So it wasn't just Tiffany I visited while in the city. I also spent some time at Cartier, HW and Van Cleef. Here are my thoughts:
For sure, Cartier gives Tiffany the closest run for its money in my opinion. The artistry of their Ballerine settings was just amazing. They only sell clarity grades of VVS2 or better. Their lowest color grade is G I believe. I liked the Ballerine setting A LOT. The largest diamond they will set in that setting is 1.90 carat b/c they said it disrupts the flow of the setting otherwise. I could see that. I tried on a D, VVS1 RB diamond in that setting and it was nothing short of exquisite. Lena in the NY store is lovely. She is just the bomb. I loved her. I also saw the 1860(?) or whatever it is called. All hand set. All just lovely. LOVED the store.
Harry Winston: Can you say "pretentious"? Even the security guard was weird. I was wrapping up a phone call with a client while standing OUTSIDE OF THE STORE ON THE STREET. Once I hung up, I approached the door and the security guard opens the door and says, "Are you finished with your call now??!" I looked at him and said with as much politeness as I could muster, "Well as you can see I did not approach the store until I had finished my call. Thank you." Once inside, I was sized up to see if I belonged. I guess I passed (barely) the test, so they allowed me to meet with a consultant. The sales clerk knew absolutely nothing about diamonds. She only knew how to act like a pretentious snob. I was miserable in there. She showed me a cusion cut diamond with black inclusion poc-marks all through it. I asked her about it and she said it was the facets. Really? Okay. Maybe it was the facets, but either way I wouldn't want a diamond that had black polka dots throughout it depending on the way I turned my hand. But that's me. I was happy to leave.
Van Cleef: Well, I have to admit upfront that I have a real soft spot in my heart for this jeweler. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the artistry of their rings. The between the finger rings are just sensational. The lowest diamond color they will accept is E(!!!) and the lowest inclusion level is VVS2. Wow, talk about some white diamonds. Unfortunately, for me the settings for their erings were very strange. They seemed very "high society circa 1950." Their diamond e-ring catalog even evokes a bygone era. In the store, they were playing big band music. I literally thought I had been transported to post WWII America. I expected a woman wearing gloves and a black hat to walk in at any moment. The settings for the e-rings were chunky. Very chunky. I told the man behind the counter that my budget was around "$50,000.00" expecting that this would get me a nice selection of rings to try on. Well, it got me nothing larger than a 1 carat stone, I can tell you that. They were white. Most of them were D color, internally flawless. Not the sparkliest diamonds I have ever seen, and clearly in need of a good cleaning. All of the settings were heavy, chunky and...well... odd. They didn't look like engagement rings most of them. They looked like fashion rings. The ones that did were very heavy with large bands of platinum enrobing the diamond and baguettes thrown around. I don't know. It's probably art and I am too provincial to realize that. But if I could afford Van Cleef, I would stick to the earrings, fashion rings, bracelets and the like, focusing on the invisible settings that they perfected. I'd avoid the engagement ring, I don't care if Grace Kelly wore it or not.
Finally, (and I know I am going to be shot for this), but I didn't go down 47th street to the diamond district at all! I simply ran out of time and I wanted to do the upscale jeweler tour. I know from my friend who loves to buy diamonds that I really missed out on the experience of a lifetime. Next time I will definitely head over there.
In conclusion, I would just say that no one has the e-ring sales down in the upscale market the way Tiffany does. What an amazing store. They are just consummate professionals and I observed them treat every single customer no matter who they were or how they were dressed respectfully. Considering that some of them were dropping $4 or $5 thousand dollars on a ring (which for many of them was blowing the budget), I was just in awe of the Tiffany sales people. They just kick it up a notch and treat every sale like it really matters and no customer was given better treatment or less time based on what they were spending. Jon Omahen in the NY store is really amazing. I can't say enought about him. He's just the go to guy if you want to sit with someone who just knows everything there is to know. He's very cool and a lot of fun to talk to.
And that concludes my trip to NY's Fifth Ave. jewelers. I didn't go to Bulgari. I missed H Stern and others off Fifth. But considering I was sweeping in for a few hours, I felt like I had a good sense of everything. Anyone else done the tour? What did I get wrong? What did I get right? Would love to hear thoughts.
