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Macy’s Review
There is no department store in the United States that is better known than Macy’s.
Macy’s might be a place where you have found some terrific bargains in the past. It’s impossible to deny the appeal of their discounted clothes and shoes, or the attraction of their vast stores.
Stores like Macy’s managed to cultivate a large fan base for their jewelry because of their somewhat unique designs and pricing. The question remains; is Macy’s jewelry real and do they make excellent choices for engagement rings or diamonds? We’ve delved into the department store’s selection, quality and history below.
Macy’s Diamonds at a Glance
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Having been around for 150 years and dominating the retail scene for so long, you’re bound to have fond memories of this store. Macy’s began as a small store in the early 1900 century when department stores were scarce. Founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy, it was first opened New York City to sell hosiery and gloves
Over time, new ideas, and the dedication of employees helped them to pull some strings, becoming one of the biggest department stores in the country today.
With over 552 stores across the U.S, Macy’s dominates the retail industry. With Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade becoming an annual tradition, Macy’s remains firmly ingrained in American culture – and childhood. But most definitely not for their diamonds.
2. What is most appealing about Macy’s?
Grading Authority
Are Macy’s diamonds real? In a nutshell, yes. However, are they of high quality?
In spite of the fact that Macy’s has real diamonds, it sells economy stock jewelry, which is not as unique, special, or as worthwhile an investment as diamond jewelry from other online jewelers.
In the majority of cases, Macy’s diamonds are uncertified or carry low-tier certificates. Therefore, the grades on any diamond jewelry piece could be inflated. As an example, you might consider bargain prices for a 0.75ct H-VS2 diamond, but if the diamond is actually a K-I2, the price becomes less attractive.
The bottom line is that you will have to pay a higher price for a lesser-quality stone that does not carry a reputable, recognized certification.
In comparison with other diamond stores, Macy’s diamonds are okay quality, clean-cut, and small in size, which is why the prices are relatively low. There’s a cost associated with the certification which isn’t always worth it for smaller stones.
However, there are a few diamond jewelry pieces that are GIA certified if you know to look for them. It’s not easily accessible from the navigation but we did find 28 pieces, including earrings, necklaces and rings that carried a reputable certification. And a hefty price tag to boot.
It’s worth noting that a number of reviewers indicated that their diamond jewelry didn’t come with a GIA Assurance Certificate. Regardless, the diamonds are still quite small and the cut quality is only good. GIA certification or not, those are expensive diamonds with very little to justify it.
Are you looking for the important details when picking the perfect diamond? We have more than a million loose diamonds for sale with all the details you need to choose the perfect one - including certification from reputable labs.
Variety
Macy’s is a name you know and trust so it may seem counter-intuitive to not blindly trust the jewelry they sell you.
With their illusion settings and spaced channel settings, Macy’s takes shortcuts. This is by no means an isolated Macy’s issue, but department and retail store sins that are committed often. By using low-quality diamonds and spaced settings, illusion settings reduce the number of diamonds needed to fill out the band.
At the time of writing, from searching on the site, there were only 61 1ct diamond ring options with VS1-SI2 clarity ratings. There’s not a lot for those who adore fancy shapes, so you’ll have to settle for a round shape diamond or a poor selection.
You might find some nice pieces at Macy’s to broaden your jewelry collection, but in general, it’s not a great place to buy quality pieces.
Despite the abundance of information about diamonds and jewelry on the Internet, it's difficult to determine which information is accurate. When inexperienced department store sales staff seem like your only option, use PriceScope's easy-to-navigate site and find accurate diamond information via forums, resources, and experts.
Ease of Use
Having an online presence is a must for any business that wants to reach out to more customers, even household names like Macy’s.
Considering Macy’s sells so many products, their website is fairly minimalist and offers easy navigation to the different types of products you’d expect from a big chain store.
One plus we’ll commend them on is their education section for the 4Cs. While it’s great they are offering education to potential buyers, Macy’s falls at the first hurdle with a low-quality image at the very top of the page.
This trend, unfortunately, continues to their products, with Macy’s providing poor quality imagery for their diamond jewelry pieces.
A quick glance at Whiteflash or James Allen will show you the difference in image caliber. In addition to outstanding imaging, they also have 360-degree views, videos, and fantastic filtering to find just the diamond you are looking for.
With the right information, images, and certifications, purchasing a diamond should be a positive experience. Each diamond sold by our vendors, Blue Nile, Whiteflash, Brilliant Earth and James Allen, has been graded by credible laboratories. In-house gemologists ensure accuracy of their diamonds.
The Selection
We’ll talk more about the store experience in the next section but for those familiar with Macy’s store will know the jewelry counters generally do not carry much stock.
The website has a few more options, but as mentioned it’s a little cluttered and sometimes difficult to navigate.
