Know of any creditable jeweler in bay area?

[tangomango]

I am looking for some good B&M store in the bay area (san jose) with reasonable prices and good selection of round diamond for engagement ring. Does anyone know or had good experience with some?

I am not ready to make the leap to online purchase yet so I am willing to pay a little more as long as it is not outrageous.

Much appreciate your responses!

 

[Mike94301]

Date: 4/21/2008 4:53:52 PM
Author:tangomango
I am looking for some good B&M store in the bay area (san jose) with reasonable prices and good selection of round diamond for engagement ring. Does anyone know or had good experience with some?

I am not ready to make the leap to online purchase yet so I am willing to pay a little more as long as it is not outrageous.

Much appreciate your responses!

Head over to Valley Fair mall at 880/280 and go to Davidson Licht-- speak with a guy named Renee -- he was very good. I visited some stores in that mall just for fun and showed them the GIA cert from the stone that I was looking at online.

Davidson has a program where they will find a diamond within some sort of online network of stores and bring them in for a look-see before you buy. They charge a 20% commission on the price of any diamond that you buy through this program of theirs. Prices aren''t cheaper than what I was able to get online, but they are close and are much cheaper than other B&M''s (incuding them!) and you can see the stone before you buy.

Don''t go to Ben Bridge -- they don''t show full GIA certs (?!).

Mike

 

[EmeraldCutQuest]

Date: 4/21/2008 4:53:52 PM
Author:tangomango
I am looking for some good B&M store in the bay area (san jose) with reasonable prices and good selection of round diamond for engagement ring. Does anyone know or had good experience with some?

I am not ready to make the leap to online purchase yet so I am willing to pay a little more as long as it is not outrageous.

Much appreciate your responses!

... that, of course, is relative.

I visited just about EVERY B&M store in the Bay Area. The malls (Valley Fair, Stanford, Great Mall of Milpitas); off-mall chains (Jewelry Exchange, Shane, Costco, etc.); the small, independents in such places as Los Gatos, Cupertino; and others. Joe Escobar (you can Google them) seemed a classy operation, as were a few of the others. Most, however, gave me the urge to run away, and fast! High pressure sales, lousy products, loose certifications (if any), unknowlegeable staff, etc.

Most prices that I saw WERE outrageous for what they were offering. Others, had justifiably higher prices, but gave (or would give) superior customer service and hand-holding -- something I did not want/need.

I fully empathize with your concerns about online purchasing -- I had them too. Nevertheless, I ended up making a ''substantial'' purchase from a PS recommended vendor, and the return policy plus the expert advice I got from them made me feel that I got the best that I could -- I know so!

--ECQ.

 

[FireflyGirl]

Walnut Creek is a bit of a drive for you, but my mom has been going to Taylor & Jacobson for years and heard about them from her friends. They''re an off-the-street place in downtown. Here''s their Yelp page:
Linky

My boyfriend''s dad also goes to Davidson & Licht at Valley Fair and has good things to say, but I have heard negative things about their Walnut Creek store so I say avoid that branch.

-FG

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

If you are willing to drive to San Francisco, visit Derco in the Gift Center. You will be impressed with the merchandise and the prices.

 

[tangomango]

Thank you all for your input. I''ll check those places out.

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 4/21/2008 8:04:16 PM
Author: NeverEndingUpgrade
If you are willing to drive to San Francisco, visit Derco in the Gift Center. You will be impressed with the merchandise and the prices.

We were at Derco in Nordstroms center Saturday, and I was impressed with neither, honestly. We had some ACA's from WF on us, and there was NO comparison.

We looked at the Derco versions of this band: http://www.whiteflash.com/Wedding_Bands/Diamonds-for-an-Eternity--3-4-_1069.htm and the price in 14K was MORE than what WF charges for 18K... and their platinum price made me think I had heard them wrong... by a lot!!

I also saw some of their loose stones, and again we had ACA's with us, and again, they fell WAY short. Both in price and quality.

 

[NeverEndingUpgrade]

The Derco I used to go to was in the Gift Center. That was a while ago. I don''t know anything about the one in Nordstroms Center. Could be different stuff, I don''t know. Sounds like retail vs. wholesale.

 

[DiamondGirlHH]

Friend of mine from the West Coast talks highly about the Joe Escobar and Steve Padis Jewelers.

Heather