Diamond Rings Specifically at Macy's? (credit card, prices, store, review)
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Yes, I have still wanted to go to Costco to look around & thank you for the jewelry District suggestion. In these COVID times, I'm trying to avoid normalyl crowded places, so I'll see when I can get around to them.
Regarding BlueNile, I've read good things about them. But I just hate buying something that I haven't seen in-person yet. However, there is an actual Blue Nile B&M (brick & mortar) store about 45 min away in a mall I've been to so I know exaclty where it is. They must have added that there after I last visited the mall.
And I know they say to never buy from the mall jewelry stores, but I was wondering if department stores were any different.
Department stores sell crappy quality like mall jewelry stores
Quote:
Originally Posted by Forever Blue
In looking online, the quality of Macy's diamond rings don't seem that good overall. The clarity rating seems to be I2-I3 for a LOT of them & on the scale, it states to basically, "stay away from". One such site of many out there has this explanation:
Now I don't have to have the clearest & the brightest, but I want to get something of good quality for the hard-earned money that's going to be spent. I see a ring at a good price, which I'm still willing to see in-person, but just to see, so I don't think I'll actually get it.
Also, what other department stores or jewelry stores have good quality diamonds for the money? TIA.
I'm pretty sure we had a discussion in another thread where I showed you my rings so you could see the difference in quality from Zales to the rings that were made for me at Steven Singer in Philadelphia. I just recently deleted the pic from my albums but can reupload it.
If it wasn't you, I'll share my story...
Hub and I went to Key West when we were dating. He was fishing, I decided to walk around checking out the stores. I went by a jewelry store, they had a 5 stone graduated engagement ring in the window that I fell in love with. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera and we weren't talking about getting married yet. Then we got home and a week or 2 later, guess what comes up? Getting married. I mentioned the ring I'd seen. I did take the jewelers business card, we called, the ring was gone.
We ended up going to Philadelphia to jewelers row where I saw nothing that compared to that Key West ring. We got to Steven Singer, they told me they can custom make it from my description. The middle stone is largest, then they get smaller, I believe the end ones are about a quarter carat, middle is probably a half. I'm not a flashy person. The ring needed to be on the flat side so I didn't bump it, plus I like to be able to put my hand in my pocket to get change out.
I won't lie, it was stressful wondering if the custom ring would measure up but in the end, it was nicer then the Key West ring because it was done in platinum and not white gold.
For some reason when we bought wedding bands, we didn't go to Steven Singer. We happened to be at the mall when we found rings we liked at Zales. Biggest mistake ever! Mine is white gold, I believe it has 14 diamond chips in it. I've brought it to Steven Singers for cleaning when he did my other jewelry. I won't even wear it any more because the diamonds were almost ready to fall out. The quality of the stones aren't great and I'm especially unhappy with the non-quality of the white gold because it discolored over the years.
I do encourage you to go to Macy's to look at that ring. Put it on your hand to see how you like it. Take some pics of it, get all of the information on it such as what size the diamonds are as well as what quality. Do the same with Costco. You can also check out the mall jewelry stores if you have a mall that's open. Honestly, it will probably be the quickest way to figure out what you like and don't like.
Once you find the one you like, take the advice to visit jewelers district in LA and consider the sites that were mentioned. I've never shopped there so can't give you feedback. Personally I like brick and mortar. They'll gladly custom make the ring for you if they do not have it in stock. It's actually not more expensive either. My engagement ring was about $2,000 if I remember right back in 2000.
Yes, I have still wanted to go to Costco to look around & thank you for the jewelry District suggestion. In these COVID times, I'm trying to avoid normalyl crowded places, so I'll see when I can get around to them.
Regarding BlueNile, I've read good things about them. But I just hate buying something that I haven't seen in-person yet. However, there is an actual Blue Nile B&M (brick & mortar) store about 45 min away in a mall I've been to so I know exaclty where it is. They must have added that there after I last visited the mall.
And I know they say to never buy from the mall jewelry stores, but I was wondering if department stores were any different.
I have Blue Nile ship to their storefront in tax-free New Hampshire. If the stone doesn’t match the report, I can refuse delivery and get my order refunded. The stones match the GIA report so that’s unlikely.
I think a lot of people get hung up on color and clarity. Cut is more important. With a round ideal cut, you can’t see any inclusions with the naked eye at SI-1. You’re not going to detect color with the naked eye with H-I-J. It’s a huge premium to buy a stone with better color and clarity with no real world benefit.
look in person.
too many factors can't be evaluated on line.
how it looks, the style, the sparkle, are not represented by numbers and pictures.
i gotta say, the bold (below) is bit of a red flag.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Forever Blue
In looking online, the quality of Macy's diamond rings don't seem that good overall. The clarity rating seems to be I2-I3 for a LOT of them & on the scale, it states to basically, "stay away from". One such site of many out there has this explanation: Now I don't have to have the clearest & the brightest, but I want to get something of good quality for the hard-earned money that's going to be spent. I see a ring at a good price, which I'm still willing to see in-person, but just to see, so I don't think I'll actually get it. Also, what other department stores or jewelry stores have good quality diamonds for the money? TIA.
Yes, I have still wanted to go to Costco to look around & thank you for the jewelry District suggestion. In these COVID times, I'm trying to avoid normalyl crowded places, so I'll see when I can get around to them.