As compared to other successful online retailers, they offer very few preset options and no customization besides a few metal variations for certain settings. Most of the jewelry items which are listed as gold, are just gold-plated silver rather than original gold.
There are no eager sales staff to help here. Most questionably, there is no functionality to search for cut quality when browsing diamond jewelry.
When buying any jewelry item, but especially from department and retail stores, it’s important to have the fundamental knowledge of stones and metals so you can catch the flaw in the item.
We highly recommend browsing Astor by Blue Nile, Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE, and James Allen True Hearts for comparison – these premium providers guarantee diamonds with superior cut quality as well as stylish settings.
The Experience
Experience-wise, Macy’s jewelry offers little to redeem their poor diamond jewelry choice.
The store staff are friendly, but jewelry sections are rarely emphasized in the huge stores.
There are no trained individuals working at jewelry counters who can give you a comprehensive education on diamonds.
They usually cannot tell you whether the diamonds are certified or what Cut, Color, Clarity grades they have. Unsuspecting buyers are more likely to focus on carat weight and neglect these important details.
For buyers who prefer shopping in-person and want to see the jewelry in person; historically, the in-store experience is generally more appealing. In recent years, online retailers have provided more hands-on support and education to buyers. And with minimal overheads – fantastic prices too.
Due to its limited inventory, Macy’s doesn’t have much to offer, and they lack the luxury factor that diamond seekers desire. It is after all a department store, and buying a diamond here will have the same excitement as buying bedding.
You’ll need to go to a top-end brand – Harry Winston or Tiffany & Co. – to get that unparalleled in-person experience.
Nevertheless, Macy’s sales still have plenty of savings to offer. Their items are sometimes fantastically priced and good value for money, just not their jewelry.
When you're looking for diamond retailers who offer you a seamless selection process, great unique selling points and a wide variety of options, take a look at Blue Nile, Whiteflash and James Allen for an outstanding diamond shopping experience.
3. What diamond and jewelry products does Macy’s offer?
As we deduced earlier, the jewelry at Macy’s is real. It is still important to be vigilant when purchasing. Here are some details about their general offering:
Despite how much we love the word ‘sale’, there is no such thing as a cheap diamond. Macy’s ‘original’ prices appear quite inflated, and even sale prices seem high. In other words, it is a marketing strategy.
In recent years, the store has changed how it conducts its sales. All items have labels and description tags with information about their composition now. Therefore, jewelry items that are not real will be appropriately labeled when shopping in the jewelry section. When considering something, take your time.
4. What sets Macy’s apart from others?
Protection Program: Macy’s WorryNoMore® Jewelry & Watch Protection program provides jewelry and watches repairing service to its customers. The cost is calculated based on your piece’s price tag and it has to be activated within 30 days of purchase. This can be done either before delivery by calling Customer Service to sign up or visiting a Macy’s store with your dated receipt and jewelry purchase to sign up.
5. What does Macy’s packaging look like?
If you decide to purchase, Macy’s will package your ring in a pretty red box that is perfect for a holiday or Valentine’s engagement – and very on brand.
As far as ring boxes go, it’s not bad at all. The shiny red with matching bow and white faux leather interior does scream department store Christmas packaging though. A tactile, matte material would just elevate it a little more.
Instead, you might as well purchase from Tiffany’s – at least you’ll get a beautiful box.
6. Are you the ideal Macy’s customer?
If you aren’t concerned with the value of an item, or its real-ness, you will have no qualms about purchasing anything that catches your eye from Macy’s. However, if you are concerned and would only like to purchase something real and worth the price on the tag, it’s best to keep the following in mind.
As everyone’s definition of “worth it” is different, it depends on you. The pricing of jewelry at Macy’s can be comparable to that of a mid-priced or low-cost retailer if they have a big sale. In the absence of a sale, you will be paying premium retail prices.
Some people are happy to pay more for the privilege of saying “I bought it at Macy’s”. For some people, the name adds value, even though Macy’s selling it has no intrinsic value.
As a rule of thumb, we won’t recommend paying extra for jewelry brand names – we’d rather pay less for a lesser-known brand with better quality and value.
It’s unfortunate that Macy’s price hikes aren’t justified by anything unique. If you’re okay with paying a premium, then go for Tiffany & Co. It’s extremely difficult to end this review on a positive note without staying true to our values.
You can explore diamond education in depth with PriceScope before you purchase. It is easier to be informed and confident when you have a resource like ours to hand.
The diamonds offered by our vetted vendors, such as Whiteflash, Blue Nile, and James Allen, are of superior quality with significantly better images and quality for a fraction of the price.
You can learn more about quality diamonds that we have available online, and most importantly, in stock, by visiting our large collection of loose diamonds, which contains everything you need to know before making a purchase.
Get fast answers to any question: Ask our community of unbiased independent helpers or use our diamond search to find your ideal diamond.
The information in this review is current, to the best of our knowledge, as of August, 2022.
