Spence Diamonds

Spence is the Starbucks of jewellers… low quality products at high prices. And now they’re advertising fake diamonds… like its a good thing?
Best to deal with a jeweller with a smaller advertising buget and profit margin.

Do your research and avoid Spence, particularly if you are shopping for diamond jewelry.
1) their diamonds are double the price of what you would find at other stores. Comparing with online diamond purchases, the mark up is even more astounding.
2) their diamonds are graded by their own company; serious conflict of interest there.
3) the sales associate added my fiancé to her personal whatsapp to communicate, when there is a business card stating her work number. Bad business practice and crossing boundaries with your customers. Get a work cellphone if you must add your customers on whatsapp to communicate outside of work hours. Sales people with the title «certified diamontologist» get that from completing an online course on how to sell luxury jewelry.
4) yes you do get good customer service– you get to view the diamond under a microscope with your own room etc etc. But you are supposed to be paying for a good quality product first and foremost, not the customer service.
5) the jewelry is bad quality if you look closely at the workmanship. It looks like jewelry I can buy at the night market.
6) the mark up is probably used towards their advertising budget. I hear their radio ads all day long. It’s so annoying that I no longer listen to certain radio stations anymore.
In conclusion: terribly overpriced jewelry at substandard quality.

Horrible service with misleading sales tactics! I came in here looking for an engagement ring and was helped by Amanda. When I suggested that I might buy the diamond online and set it in their ring, she acted very insulted and tried to demonstrate that online stones are inferior. She presented me with two SI2 diamonds, one from their store and another from an online store, which she claims to have been picked from the best of the best (Both were GIA Excellent cut). It became clear that this was not a fair comparison as the online store’s diamond had a large inclusion that affected the optical performance while their diamond was eye clean. Anyone who’s done a bit of research knows that with SI2, sometimes you get eye-​clean and sometimes you don’t. If she wanted to do a fair comparison of the cut, she should’ve bought an VS2 where the clarity wouldn’t have matted. When I brought this up, she became very defensive and pretty much just said «ours is better».
Moral of the story: Make sure you do your own research and don’t rely on the salespeople to give you tell you the truth.
PS: I’m the kind of person that likes to do a lot of research before a big purchase. One thing I’ve learned is that diamonds are much cheaper online. For the particular diamond that I was looking for (.7 Round H SI1), Spence quoted me $ 6000 while the prices online were $ 4300 and came with AGS certification and ASET, Idealscope, and H&A images. And FYI, there is no duty on diamonds.

I had high hopes for Spence as their advertising budget must be massive with the hundred ad’s or so I hear on the radio every week.
I spent a few weeks online looking at all the various designs available for a wedding band and came in to finally try some on to see what worked well with my engagement ring. After waiting at the front desk for 3 – 4 minutes for a sales person to come out I was finally directed to an area to «try rings on» and then she disappeared. She did not engage me in any way or ask me and specifics about what kind of a band I was looking for, or even ask what kind of engagement ring I had. I wandered around the section she deposited me in which was approx ¹⁄₃₀^th of the store and waited for her to come back. She didn’t — so I started walking towards the door and she magically reappeared. I explained that I wasn’t finding the ring styles I saw on the webiste and was told «well, obviously we have tons more» and took me further into the store. Again, She wandered away and left me standing there. At no point did I indicate that I wanted to shop alone.
I had substancially better customer service in literally every jewellery store I have been into prior. Very unfortunate.

Spence truly sparkles… they build relationships with their customers first. My husband purchased my engagement ring here, followed by both our wedding bands. I wasn’t part of his initial shopping experience, but I was there for the wedding band process. When our rings came in, the presentation was amazing and we were so excited and in awe of how beautiful they looked! The loveliest thing was, as we were looking at our rings, all the staff (who were working that day) came over to share in the excitement and to see how happy we were. That is a moment that will always stay in my mind, how much they cared and how happy they were… that we were so happy! Thank you for such a beautiful memory, Spence!

The sales person had a real knowledge in diamonds and metals.
I was greated right away in a friendly maner.
The only thing that brakes the prestige of this entire shopping experience is when they tell you «everything you see here is fake…» or something like that.
I know this is what they are being told to say as it is part of there concept but would it be more elegant to say «these are all reproductions…» or… just don’t have any of those and keep only the real one… I am shopping for diamonds… right?

