Newbie2006
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2006
- Messages
- 2
Hi,
I’d like to thank the Pricescope contributors and particularly this forum for all the education and experience that has helped my purchase an e-ring for the first (and hopefully last) time. In return, I’d like to describe my 3-week experience over 10 stores looking for a stone in Jeweler’s Row in Philadelphia. I chose each store based on at least one positive review on the web. At each store, I described what I wanted: Princess cut, 1-5-2.0 carat, AGA cut II or better, Color G or better, Clarity SI or better. They then showed me some stones, some of which didn’t meet my specs. I then bargained my best for the lowest price, making the jeweler aware that he or she was essentially “bidding” against other jeweler. I then went on online and compared their “lowest” price to prices for similar stones on Pricescope. Sometimes, amazingly, I could find stones with the same dimensions/specifications (which is another question for another time). What also amazed me was how much the jewelers varied in their markups compared to the Pricescope prices. I found that family owned and run stores had the lowest markups, presumably because of lower overhead. Any comments are appreciated.
Thanks!
At or slightly above Pricescope prices
1. Barsky, 724 Sansom St
- Dealt with Harold Barsky. My favorite store. Large on site inventory with microscopes everywhere. Nice guy, seems trustworthy and spent hours with me. I really wanted to buy from this guy since I liked him so much, but he didn’t have what I was looking for. He also had a “buy back” policy where he would take back your diamond plus its appreciated value and apply it toward a bigger stone. He also offered a 3 week return policy on a custom ring, which was also very unusual.
2. Leon’s, 801 Sansom St.
- Dealt with Leon. Mostly non-GIA certs, small inventory. He couldn’t find what I was looking after more than a week of looking and never called me back after I stopped calling him asking why it was taking so long.
$500-$1500 above Pricescope prices
1. Campbell and Company, 702 Sansom St.
- Dealt with Rich Campbell. He was able to find stones in just a few days. I was most impressed by his integrity. He told me that he would never ship out of state for someone who lived in-state to avoid state tax. I ended up choosing a stone from him.
2. Testa Jewelers, 126 South 8th St.
- Dealt with Charlie and Ann Marie Testa. Nice and helpful. Tried hard to find stones that met my specs but was not as successrul as Rich.
$2000-$3000 above Pricescope prices
1. Safian and Rudolph, 7th and Sansom
- Dealt with John Kane. Very helpful and accommodating guy who spent a lot of time finding stones that met my specs.
2. DeSumma and Wexler, 734 Sansom Street
- Dealt with Ronald DeSumma and Kelly Murphy. They were the most educating of all the dealers that I went to, but were a bit too pushy for my taste.
3. Steven Singer, 739 Walnut St.
- Dealt with Lanny. I got turned off because they were not completely honest on what were the consequences of medium fluorescence, particularly in a multi-stone setting with colorless tones.
4. Robbins, 8th and Walnut
- Dealt with Sean. They were honest in saying that they could not match other stores offers.
5. Golden Nugget, 8th and Chestnut St.
- Pricing is a bit strange. They use the Rappaport and subtract 15%. This could potentially be an advantage if you could find an exceptionally cut stone.
>$3000 above Pricescope prices
1. LL. Pavorsky, 707 Walnut St.
- Dealt with Lee Pavorsky. His stones appeared beautifully cut, but it was difficult to compare to other stores as he showed the diamonds under a very strong special light on top of a black background. I’m not sure why his diamonds are so expensive, but he appears to get rave reviews.
I’d like to thank the Pricescope contributors and particularly this forum for all the education and experience that has helped my purchase an e-ring for the first (and hopefully last) time. In return, I’d like to describe my 3-week experience over 10 stores looking for a stone in Jeweler’s Row in Philadelphia. I chose each store based on at least one positive review on the web. At each store, I described what I wanted: Princess cut, 1-5-2.0 carat, AGA cut II or better, Color G or better, Clarity SI or better. They then showed me some stones, some of which didn’t meet my specs. I then bargained my best for the lowest price, making the jeweler aware that he or she was essentially “bidding” against other jeweler. I then went on online and compared their “lowest” price to prices for similar stones on Pricescope. Sometimes, amazingly, I could find stones with the same dimensions/specifications (which is another question for another time). What also amazed me was how much the jewelers varied in their markups compared to the Pricescope prices. I found that family owned and run stores had the lowest markups, presumably because of lower overhead. Any comments are appreciated.
Thanks!
At or slightly above Pricescope prices
1. Barsky, 724 Sansom St
- Dealt with Harold Barsky. My favorite store. Large on site inventory with microscopes everywhere. Nice guy, seems trustworthy and spent hours with me. I really wanted to buy from this guy since I liked him so much, but he didn’t have what I was looking for. He also had a “buy back” policy where he would take back your diamond plus its appreciated value and apply it toward a bigger stone. He also offered a 3 week return policy on a custom ring, which was also very unusual.
2. Leon’s, 801 Sansom St.
- Dealt with Leon. Mostly non-GIA certs, small inventory. He couldn’t find what I was looking after more than a week of looking and never called me back after I stopped calling him asking why it was taking so long.
$500-$1500 above Pricescope prices
1. Campbell and Company, 702 Sansom St.
- Dealt with Rich Campbell. He was able to find stones in just a few days. I was most impressed by his integrity. He told me that he would never ship out of state for someone who lived in-state to avoid state tax. I ended up choosing a stone from him.
2. Testa Jewelers, 126 South 8th St.
- Dealt with Charlie and Ann Marie Testa. Nice and helpful. Tried hard to find stones that met my specs but was not as successrul as Rich.
$2000-$3000 above Pricescope prices
1. Safian and Rudolph, 7th and Sansom
- Dealt with John Kane. Very helpful and accommodating guy who spent a lot of time finding stones that met my specs.
2. DeSumma and Wexler, 734 Sansom Street
- Dealt with Ronald DeSumma and Kelly Murphy. They were the most educating of all the dealers that I went to, but were a bit too pushy for my taste.
3. Steven Singer, 739 Walnut St.
- Dealt with Lanny. I got turned off because they were not completely honest on what were the consequences of medium fluorescence, particularly in a multi-stone setting with colorless tones.
4. Robbins, 8th and Walnut
- Dealt with Sean. They were honest in saying that they could not match other stores offers.
5. Golden Nugget, 8th and Chestnut St.
- Pricing is a bit strange. They use the Rappaport and subtract 15%. This could potentially be an advantage if you could find an exceptionally cut stone.
>$3000 above Pricescope prices
1. LL. Pavorsky, 707 Walnut St.
- Dealt with Lee Pavorsky. His stones appeared beautifully cut, but it was difficult to compare to other stores as he showed the diamonds under a very strong special light on top of a black background. I’m not sure why his diamonds are so expensive, but he appears to get rave reviews.
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