Reviews/Thoughts on James Allen Diamonds

[nconkl1]

Hey everyone, this will probably be my only thread on here. My girlfriend has asked me to come on here and get real people opinions on the diamond provider, James Allen. I'm currently saving money for her engagement ring and she does research like it's her job on good deals, styles, etc. She recently came upon James Allen and found a diamond that she really likes for about $1,300 less than what our local jewelry store here has. I can't argue with that so here I am

If you have any experience dealing with them, please let me know how your experience was.

If anyone can also explain the price difference between online diamond retailers that'd help me out a lot. She says that another online vendor for the same (roughly) diamond was $1,000 more than on James Allen. We just don't understand the price difference and why it's so much. I expect it to be a little bit due to just normal economics but that much surprises me. So I'm looking at you, diamond experts!

Thanks in advance and if I ever use any shorthand that anyone here isn't familiar with it's because I'm 23 and grew up with the internet

 

[Smith1942]

One of my best diamonds came from James Allen - absolutely beautiful and the kind of price I've never seen before or since. If you choose wisely, and listen to the cut experts in RockyTalky, you could get an amazing diamond from them at a fantastic price. (By the way, you should probably ask the mods to move this thread to RockyTalky as that's where all the diamond experts hang out. Just press Report Post on the top right, I think.)

I think that sometimes their settings are not quite perfect, but JA is very willing to work with you to correct any minor changes - quick service, overnight shipping, that sort of thing. My diamond was set in a pendant which turned up in the wrong length and was unplated white gold instead of plated, but they were very keen to fix it. Two girls at my office had minor issues with their ring settings but again the fix was quick, easy, and at no charge to them. Also, their settings are VERY competitively priced, and in a jewellery world where simple settings in plain metal with no stones are routinely in the four figures, for no reason at all that I can see, the JA setting prices are a big consideration. I mean, JA has elaborate settings too, but you're not necessarily going to get charged $600 - $1200 for a plain solitaire setting in gold.

A strength of James Allen is that you can see images of the diamonds yet their prices remain very competitive. There are other vendors with diamond images but their prices tend to be higher.

As regards the price differences you were talking about, if the vendor is a drop shipper, then prices can be lower on many (but not all) stones. The smaller vendors tend to have their stones inhouse, so the jeweller has already bought them, has laid out the capital, is sitting on high-value inventory, and pays all the shipping costs, and also the manpower/equipment costs of photographing the diamonds multiple times and uploading those images.

Inhouse inventories are usually small compared to drop shippers, an example being Blue Nile. Blue Nile is a drop shipper, meaning that the inventory is virtual. On their website there are tens and tens and tens of thousands of diamonds with no photos since there are way too many, and they are not in BN's location anyway. But they are located all around the world and do not belong to Blue Nile. BN doesn't buy the diamond from the supplier until the customer buys the diamond, so BN hasn't invested money in merchandise. It's cheaper that way - not so much storage, insurance, shipping, no photo costs, and more money in the company coffers, so fewer debts/interest - it goes on. If you choose wisely from the inventory, these cost savings are often passed on to the consumer.

So basically the online diamond retailers fall very broadly into two very different business models - inhouse and drop shippers, and these differences often explain price differences - which, as you've found out, sometimes run well into the four figures, and sometimes more.

JA has a really stunning selection of settings. The animations with the hand on the website look amazing, but do remember to have a look at their photos of the settings they've made in real-life. On the website, for many of the designs, JA has uploaded examples of rings they've made for others, which are more useful than the glossy animations, in my view.

JA can be an excellent choice. Good luck!

 

[mdmc]

I upgraded my diamond with James Allen last January. My husband and I had looked at stones at our local stores as he was leary of buying on line. Long story short with the help of Pricescope I was able to upgrade to a beautiful diamond much bigger than I thought. James Allen reps were very good about answering my questions and getting the Idealscope images I asked for. My diamond is beautiful and their service was great. I was so happy I ended up buying a pair of .90 tcw diamond earrings from them. Couldn't be happier.

 

[mdmc]

Sorry double post

 

[nconkl1]

Excellent response; thank you so much! It's funny you mention BN because BN was the other supplier she was looking at while I was typing the first post.

I definitely trust JA after reading just your one post, but I hope more people will respond as well.

Also, thank you for the insight on to price differences. It makes a lot of sense but I hope I can explain it to my girlfriend just as well as you did.

 

[Beacon]

They are great. Have done a few transactions including my engagement ring and love working with them! Reliable and trustworthy.

Their films are awesome, you can see every detail. But they are also addictive......I can spend hours there just dreaming

 

[kalomeli]

I bought a pair of preset diamond studs from them about a year ago. The whole process was painless and their people were very professional and helpful. This was especially important when working with them overseas which always causes some discomfort (at least customs and VAT). They were also very nice when I lost one of the backs of my studs and I had to order a replacement!

 

[woofmama]

I've bought from them multiple times and have been very satisfied. As a matter of fact I just got an amazing deal last week
I have also returned one diamond purchased thru them and it was quick and easy.
My personal go to when looking for a new stone

 

[ecf8503]

I got a stone and setting from them earlier this year - it is beautiful, and the staff was very friendly and helpful the entire process. You have nothing to worry about, and they will provide you with information that BN can't.

You need light performance assessments on any stone you are considering, and JA will work up 3 stones for you. So pick 3 contenders (we can help if needed) and ask them for either an idealscope image (for rounds only) or ASET images (for all other shapes), as well as the gemologist's opinion.