Regarding BlueNile, I've read good things about them. But I just hate buying something that I haven't seen in-person yet. However, there is an actual Blue Nile B&M (brick & mortar) store about 45 min away in a mall I've been to so I know exaclty where it is. They must have added that there after I last visited the mall.
And I know they say to never buy from the mall jewelry stores, but I was wondering if department stores were any different.
Bluenile offers free 30-day return shipping if you are not happy with the item you bought.
If it's a GIA or EGL graded gem, it's the same "quality" regardless of where you buy it. I bought my wife's diamond at a pawn shop; it was a higher end place that specialized in jewelry, and still does. I found the setting elsewhere at another independent shop, and had it set there. I do think that even at higher quality stores they try and bundle setting and center stone and all that together and it clouds what you're paying for.
They're HQ is in Tustin. Go there. See finished diamonds by the pound...
No, they don't have junk but it is grossly overpriced. That's also a hurtful thing to say that someone who might have gotten their engagement ring from might read. It may have been what they could afford.
To the OP, wait until Macys has a sale, get coupons, then open a Macys charge. I bought an $1800 white gold diamond multi strand band for $110 with all the discounts. It's almost exactly like this (I bought mine ten years ago)
<snip>
I won't lie, it was stressful wondering if the custom ring would measure up but in the end, it was nicer then the Key West ring because it was done in platinum and not white gold.
For some reason when we bought wedding bands, we didn't go to Steven Singer. We happened to be at the mall when we found rings we liked at Zales. Biggest mistake ever! Mine is white gold, I believe it has 14 diamond chips in it. I've brought it to Steven Singers for cleaning when he did my other jewelry. I won't even wear it any more because the diamonds were almost ready to fall out. The quality of the stones aren't great and I'm especially unhappy with the non-quality of the white gold because it discolored over the years.
<snip>
Yes, be careful of white gold. It's an alloy (mix) of gold and lighter-colored metals and is then coated with rhodium to give it a nice, silvery color, but the rhodium can wear off over time. I just checked the price of rhodium. Ack! Gold is at $1,839/oz. and rhodium is at $19,500/oz. You can see why the cheaper manufacturers might want to use a VERY thin coating of rhodium. I have an antique white gold ring that's never discolored and I wore it daily for years- I'm guessing it had a lot of platinum and rhodium in the alloy and no coating.
My Ex was a precious metals chemist and would have nothing but platinum for my rings. It's stronger. I've done the same when having other stones set into rings. It's actually cheaper by the ounce ($1,077) but harder to work, so you'll pay more.
Thanks so very much everyone! I've narrowed down the rings I want down to about 5 styles but I do have 1-2 faves out of them. It's a designer brand called Simon G., so dept stores aren't going to have that brand. I'm having Robbins Brothers locate them, so I can see them in-person & I don't know yet if they price match (I'm waiting on their reply), but if not, I found an online retailer that has a few B&M (brick & mortar) stores. (Robbins Bros. was almost going to charge a 20% fee just to SEE them.)
Anyone familiar w/ ONLINE BUYING from this retailer called Genesis Diamonds? They only have B&M stores in KY, TN, & OH:
However, I do still want to go to Costco & possibly The Jewelry Exchange in Tustin if no other places to look. Perhaps I can find a similar-enough style to the Simon G. w/o the designer price. I had known of The Jewelry Exchange in Tustin, but if they're overpriced, then I'll see.
No, I won't get it from any mall or dept stores, but I looked around a tad than I ever have yesterday, including going to Robbins Brothers.
Roselvr, in the other thread, you said this so thanks for expanding on your comments:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roselvr
As I'm sure others have said, no mall jewelry. My diamond wedding band came from the mall, it's crap, the stones keep getting loose so I stopped wearing it. It's cheap as heck. We went to Steven Singer (Philadelphia) for my platinum engagement ring which was custom made and all the rest of the jewelry I own. Not sure why we didn't get wedding bands there. I think we just happened to be in a mall and saw ones we liked
Quote:
Originally Posted by athena53
Yes, be careful of white gold. It's an alloy (mix) of gold and lighter-colored metals and is then coated with rhodium to give it a nice, silvery color, but the rhodium can wear off over time. I just checked the price of rhodium. Ack! Gold is at $1,839/oz. and rhodium is at $19,500/oz. You can see why the cheaper manufacturers might want to use a VERY thin coating of rhodium. I have an antique white gold ring that's never discolored and I wore it daily for years- I'm guessing it had a lot of platinum and rhodium in the alloy and no coating.
My Ex was a precious metals chemist and would have nothing but platinum for my rings. It's stronger. I've done the same when having other stones set into rings. It's actually cheaper by the ounce ($1,077) but harder to work, so you'll pay more.
Thanks for the metal info. I just don't like the look of gold, so I'll see about platinum. A desginer brand ring's white gold should be of pretty good quality though, right?
Last edited by Forever Blue; 01-19-2021 at 04:31 PM..
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thanks for sharing this inforamtion
I've narrowed down the rings I want down to about 5 styles but I do have 1-2 faves out of them. It's a designer brand called Simon G., so dept stores aren't going to have that brand. I'm having Robbins Brothers locate them, so I can see them in-person & I don't know yet if they price match (I'm waiting on their reply), but if not, I found an online retailer that has a few B&M (brick & mortar) stores. (Robbins Bros. was almost going to charge a 20% fee just to SEE them.)
