The jewelry exchange

[hbright]

Does anyone have experience with The Jewelry Exchange (Goldenwest Diamond Corporation)? I'm mainly concerned about price compared to walk-in stores (I know online vendors such a blue nile are cheaper for equivalent specs). They did not discount or even mention fluoresence.

These are some price quotes:

1) 0.70ct rbc, H, VS2, table 57, depth 63.8, crown 14.8, pavilion 44.5, girdle med-very thick faceted, polish good, symmetry good, fluor none, culet none, measurements 5.66-5.6x3.95mm, with a egl mini appraisal.
Price - ~$3000 out the door (with a 14k standard mounting and charges)


2) 0.722 AGS000 (ideal 0) RBC, G (ags1.5), VS1 (ags3), table 56, depth 61, crown 15, pavilion 43, girdle faceted 1-1.7, crown angle 34.1, pavilion angle 40.9, pointed culet, fluor strong blue, measurements 5.79-5.81x3.54mm, with an ags diamond quality document.
Price - ~$4400 out the door (with 14k standard mounting and charges).

Thanks

 

[Mara]

There is a Jewelry Exchange in Burlingame CA which is somewhat near to where I am and a girlfriend suggested I go there. I was considering it until she told me that her friend's friend had gotten their ring there and that they had been told that 'a little yellow in your diamond is the best type' because it looks 'warmer' and that the 'cold colorless diamonds are not as good'. As soon as I heard this I said NO WAY am I going to waste my time there. I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I didn't want to spend my time trying to convince someone that I wanted a 'near colorless' as opposed to a 'warm M'. Just be sure they give you the certification and reports if you purchase, and then get it appraised right away just in case!

 

[sylvesterii]

any time i see "out the door" it makes me very nervous and reminds me of car sales people. not that i have anything against them, but i think i hated car shopping more than i did finding my diamond before i found pricescope.

 

[jtaylr77]

If you want the best for your $, check out some of the sites that deal in quality stones like goodoldgold.com or niceice.com. I think you will find that you can get the best your money will buy much cheaper than the ones you have listed not to mention no tax. Good Luck! Think of it as a fun exciting treasure hunt!

 

[hbright]

Yeah, I already know that many online vendors are 10-30% cheaper for "equivalent" specs while some are just as costly if not more. I guess I'm still feeling wary of online buying, though such companies such as blue nile are becoming very popular and reputable. I'm trying to find the best price of a brick and mortar store in a time efficient manner (yes, I understand the dangers with rushing, but trying to make best with the time I have and fully realize the consequences). Since the jewelry exchange is a nationwide chain, I'm hoping that its probable visibility can conveniently verify or dispel its competitiveness and trustworthiness relative to the average retail store.

BTW, the 0.722 carat AGS000 is a very nice cut as jugded by the HCA on pricescope. It got an overall score of 1 with "excellent" across the boards except for spread, which achieved "very good". It falls in the category of TIC. The only drawback is its strong blue fluorescence which should encourage a 2-10% discount (I've encountered many different discount ratings for a stone of these specs, though the trend suggests a very minimal discount). Next time I visit, I'll ask for a quote for an identical stone without SB fluor. Of course, I'll check the proportions out with HCA. The 0.70 carat egl had a "good" HCA score with a fair rating on dispersion, which made sense to me as it seemed to have greater brilliance than fire.


Considering the HCA score of the 0.722 AGS000(increase) and the SB fluor(decrease), does this make it a good deal for a brick and mortar store?

 

[gregory03]

Yes, I had a very negitive experience with "The Jewelry Exchange" in Tustin CA. I bought some small diamonds for my daughters 21st Birthday. Not having much experince, I deferred to "the experts" A couple of weeks after buying the diamonds in question we noticed they were covered with carbon. This carbon was not there at the time of purchase. From what I understand these things do happen and that is not where the experience comes from. When attempting to "exchange" the diamonds I was treated with utter disrespect and quite literally theartened with bodily injury if I did not leave their store. I had a reciept and was not asking for my money back, however I did take exception to their 80% rule and that is when things got ugly. I have never had a customer service experiece such as this and these people made the used car business seem like pillars of the community.

 

[caratgirl]

Being from California, we are exposed to their tv ads all the time - we took a look and they do not have the great goods as promised. A few of my friends went there too, and were quite disappointed in their sales tactics.

 

[pr0crast1nat0r]

When I stopped by the Burlingame shop, their reply to my question on what the quality of the cut on a particular diamond was......'it is a brilliant cut'. Over priced and under-knowledgable.

Two places where I received top service in San Fran area were, and Joe Escobar Diamonds with Erik and Derco in the jewelry district

 

[alady2u]

What Gregory neglected to tell you was that he had the earrings over two years; as anyone with intelligence knows it is a scientific impossibility for carbon to appear over night. He was asked to leave because he was yelling in the store, when he refused, he was told if he didn't stop they would call the police. My boyfirend and I were sitting where he was standing and my boyfriend finally got him to calm down when he spoke up and said "hey dude knock it off, you're embarassing yourself." The store ,must be doing something right because there was at least a hundred customers in the store when we were there!

 

[sunseeker]

I don't know anything about the Jewelry Exchange in CA (if that's where you are looking), but I recently bought a diamond, e-ring setting and w-ring at the Jewelry Exchange in Woodbridge, NJ and I am completely satisfied!

The vendor I used was very, very knowledgeable and informative. At the same time, I was doing a lot of postings here at Pricescope about the diamond I was considering buying. There was a question about the size of the table on the diamond I wanted, and when I spoke to the jeweler he understood and told me I had a 100% cash back guarantee if I was not happy with my diamond and rings. Since I had already fallen in love with the diamond I went forward and had him set it and I LOVE IT!!!

