From the moment I met my girlfriend, I knew
she was The One. After a brief period of dating, I decided that
it was time to start looking for that perfect engagement ring.
Fortunately for me, my girl is not exactly shy about the subject
of marriage and had already given me some not-so-subtle hints
about the type of ring she desired. I was looking for a
princess-cut (square) diamond solitaire ring, in a simple
four-prong setting. Sounds easy enough, right? So I
set out to my local malls and jewelry shops to do some window
shopping and pricing. At this point, I had done absolutely
zero diamond research and knew nothing of diamond grading,
pricing, etc. All I knew was that I wanted to keep the
costs under $3500, which in my mind should fetch a pretty nice
diamond ring. After completing my visits to the local
diamond shops, I was disheartened to say the least. What I
saw were diamonds that were not exactly stunning, for
outrageously high prices. I didn't know if this was the
"norm" or if I was getting ripped off, so I decided it was time
to do some research.
My first Google search for diamond information
was overwhelming. Where does one begin when they have absolutely
no background information whatsoever? I literally spent
hours upon hours combing over website after website, picking up
little tidbits of information along the way. Gradually, I
began to get an idea of how things work in the diamond industry.
I learned that diamonds are evaluated and graded based on four
qualities: Cut, Color, Clarity, Carat. Each of these four
qualities has it's own set of grades--see the charts for a
better understanding of the grading scales, or check out the
links I have included to some of the premier diamond information
sites on the web.
Now that I had an understanding of how
diamonds were graded, I went back out to the local shops to find
out the quality of the previously-mentioned overpriced
engagement rings that I had checked out the previous week.
What I found were .75 - 1 carat diamonds that were in the I-J
color range, I-1 and I-2 clarity range, being priced in the
$4000-$6000 + tax range, which really is outrageous. I-J color and
I-1/I-2 clarity is on the decidedly lower end of the quality
scale, and despite jewelers best efforts to trick the consumer
by polishing and using bright lighting in their stores, these
diamonds were very unspectacular to the naked eye. I
wanted a ring that had the "WOW" factor. Something that my
girl would instantly fall in love with. Not only were
these rings below the quality I was looking for, they were also
ABOVE the price range I had set for myself. Now what?
Back when I was doing my research, I stumbled
upon some online jewelry stores that were selling engagement
rings. At the time, I quickly dismissed them--buying an
engagement ring online? Come on. The idea seemed
unromantic and unsafe. After all, how was I supposed to
buy a diamond ring without even being able to see it? I
decided that, while I still wasn't going to buy an engagement
ring online, I would at least check out the prices--I had to
know if the prices that I had seen at my local shops were the
"norm" or if they were gauging the customer. The first
site I stumbled upon, Blue Nile, had a professional looking
website and by all accounts was safe and secure. They
offered high quality diamonds, but they too were out of my price
range. I did notice, however, that their lower-end
engagement rings were cheaper than those in my local stores (I
live on the east coast of Canada), which caused my eyebrow to
raise. Not impressed with what I had seen, I pushed on and
found the website that changed everything:
JamesAllen.com
My first impression of
James Allen was that
they had a great website. They have a feature that allows
you to build your own engagement ring: search their extensive
database for the diamond you want and then add it to whichever
setting (band) you like the most. The loose diamond search
page is, admittedly, fantastic. You can search by cut,
color, carat, clarity, price and more, which lets you really
narrow it down to exactly the diamond you are looking for, and a
quick scan quickly showed me that their prices were considerably better than I had seen anywhere
else--locally and online. While that was all well and
good, I still had one problem: I wanted to see the diamond
before spending thousands of dollars. To my amazement, I
found that James Allen featured actual pictures of the diamonds in the database,
complete with a virtual magnifying glass that allowed me to
closely inspect the diamonds I was looking at for imperfections.
I was blown away--but still skeptical.
I am a skeptical person by nature, so despite
the great prices and website features, I still wasn't convinced.
I searched the web for reviews of
James Allen from actual
customers--this was actually harder than it sounds.
James Allen has a LOT of
positive feedback on iVouch.com, but yet I remained skeptical.
