JamesAllen.com - A good store?

[lojack_ii]

Anyone have any experiences with James Allen Diamonds? Good or bad, all comments appreciated.

 

[mrssalvo]

I have never purchased from JamesAllen but they are a very popular vendor here and are highly recommended. You can do a search here on the site and read a bunch of peoples experiences. I wouldn''t hesitate to purchase from them.

 

[belle]

hey lojack

welcome to ps!
you should do a search for your questions. many of them have been asked (numerous) times before and the answers are still pertinent. i''m sure people will still come here to help but you will be able to get more answers quicker this way, since they''re already posted!

 

[mtrb]

James Allen is excellent. I used them to purchase my diamond 3 years ago. They are one of the trustworthy big guys here. I would not hesitate. They are very informed with high quality products and no pressure.

Good luck

 

[kcoursolle]

I bought my stone from them and was very happy. Jim Schultz is very trustworthy.

 

[Regular Guy]

My wife & I purchased from him 2 1/2 years ago, with the "driver" being his being local to us, and were largely satisfied. Regardless, we have since learned, and see that he continues to frequently be the low cost option available here, and that is how he used to want to be known, with respect to his marketing (formerly known as Dirt Cheap Diamonds, where you'll be able to do more searches for him, and more...). I enjoy looking at his site, too, seeing that he's frequently trying new things.

The Madison site referenced in the link above is long gone. More recently, I now see DCD is dead, now pointing only to the current James Allen. Since I continue to use the search by cut tool here, I continue to see his options populate, and continue to be drawn to recommending his options. However, unlike the shopping advice I provide below my signature, there is no evidence of a signature line of any kind any more with him. I don't know what the implications of this is. I think unlike GOG or WF, most to virtually all of his "thousands" of listed options are virtual, like Blue Nile, however -- probably unlike Blue Nile, and better than them, he will, upon request, bring in the option "exclusive to him," look at it live, and even photograph it with an idealscope for you....if you'd like that.

Probably the main value added Jim offers is made available by the diamond industry itself...and that is...a good looking product, when the proportions are right. For my money, his inclusion on the compiled "search by cut" board, minimally, provides the extra value I find it easy to seek, so that in compiled results, I can easily consider an option I might otherwise not be aware of.

The question that only Leonid on this board has come forward to address on Jim's behalf is the "who does the picking" that Jim talks now about on his site. Maybe it is fine that he hands this task off to a third party he trusts. How different is this when Jonathan at GOG says he uses dealers he has come to trust. Well...Jonathan brings them into his store, and conducts his own tests, further. You'll pay a modest premium for that. But...maybe having the diamonds either a) being certed by AGS, or b) having been proofed once anyway through the HCA is good enough basis for going forward. I worry that Jim may not give options the boot he might, even when bringing them in to look at (which I am only presuming is what he does) because they're probably pretty good.

Lots of conjecture here. Maybe others actually knowledgeable about some of the things I am conjecturing about will come on to verify or deny. Regardless, and at least based on a business that has been vetted here extensively over a long time, producing lots of satisfied customers, and with a selection of options frequently very attractively priced, I continue to recommend him.

 

[luckylux]

I have recently bought from James Allen diamonds and am very happy. The stone I bought was actually very well priced. Many of these stones are in the New York office, but Jim was able to get an idealscope picture to me via e-mail. This, and a good HCA score sold me on my current stone.
I think it''s best if you find a stone you are interested in to call them. I was told that if they have a picture of it, it is available for 100% tradeup, which I actually did within a few months