible), so I thought I'd send the ring back, get them to fix the inscription and at the same time maybe upgrade to a slightly better diamond I had found a few days ago. So they started a new order and added a note about the inscription.
Then a few days later, I started to notice the claw prongs were snagging on things and catching fibres. On closer inspection it seemed all the prongs were lifted, one very obviously. I researched this and found out this is a sign of poor workmanship and the diamond might be at risk if it keeps going. So I mentioned this to them and they added a note to the order to make sure the prongs are tight on the new ring.
Then a day later I noticed the diamond was tilted in the setting! I took a photo of this and sent it to them, my faith in them decreasing, to make sure the new ring would be sitting straight in the setting. Then I got a horrible customer service agent named Heather who made it sound like it was my fault I was noticing all this. She said "since there's so many notes, it's getting a little complicated so I'll pass it onto management and they'll get back to you. But there's a chance they can't guarantee everything you want." She said it's because every ring is custom so it's hard to guarantee, or something weird to that effect.
Just to clarify: what I want is for the prongs to be tight so the diamond is safe, for the diamond to sit upright in the setting and for the inscription to be even and clear, like in my first ring. And they said they might not be able to "guarantee" this. I was stunned.
My anxiety peaked after this phone call. We poured our money and hearts into this ring and its quality is severely lacking and we don't even know if this diamond or the new one will be safe. My friends suggested demanding a refund instead of asking them to fix the problems, which was definitely the right choice.
But I knew I couldn't handle the anxiety of sending my ring all the way back to the US (I live in Sydney) and wait weeks and weeks for another rude customer service agent to tell me they can't refund my ring. I have really really bad anxiety when it comes to things like this, and it's not even worth the money putting myself through it (and it is a LOT of money )
So I cancelled the repair/upgrade order. I went to a reputable local jeweller in Sydney (who confirmed they deal with at least 5 or 6 JA rings with multiple issues every week - wish I had known that earlier) and had them tighten the prongs. They don't want to fix the diamond tilt within the setting because they said that would require the prongs to be lifted and tightened which might be bad for the prongs (not sure if this sounds right? But I had no choice but to trust them) So the snagging has stopped but I've been left with a tilted diamond and a slightly botched inscription.
I think in a few years when I can afford it again, I might have these local guys set my ring properly in a good setting and with a straight inscription.
But in the meantime I'm just so stunned that JA could have sent me such a bad quality ring. I'm baffled that it passed quality control. It almost ruined an otherwise perfect engagement. I just wanted to let people know of my regrets in case it helps them make a more informed decision.