A Jewelry Stop

When my fiancé and I were shopping for our wedding bands we found a ring for me that we instantly fell in love with. Unfortunately, the local shop by us told us that the company that produced the ring had recently undergone a change of ownership and that the ring was no longer hand-engraved in England. Since he could not guarantee what it would look like, he said he was no longer placing orders for that particularly jewelry line.



We were crushed. While searching online, we came across a Jewelry Stop online, which listed the ring as being available. I contacted the store to inquire about the ring and asked about what our other jeweler had told us. Jeff, the jeweler at A Jewelry Stop, told us he had just ordered a ring from that company the week before and he specifically confirmed with us that the rings were still hand-engraved in England. I was ecstatic.



When the ring came, I opened the box, and burst into tears. It was horrible. Perhaps the ring was not horrible in its own right, but compared to the ring we saw at the local jeweler's, it was horrible. It was significantly thinner and much duller looking. The hand-engraved pattern was significantly different and the cuts were not nearly as deep (with the ring being so much thinner, how could it be). In fact, the pattern was very regular, and looked like it was machine stamped rather than free-hand engraved.



I called Jeff and told him something was wrong with it and I thought I had gotten the wrong ring. He said it was the right ring and asked for photos. I took several from different angles and sent them along with pictures of the ring I had taken at the local shop, and sent them off. You can clearly see in the photos they are different. Also, the stamps inside the ring are different. The ring at the local shop had a stamp that signified it was engraved in England. The ring I was shipped had a different stamp that indicated it was made in the US. Jeff had told us that he had confirmed the rings were still engraved in England.



Jeff contacted me back and accused me of doctoring the photos on the basis that in one photo you could see my nail polish and in the other you could not. My polish was a clear coat with glitter in it, so depending on where the light source was, you either saw it brightly in the photos or didn't.



I told him I was not happy and wanted to return the ring. That is when he got nasty. He told me my husband and I have no taste and because we were not jewelers, we could not appreciate good jewelry. He said his wife loved it, as if this meant I should too.



I contacted the company myself and found out that our previous jeweler was right and that the company had moved stateside over a year ago and they had all new engravers.



I told Jeff what I found out and asked him why he told us the rings were still made in England. We never would have ordered the ring had we known. He blew up at me when he found out I contacted the company. He said "how dare you go over my head!" He said I was a horrible person who was too picky and would never be happy. He said if I can "live" with him having to eat the cost, he will return the ring. He said he would be out the few hundred bucks because he would never be able to resell it. Really? A size 7 supposedly hand-engraved ring that he says is so beautiful that his wife fell in love with it, but he cannot resell it? Whatever. I returned it.



In the end, he got his ring back and I got my money back. My fiancé and I found a gorgeous ring that I love and am extremely happy with. The wedding went off without a hitch.



Had Jeff remained professional, apologized for the 'misinformation' about where the ring was made, and immediately offered a return, I would be able to recommend this place. However, he quickly got nasty to the point of actually swearing at me.



I would avoid this place like a plaque.