Where can I go in Los Angeles?

[Ninama]

I''d really like to look at a lot of diamonds and diamond jewelry - up close and personal.... a wide variety of sizes, shapes, clarities and colors. I don''t want a hard sell or to to feel like I''m wasting someone''s time while I try to find out what makes a particular type of diamond beautiful to me.

Just for looking and learning, would it be valuable (educational) to go to one of those mega stores like Robbins Bros or the jewelry mart in Tustin?

 

[SpeedracerII]

We went to the Robbins Bros Engagement Ring store local to us and had a terrible experience. Before we even saw a single setting (which is why we went) the over dressed 20 year old was trying to sell us a complete engagement package and was sitting us down in a little cubical explaining all he knew about diamonds... which wasn''t much. Then a more senior salesman took over and we saw a bunch of settings. They do have a ton of settings. But the guy would not let us go. The store was closed for 30 minutes before we could get out the door. We decided to never go back. We did go to another RB ER store nearer to downtown and had a completely different experience. So I guess it is up to the branch manager how they train their staff. I''d definitely take a chance because like I said they have a ton of the most popular settings. We didn''t look at any stones but they told me they have a wide variety of stones. We certainly didn''t want to stick around for that!

I knew in the first 5 minutes when the 20 year old was asking me right in front of my FI how I was going to propose to her and would I be interested in one of their packages that it was not going to be a good visit!

 

[Ninama]

Thanks, Speedracer

I went to Genesis Diamonds in Nashville and had a really nice experience. They had an extensive display and a large selection of designer settings to look at. I told them it was my *first* visit to a jewelry store (as far as e-ring shopping) and that I didn''t have a clear vision of what I might want and that I was only visiting Nashville. In other words, that there would be no purchase any time soon. They were still very attentive and there was absolutely no pressure. I''d love to find a shop like that in L.A.

http://www.genesisdiamonds.net/

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Date: 8/25/2007 5:11:55 AM
Author: SpeedracerII
We went to the Robbins Bros Engagement Ring store local to us and had a terrible experience. Before we even saw a single setting (which is why we went) the over dressed 20 year old was trying to sell us a complete engagement package and was sitting us down in a little cubical explaining all he knew about diamonds... which wasn''t much. Then a more senior salesman took over and we saw a bunch of settings. They do have a ton of settings. But the guy would not let us go. The store was closed for 30 minutes before we could get out the door. We decided to never go back. We did go to another RB ER store nearer to downtown and had a completely different experience. So I guess it is up to the branch manager how they train their staff. I''d definitely take a chance because like I said they have a ton of the most popular settings. We didn''t look at any stones but they told me they have a wide variety of stones. We certainly didn''t want to stick around for that!

I knew in the first 5 minutes when the 20 year old was asking me right in front of my FI how I was going to propose to her and would I be interested in one of their packages that it was not going to be a good visit!

ditto what speed said! our experience at the torrance RB was bad. very hard sell, and their diamond knowledge was poor. i''m a pretty tough consumer (and pseudo salesperson myself), and was assertive (but nice). so that really helped make the visit into what WE wanted- to look at stones. not to get some sales spiel. we viewed about 4 princess stones and 4 RB stones all less than ideal. note that this was our first trip to a jewelers after we began the "engagement talk" so it was helpful to us in that i was able to determine that i was a princess gal. we certainly don''t regret going, but NEVER went back. i had a sparkly ring on my finger from WF about 4 months after that!

The L.A diamond district can be overwhelming, but we''ve had positive experiences at Mon Cheri Diamonds (that''s where we bought our bands), and at Eli''s Jewelry (family and friends have bought a couple of pieces there). I personally would''ve gone back to WF for our bands, but DH wanted to see and choose them in person.

 

[Green with Envy]

I will also say for record that Robbins Bro /Torrance was THE WORST!!!

We had a very nice experiece downtown in Jewelry district here:

John and Tammy Borugian (They are married. I would work with John for pricing)
L.J. Jewelry
625 S. Hill St. #126
LA, CA 90014
(213) 622-6892

 

[Ninama]

Thank you both!