I just wanted to give a big thank you to all of you who unknowingly helped educate my fiancé and I over the past 6 weeks. Since getting engaged on Oct. 1st, I have been constantly researching diamonds, and this website has been invaluable! I live in Palo Alto, CA, and I relied heavily on advice from other bay area people on where to go browsing. What fun! Special thanks to Mara, who seemed to pop up with great advice on many of the threads that I read. Now this might get lengthy, but I want to share my experience in hopes of helping someone else.
Although we considered doing business online with one of the reputable vendors mentioned on Pricescope, I was a bit too unsure of what I wanted, and I guess I like the more hands on approach. I was leaning towards a classic ideal cut RB in a simple setting, but I was feeling really indecisive. I just wasn’t falling in love with any settings, and we hadn't found the right jeweler with the right prices. A couple of weeks ago, through a contact of my mom’s, we were urged to contact Judith Arnell in Portland Oregon. Because of this recommendation (and the fact that there is no sales tax in Oregon), we decided to investigate to see if Judith might be someone we could trust to guide us. We are so glad we did!
After speaking with Judith on the phone and checking out her website (www.juditharnelljewelers.com), we felt it was worth a trip to Portland to see her collection. She said she had options for all budgets, from the simplest solitaires to some of my favorite high end brands (like Daniel K, Ritani, Lazare, and Royal Asscher). We found a great e-fare to Portland, and off we went! Our flight left at 6:15am
and we returned home the same night around 10:30pm! We figured if her prices and service were good (and we were saving tax), that it was definitely worth the price of travel.
Judith warmly welcomed us when we arrived at the store. I have to tell you guys, her collection was AMAZING
. I wish the store was here in the bay area so I could just go over there and browse every week! Personally, I am not a big fan of the bulkier styles of rings or rings with towering cathedrals (I call all that extra metal "scaffolding" ) and she really didn’t have anything like that. I loved her focus on very elegant, timeless styles.
We spent about 3 hours there before taking a lunch break (we are not very decisive people!) Judith was so patient- her service was excellent. She gave us just the right amount of advice... she got an idea of my taste, and just let me try on everything. I mean EVERYTHING! I was like a kid in a candy store, and she kept the candy coming. She even gave me a gorgeous $100,000 ring to try on just for fun! We also picked out my fiance's wedding band.
Judith would steer us away from certain designer settings if she had something comparable in quality that was much less expensive. She definitely had well-priced, high quality settings that would work for any budget (I even loved her simple solitaire styles. Very elegant.) She and her staff were great, and they will work within your budget and preferences to get you the most for your money. She encouraged us to go with the best cut, and depending on stone shape, she would guide us as to color/clarity. Her guidance was completely on par with what many of you have recommended, so I was confident we were getting solid advice. She even mentioned that she had that new machine that measures the light performance of stones. Definitely worth the trip… in fact, another couple came in from Northern CA on the same day we did. That says a lot!
Anyway, the final decision... did I stick with a traditional round solitaire? Nope! I ended up going with a Daniel K split crown ring with an asscher center stone. (for pics, see http://juditharnelljewelers.com/estate/daniel_k_asscher_cut_diamonds.html ) Judith has the largest selection of Daniel K that I have seen (and best prices), and even my generous fiance felt that it was worth the splurge for this special ring. I just fell in love with the incredible craftsmanship of Daniel K rings- the pictures don’t do them justice. Judith didn't have one that was the exact parameters/price that we wanted, so she hunted one down for us within days of our visit. My ring will be a 1.43 center stone H VS2. (My fiance is very color sensitive, so we decided not to go with I or J). It is being sized now, and I might have it in time for Thanksgiving!
What I learned here on Pricescope made me so much more confident about our choices. Thanks again to all of you for educating me!
Debra
Although we considered doing business online with one of the reputable vendors mentioned on Pricescope, I was a bit too unsure of what I wanted, and I guess I like the more hands on approach. I was leaning towards a classic ideal cut RB in a simple setting, but I was feeling really indecisive. I just wasn’t falling in love with any settings, and we hadn't found the right jeweler with the right prices. A couple of weeks ago, through a contact of my mom’s, we were urged to contact Judith Arnell in Portland Oregon. Because of this recommendation (and the fact that there is no sales tax in Oregon), we decided to investigate to see if Judith might be someone we could trust to guide us. We are so glad we did!
After speaking with Judith on the phone and checking out her website (www.juditharnelljewelers.com), we felt it was worth a trip to Portland to see her collection. She said she had options for all budgets, from the simplest solitaires to some of my favorite high end brands (like Daniel K, Ritani, Lazare, and Royal Asscher). We found a great e-fare to Portland, and off we went! Our flight left at 6:15am
Judith warmly welcomed us when we arrived at the store. I have to tell you guys, her collection was AMAZING
We spent about 3 hours there before taking a lunch break (we are not very decisive people!) Judith was so patient- her service was excellent. She gave us just the right amount of advice... she got an idea of my taste, and just let me try on everything. I mean EVERYTHING! I was like a kid in a candy store, and she kept the candy coming. She even gave me a gorgeous $100,000 ring to try on just for fun! We also picked out my fiance's wedding band.
Judith would steer us away from certain designer settings if she had something comparable in quality that was much less expensive. She definitely had well-priced, high quality settings that would work for any budget (I even loved her simple solitaire styles. Very elegant.) She and her staff were great, and they will work within your budget and preferences to get you the most for your money. She encouraged us to go with the best cut, and depending on stone shape, she would guide us as to color/clarity. Her guidance was completely on par with what many of you have recommended, so I was confident we were getting solid advice. She even mentioned that she had that new machine that measures the light performance of stones. Definitely worth the trip… in fact, another couple came in from Northern CA on the same day we did. That says a lot!
Anyway, the final decision... did I stick with a traditional round solitaire? Nope! I ended up going with a Daniel K split crown ring with an asscher center stone. (for pics, see http://juditharnelljewelers.com/estate/daniel_k_asscher_cut_diamonds.html ) Judith has the largest selection of Daniel K that I have seen (and best prices), and even my generous fiance felt that it was worth the splurge for this special ring. I just fell in love with the incredible craftsmanship of Daniel K rings- the pictures don’t do them justice. Judith didn't have one that was the exact parameters/price that we wanted, so she hunted one down for us within days of our visit. My ring will be a 1.43 center stone H VS2. (My fiance is very color sensitive, so we decided not to go with I or J). It is being sized now, and I might have it in time for Thanksgiving!
What I learned here on Pricescope made me so much more confident about our choices. Thanks again to all of you for educating me!
I tried it on last year in New York with my boyfriend and we have never seen another ring that captured our hearts like this one.
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