Anyone could have written those reviews, right? It almost
seemed too good to be true. Aside from iVouch, there
really weren't very many sites that offered real, genuine
James Allen reviews. I wanted to see pictures, read about
experiences--how long did it take to get your engagement ring?
Did you have any problems? How was the customer service?
Did they honor returns and/or warranties? We're talking
about thousands of dollars and the most important purchase of my
life here, I wanted assurances.
In the end, of course, it's all about the prices. I could ramble on about how James Allen's prices are the best, but I'll let them
speak for themselves. Once upon a time, I tried posting price comparisons here,
but it became impossible for me to keep up. I'm not kidding when I say that
James Allen diamonds sell quickly--their prices are considerably (sometimes thousands) less than their competition. Check out the
Daily Diamond
Price Comparison Blog for up-to-date diamond pricing
comparisons. I think you'll find James Allen beats the
competitors prices 99% of the time. You should also check out a
super-cool feature from James Allen:
actual images of recently purchased diamond rings. Have a look and see if the ring you're
looking to purchase is there and get a realistic picture of what you can expect.
Very cool.
 
If there's any current offers,
you'll find them here. Click
HERE for more details.
* |
 
James Allen FAQ Snippet:
Q:
What if I don't order the correct ring size?
A:
Each customer is entitled to one free ring
resizing within 60 days of purchase. After 60 days, the fee is $25 for gold
rings and $50 for platinum rings.
We'll return your ring to you (for free) via two-day FedEx.
Please note that eternity bands and tension rings cannot be resized and must
be completely remanufactured.
Q:
What if my jewelry gets lost during shipment?
A: Click
HERE
to read more...
|
Despite my hesitations, I went ahead and
contacted James Allen's
customer support. I just wanted to get a feel for
them--how quickly they'd respond, how friendly they were,
whether or not they'd try to "push" a sale on me, etc. My
mind was put at ease when I received an extremely quick and
friendly response. She assured me that if I was not
satisfied with my purchase, a full refund would be given without
hesitation, and the fact that they are listed in the Better
Business Bureau (BBB) also went a long way in convincing me that they
were for real. After reading their
Risk-Free
Retail policies, I could no longer wait. I decided it was time.
Having already known exactly what I was
looking for, it wasn't very difficult for me to find the
engagement ring I wanted. I settled on an ideal cut, .77
carat, E color, VS2 clarity diamond set in an 18kt four prong
setting. Grand total: $2695 USD, with free express
shipping via FedEx (to Canada, no less). Needless to say,
I was pretty impressed with this price.
Within minutes of placing my order, I was contacted by one of
their employees, Eileen, who let me know that she would be
working with me throughout the process. I can't say enough
about Eileen, I really can't--there will be more on her as the
story progresses--but she truly is an asset to
James Allen and I
hope she is well taken care of!
It took a couple of days for my engagement ring to
be put together. It was a custom order after all, and I had
no problems with waiting a little for the ring to be
expertly assembled and shipped. I then received my
shipping notification email, letting me know that my girls
engagement ring was on its way. Very exciting times--the
ring was on the way, now all I had to do was think of an
unforgettable way to propose! But wait, the story isn't
without problems. Canadian customs, being the omnipresent
powerful force that they are, contacted me and told me that I
had to send them some papers in order for them to
"release" my engagement ring.
James Allen FAQ Snippet:
Q:
What is the cost of shipping?
A:
JamesAllen.com provides fast, free shipping on all order destinations within the
continental United States and Canada, regardless of order amount. Click
here
for more.
Q:
Where do you ship diamonds?
A:
We ship diamonds to the U.S., Canada and internationally. We deliver to your
home, business, APO, or nearest Fedex location.
Regarding deliveries to Canada: Customs taxes
may vary, depending upon the nature of the item and the Province you are having
the item shipped to. For example, purchasing a loose diamond will not incur a...
Click here to read more... |
I was definitely
confused--I had
never heard of this practice in my years of online shopping, so
I contacted Eileen with my concerns. She immediately
replied and let me know that she would have their own customs
expert look into it and get back to me. They calmed me down and guided me through the process of signing
some paperwork and paying the customs and duty charges to have
the ring released (as Canadians, we are already all-too-aware of
the fact that we have to pay taxes all the time). It was back in the air and
on the way. The excitement builds...