It is a round brilliant G, VS2, 1.16 ct. in a settting with more round diamonds and baguettes. The w-ring matches perfectly, too! Total carat weight is 2.75 which I thought might be a little too much because I am not a flashy person and have small fingers, but it really is a great match and the diamond is beautiful! I have only had it for a couple of weeks but I always get compliments, even in stores!

Of course I went right away to a GIA gemologist for another appraisal (my diamond and rings came with one, too). My appraisal matched my diamond certificate and they all appraised for a nice amount higher than what we paid. Yay!

The main thing, no matter where you buy, is to get the information and come back here and get expert advice. Then you are truly doing your homework and making a wise investment. Also, you need to find a jeweler who will guarantee your money back NO MATTER WHAT. With that kind of guarantee, how can you go wrong? And don't forget about the second appraisal! Once I had that, it made me know I could trust the jeweler and I am now looking for a family ring (not a mother's ring!) for me and my daughters and I know I will be talking to the same jeweler for that, too!

Good luck in your search and remember we LOVE PICTURES HERE!

~Sunseeker

 

[TheDiamondPro]

The "Jewelry Exchange" is pretty well-known for their "come-on" ads that lure customers into their out-of-the-way stores based on price alone. Anyone shopping with price alone as the most important issue will probably regret the experience.

Having a basic knowledge of diamonds and jewelry is essential when considering a purchase. Where you get that information, and the quality of it, are very important to you and should not be taken lightly. Many times you can in fact, rely on a local jeweler to give you an education as you prepare to make a purchase (in his store or elsewhere). And, the internet has a lot of useful information also, sometimes too much! The real authoritive sites are industry related, not blogs or vendors. Look into dps.org, jvc.org, and jewelers.org for the stuff that defines the industry.....

Don't be swayed by clever advertising, or self-proclaimed experts....collect as much information as you need to reach a conclusion you are comfortable with, and rely on resources that have a reputation and integrity that is offered freely and with genuine sincerity!

 

[handsomestofall]

When businesses gain lousy reputation for the way they treat customers they lose much more money than the few bucks it takes to satisfy customers fully. The Jewlery Exchange is no exception to that rule.
Costco's return policies are the best -- Fry's Electronics return policies are some of the worst (they give many customers who return defective low-quality components a hard time)! Fry's has more than 100 people in many of their buildings at any given moment.
It's not good to become known for treating your customers poorly (no matter what the reason is).

 

[Jennifer5973]

I agree that no matter WHERE you go, you need to know your stuff. I'd certainly trust several of the well-known vendors here but I'd also shop at The Jewelry Exchanges on the East Coast (I don't know anyting about CA stores)--but you need to know about diamonds regardless.

Knowledge is power.

 

[Dancing Fire]

----------------
On 11/25/2002 2:29:05 AM hbright wrote:

Does anyone have experience with The Jewelry Exchange (Goldenwest Diamond Corporation)? I'm mainly concerned about price compared to walk-in stores (I know online vendors such a blue nile are cheaper for equivalent specs). They did not discount or even mention fluoresence.

These are some price quotes:

1) 0.70ct rbc, H, VS2, table 57, depth 63.8, crown 14.8, pavilion 44.5, girdle med-very thick faceted, polish good, symmetry good, fluor none, culet none, measurements 5.66-5.6x3.95mm, with a egl mini appraisal.
Price - ~$3000 out the door (with a 14k standard mounting and charges)


2) 0.722 AGS000 (ideal 0) RBC, G (ags1.5), VS1 (ags3), table 56, depth 61, crown 15, pavilion 43, girdle faceted 1-1.7, crown angle 34.1, pavilion angle 40.9, pointed culet, fluor strong blue, measurements 5.79-5.81x3.54mm, with an ags diamond quality document.
Price - ~$4400 out the door (with 14k standard mounting and charges).

Thanks----------------

hbright,
you can forget about the egl stone. nothing good about it. the stone is cut too deep, girdle is too thick, the stone has a small diameter than it should, for a decent cut stone. the cutter is cheating on the cut; he wants to make sure that the stone is .70 ct, so he can get extra premium for it. this stone probably has the diameter of a .60 ct ideal cut stone. the stone is way over priced. i'll give you an example- i bought a .72 ct. g vs2 egl usa cert, ideal cut, and paid $1900 for it, and i still think i paid too much.

 

[kmccool]

Hi,




I was there yesterday afternoon and spoke w/ someone at J.R. Collections. Which vendor did you purchase your rings from? I would appreciate your advice.




Thanks

 

[iceprincess]

I went to the Jewelry Exchange in Tustin, CA around the same time I was looking for my e-ring last winter. I already knew I wanted an ideal H&A RB and was positive I would be purchasing on-line with one of the many PS vendors after educating myself and lurking here at PS for quite some. My purpose in going to the Jewelry Exhange was to see some different color and clarity stones in person as I had done at other b&M stores like Tiffany's, LA Jewelry Mart, and maul stores. Also, if they had really fabulous deals, maybe I would get some diamonds studs made.

The Jewelry Exchange does have both certed and non-cert diamonds and you will certainly overpay for the certed diamonds. The salespeople are not very knowledgable and while they have a large selection of settings, none of them appealed to me. It felt like a waste of time in the end.

Like Jennifer said, continue to educate yourself regardless of where you end up purchasing.

Good luck!

 

[lmurden]

You can do better!