For sure, Cartier gives Tiffany the closest run for its money in my opinion. The artistry of their Ballerine settings was just amazing. They only sell clarity grades of VVS2 or better. Their lowest color grade is G I believe. I liked the Ballerine setting A LOT. The largest diamond they will set in that setting is 1.90 carat b/c they said it disrupts the flow of the setting otherwise. I could see that. I tried on a D, VVS1 RB diamond in that setting and it was nothing short of exquisite. Lena in the NY store is lovely. She is just the bomb. I loved her. I also saw the 1860(?) or whatever it is called. All hand set. All just lovely. LOVED the store.
Harry Winston: Can you say "pretentious"? Even the security guard was weird. I was wrapping up a phone call with a client while standing OUTSIDE OF THE STORE ON THE STREET. Once I hung up, I approached the door and the security guard opens the door and says, "Are you finished with your call now??!" I looked at him and said with as much politeness as I could muster, "Well as you can see I did not approach the store until I had finished my call. Thank you." Once inside, I was sized up to see if I belonged. I guess I passed (barely) the test, so they allowed me to meet with a consultant. The sales clerk knew absolutely nothing about diamonds. She only knew how to act like a pretentious snob. I was miserable in there. She showed me a cusion cut diamond with black inclusion poc-marks all through it. I asked her about it and she said it was the facets. Really? Okay. Maybe it was the facets, but either way I wouldn't want a diamond that had black polka dots throughout it depending on the way I turned my hand. But that's me. I was happy to leave.
Van Cleef: Well, I have to admit upfront that I have a real soft spot in my heart for this jeweler. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the artistry of their rings. The between the finger rings are just sensational. The lowest diamond color they will accept is E(!!!) and the lowest inclusion level is VVS2. Wow, talk about some white diamonds. Unfortunately, for me the settings for their erings were very strange. They seemed very "high society circa 1950." Their diamond e-ring catalog even evokes a bygone era. In the store, they were playing big band music. I literally thought I had been transported to post WWII America. I expected a woman wearing gloves and a black hat to walk in at any moment. The settings for the e-rings were chunky. Very chunky. I told the man behind the counter that my budget was around "$50,000.00" expecting that this would get me a nice selection of rings to try on. Well, it got me nothing larger than a 1 carat stone, I can tell you that. They were white. Most of them were D color, internally flawless. Not the sparkliest diamonds I have ever seen, and clearly in need of a good cleaning. All of the settings were heavy, chunky and...well... odd. They didn't look like engagement rings most of them. They looked like fashion rings. The ones that did were very heavy with large bands of platinum enrobing the diamond and baguettes thrown around. I don't know. It's probably art and I am too provincial to realize that. But if I could afford Van Cleef, I would stick to the earrings, fashion rings, bracelets and the like, focusing on the invisible settings that they perfected. I'd avoid the engagement ring, I don't care if Grace Kelly wore it or not.
Finally, (and I know I am going to be shot for this), but I didn't go down 47th street to the diamond district at all! I simply ran out of time and I wanted to do the upscale jeweler tour. I know from my friend who loves to buy diamonds that I really missed out on the experience of a lifetime. Next time I will definitely head over there.
In conclusion, I would just say that no one has the e-ring sales down in the upscale market the way Tiffany does. What an amazing store. They are just consummate professionals and I observed them treat every single customer no matter who they were or how they were dressed respectfully. Considering that some of them were dropping $4 or $5 thousand dollars on a ring (which for many of them was blowing the budget), I was just in awe of the Tiffany sales people. They just kick it up a notch and treat every sale like it really matters and no customer was given better treatment or less time based on what they were spending. Jon Omahen in the NY store is really amazing. I can't say enought about him. He's just the go to guy if you want to sit with someone who just knows everything there is to know. He's very cool and a lot of fun to talk to.
And that concludes my trip to NY's Fifth Ave. jewelers. I didn't go to Bulgari. I missed H Stern and others off Fifth. But considering I was sweeping in for a few hours, I felt like I had a good sense of everything. Anyone else done the tour? What did I get wrong? What did I get right? Would love to hear thoughts.
I'll settle for web links in a pinch!
300x240.png)