Anyone been to San Diego jewelry store Jessop''s? I want to know if they are the best place to go for custom engagement rings. Thanks!
San Diego Jewelry Store
- Thread starter arsm2
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Hey there,
Yes indeedy: I have!
A few different experiences to give you a VERY round-about answer to your question.
1) A wonderful selection of antique/estate/vintage pieces
2) Knowledeable staff: AGS/GIA GGs, with an excellent reputation. (An old friend of my parents is the former president of the AGS and she just loves them.)
3) My mother has a lovely antique ring from here (20th anniversary gift from Dad? It''s been 41 years now, so...been a while.)
4) They did the re-set of my RHR. I had the stone and mounting, but they did a lovely job on the setting it.
5) Lovely/fancy shop downtown (haven''t been to the Del one) which is fun eye candy.
*BUT*
We did NOT go with them for my currently in-progress custom e-ring. NO WAY. Of the five vendors we met/spoke with, this was fifth and last choice.
This was the vendor my parents were pushing for, and we really wanted to have a good experience and consider them, even though we thought they''d be pricer (they were.)
It was not a fun meeting. At all. Maybe it''s because we knew TOO much exactly what we wanted, maybe it''s because my boyfriend has earrings, maybe it''s that I am "only" a consumer, and how dare I throw around terms like "culet" and "melee"......but in spite of it all being polite and above-board, it was VERY VERY apparent to my beloved and me that they had no desire to have us as customers.
Reasons why? (Which brings us back to your initial question)
*We weren''t listened to:
*We wanted bezel. (We were challenged: why didn''t we want prongs?!)
*We wanted solitaire with melee (We were challenged: why don''t you want a three stone?
Why don''t you use the baguettes you already have in that setting?) et al. A lot.
*We wanted 2mm width MAX (We were challenged: why not do 2.5?)
*We went in wanting a custom setting--we KNEW what we wanted. If we had come in with more flexibility, been more open to their design, it might have been a great match.....but then why go custom? But we knew more or less just what we wanted. That didn''t go over well.
*Plus, there would be no CADS, or reviewing of wax. (we should just trust their eye and go with it--nothing wrong with that, of COURSE, but.....this is PS, we *live* for that kind of scrutiny.)
*And--more expensive by $800-$1600, depending on metal.
None of which is meant to disparage Jessop''s as a business. They make GORGEOUS products and have loyal customers. But it wasn''t a good busines relationship match. We felt patronized, condescended to, and clearly not wanted as customers. If we''d felt that personality disconnect but they were STILL the best choice for custom work, we would have sucked it up and gone with it. It wasn''t a good fit (for us) for a custom job. It seemed like it would have been much better had we come in and said "we have an EC. Our style is kind of like this. What should we do?" and let them design for us.
Does that make sense?
I know that SanDiegoLady has a jeweler in Kearny Mesa she trusts.
I recommend Henderson''s in Carlsbad and Serengeti downtown. Happy to give more input if you like.
I''d also recommend Brian Gavin and Whiteflash if you''re open to going online. We had great contact with both of them (Lesley at Brian Gavin is a doll) and I hope we can work with them in the future.
Jim Dente at Serengeti was our choice, for a variety of reasons, but we are both SO HAPPY we made this decision.
No matter WHAT you decide, good luck! Jessop''s is a good place, and maybe it will be for you....it just wasn''t for us.
Yes indeedy: I have!
A few different experiences to give you a VERY round-about answer to your question.
1) A wonderful selection of antique/estate/vintage pieces
2) Knowledeable staff: AGS/GIA GGs, with an excellent reputation. (An old friend of my parents is the former president of the AGS and she just loves them.)
3) My mother has a lovely antique ring from here (20th anniversary gift from Dad? It''s been 41 years now, so...been a while.)
4) They did the re-set of my RHR. I had the stone and mounting, but they did a lovely job on the setting it.
5) Lovely/fancy shop downtown (haven''t been to the Del one) which is fun eye candy.
*BUT*
We did NOT go with them for my currently in-progress custom e-ring. NO WAY. Of the five vendors we met/spoke with, this was fifth and last choice.
This was the vendor my parents were pushing for, and we really wanted to have a good experience and consider them, even though we thought they''d be pricer (they were.)
It was not a fun meeting. At all. Maybe it''s because we knew TOO much exactly what we wanted, maybe it''s because my boyfriend has earrings, maybe it''s that I am "only" a consumer, and how dare I throw around terms like "culet" and "melee"......but in spite of it all being polite and above-board, it was VERY VERY apparent to my beloved and me that they had no desire to have us as customers.
Reasons why? (Which brings us back to your initial question)
*We weren''t listened to:
*We wanted bezel. (We were challenged: why didn''t we want prongs?!)
*We wanted solitaire with melee (We were challenged: why don''t you want a three stone?
Why don''t you use the baguettes you already have in that setting?) et al. A lot.
*We wanted 2mm width MAX (We were challenged: why not do 2.5?)
*We went in wanting a custom setting--we KNEW what we wanted. If we had come in with more flexibility, been more open to their design, it might have been a great match.....but then why go custom? But we knew more or less just what we wanted. That didn''t go over well.
*Plus, there would be no CADS, or reviewing of wax. (we should just trust their eye and go with it--nothing wrong with that, of COURSE, but.....this is PS, we *live* for that kind of scrutiny.)
*And--more expensive by $800-$1600, depending on metal.
None of which is meant to disparage Jessop''s as a business. They make GORGEOUS products and have loyal customers. But it wasn''t a good busines relationship match. We felt patronized, condescended to, and clearly not wanted as customers. If we''d felt that personality disconnect but they were STILL the best choice for custom work, we would have sucked it up and gone with it. It wasn''t a good fit (for us) for a custom job. It seemed like it would have been much better had we come in and said "we have an EC. Our style is kind of like this. What should we do?" and let them design for us.
Does that make sense?
I know that SanDiegoLady has a jeweler in Kearny Mesa she trusts.
I recommend Henderson''s in Carlsbad and Serengeti downtown. Happy to give more input if you like.
I''d also recommend Brian Gavin and Whiteflash if you''re open to going online. We had great contact with both of them (Lesley at Brian Gavin is a doll) and I hope we can work with them in the future.
Jim Dente at Serengeti was our choice, for a variety of reasons, but we are both SO HAPPY we made this decision.
No matter WHAT you decide, good luck! Jessop''s is a good place, and maybe it will be for you....it just wasn''t for us.
Wanted to add:
I have been on PS too long and I don't want to make assumptions about all the lingo we use on here--I'm sorry if some of my post was unclear. GG=Graduate Gemologist. GIA and AGS are the two most reputable diamond grading organizations (vs. EGL or IGI....lots of information under Resources.)
Edited to Add: WELCOME to PS
I have been on PS too long and I don't want to make assumptions about all the lingo we use on here--I'm sorry if some of my post was unclear. GG=Graduate Gemologist. GIA and AGS are the two most reputable diamond grading organizations (vs. EGL or IGI....lots of information under Resources.)
Edited to Add: WELCOME to PS
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