***If you're Canadian and want
more information on the customs process and duty
fees, send me an
email and I'll give you some more details.***
Tracking the order on FedEx.com all along the
way, I anxiously waited for the doorbell to ring. When the ring was delivered, I couldn't wait to rip open the box and check
everything out. Even with
the Customs delay, it was still delivered within four business days. As promised,
James Allen's packaging
is extremely impressive--see the images I have included for a
better idea of what I mean. Included with the ring was my
GIA certificate, which I would later use in getting the ring
appraised--more on that in a moment. I open the beautiful
wooden jewelry box and I was simultaneously awestruck and
relieved. The ring was absolutely stunning, just as I
hoped it would be. It sparkled and reflected light from
all angles, and I could not have been happier. I wrote
Eileen to let her know it arrived safe and sound, and she
immediately replied and wished me all the best with my proposal.
I had made the most important purchase of my life: the
engagement ring, and I was on top of the world.
Click
here for more
pictures of the ring, packaging and GIA certificate.
 
If there's any
current offers, you'll find them here. Click
HERE for more details. * |
I already knew that I had gotten a fantastic
deal on my ring--when the customs duty and taxes were applied
and the currency was converted to Canadian dollars, I had spent
around $3300. Comparable rings in local shops were in the $5500
+ tax range, but even those weren't as magnificent as the engagement
ring I bought from James Allen. I had my now-fiancé get the ring appraised for
insurance purposes (I love my girl, but lets just say I wouldn't
be shocked if she somehow managed to lose the ring) and the
results were mind-blowing. The appraised value for local
replacement purposes was $8200--nearly $5000 more than I
paid for the ring. If that doesn't convince you that
James Allen might just
be the best place to buy an engagement ring,
then perhaps the final part of the story will.
My fiancé, who I love to pieces, is not the
most co-ordinated of people. Some might say she's a bit of
a klutz, maybe just a tad clumsy. I'm sure some of you who
are reading this can relate. Anyway, not long after I
proposed, she managed to loosen one of the prongs on the ring,
causing the diamond to rattle a little bit when moved quickly.
This was obviously cause for concern and had to quickly be dealt
with. The local jeweller explained that this is a common
thing for new brides-to-be, they are not used to having a big
diamond ring on their finger and thus aren't familiar with the
"dos and don'ts" of wearing an engagement ring. She
explained all these little tidbits to my fiancé, but the problem
remained: the ring needed to be fixed. Naturally, I
contacted Eileen at James Allen.
Eileen called me back within 30 minutes and
explained the process. I had to pay a small sum for
express shipping via FedEx to get the ring back to their service
department, where they would fix it for free and ship it back to
me via express FedEx shipping. No questions asked.
Once again, it goes without saying that I was impressed.
The ring arrived in New York the very next day, and just over a
week later, it was returned to us without any issues--looking as
beautiful as ever.
I hope you've enjoyed my long-winded yet
completely true and honest account of buying an engagement ring--this
is the most real, genuine and honest James Allen review you will
find anywhere online.
Without James Allen, I
genuinely don't know what would have happened. I
definitely would have spent more than $3300, and I definitely
would not have received such a high quality engagement ring that
appraised for $8200. It's hard for me put into words just
how fantastic James Allen
truly is without sounding like a shill--just trust me when I
tell you that everything I've written here is true. They
offer the highest quality diamonds and jewelry at the best
prices, and their customer service is the best I've ever
received anywhere in my 30 years. If you are in the market for
an engagement ring, you owe it yourself to at least browse
JamesAllen.com and see
for yourself--I'll be shocked if you aren't impressed with what
you see. Feel free to
contact me and ask me anything you
want--I would love to help anyone out there who finds themselves
in the boat I was in--lost and looking for a high quality
engagement ring that won't break your bank account. Thanks
for reading, and good luck to you all! --Adam
 
If there's any current offers, you'll find them here. Click
HERE for more details.
* |