This location isn’t bad. I came here last year for a consultation about getting a chain for some «N» lockets and charms that I had received throughout the years from family weddings and I finally wanted to get them organized and stringed. Very helpful customer service, great selection and compared to the big store with the baby blue box (starts with a T), prettier designs at more respectable prices.

Great experience buying an engagement ring in spence! The staff were so helpful. I was dealing with Ian, such a great guy and really knows his engagement rings.

Excellent customer service!
Unlike some stores where you are pressured to buy right away, the sales staff let you explore and are available to answer any questions you have.
There’s an excellent selection of rings, especially if you want something unique.

If I could give no stars, I would.
I had the rudest experience by some 40+ year old blonde lady (she was wearing leopard print that day) that was SO rude! She kept talking over me (and I even said, «are you going to keep talking over me?!» to which she did apologize for after doing it for the last ten minutes) and was super condescending on my inquiry about fluorescent diamonds! I was asking based on curiosity and from what I’ve seen and accumulated in knowledge from other vendors but she flat out laughed in my face for being inquisitive! She scoffed and said «go ahead and buy a blue diamond then!». Whoa whoa there goes my business Spence! I was so close to considering them for a diamond but I will NEVER recommend them and I will tell everyone I know about my horrible experience. I definitely did not want to purchase a «blue diamond», but some online forums have said that fluorescent diamonds are not always milky, so I wanted to see for comparison like any inquisitive consumer; instead of addressing my concerns professionally, this lady was rude and condescending.
The only reason this place even deserves one star is the petite gemologist man that was patient, kind and informative. Although he didn’t recommend fluorescent diamonds, at least he answered my questions instead of laughing in my face just for asking!
Some things that Spence could improve on is knowing about new online technology tools such as the patented HCA and AGA/​NAJA tool, because when you try to BS me and say it’s all a gimmick, then I’ll start thinking YOU’RE a gimmick and that you really don’t know what your competitors are doing. To a buyer, what’s important to the buyer should be important to you, the seller if you want my business. You not knowing these tools and bad mouthing what I find is important alienates you the seller, not me the buyer because we just took our three carat diamond business somewhere else.
Spence will never get a recommendation from me based on this experience although I did like that you can try on different rings freely.
Heed my advice and go elsewhere! I have told everyone I know to avoid buying from this place (and good thing, because all my friends are in the late 20s-​early 30s category that are getting married now!).

For a long time, your boy Caspian was married to the streets, but now I’m gettin married on the reals. When I needed an iced out ring for my girl I came to Spence and these cats legit helped me out.
My queen picked out a design and then I told these fine folks my budget (huge, cuz Caspian got the cheddar) and they worked out something real nice. They pulled out the diamond and microscope and errything.
Now my babygirl got a big ol ring to show the world that she the one who got Caspian.

The people here were fantastic. We are a younger couple, and some of the other jewelry stores weren’t giving us the time of day. The people here were great, walked us through how to score and pick a diamond. Most importantly, I fell in love with a very original, beautiful ring, that my wonderful fiancé proposed with recently. Then I had to go back because I was having a reaction to the white gold — which is very rare — and they were super nice and helpful and I’m having it recast in platinum for super cheap. Even if you don’t know much about diamonds and rings, but are planning on looking around, I recommend starting at Spence. Really awesome.

Rebecca Bligh rocks… No pun intended. The professionalism she displayed and knowledge she shared with us was greatly appreciated.
And seriously… Where else can you go to look for a ring where all the glass viewing cases are open so you can try on rings as you browse!?! Great touch :)
Thanks again Spence diamonds and Rebecca B. for the positive experience you provided us.
Kindest Regards,
Jennifer

My boyfriend and I went there to check out a few rings in person. You can only feel so much for something that you see online.
I think if we had been left alone for a little bit longer, it would have made for a better experience. I like to be able to go up to staff and ask questions when I’m ready, not having them trying to show me rings that are the complete opposite from what I’ve been trying on.
The gentleman who helped us with sizing, diamond colour and all that jazz was awesome, though!
Needless to say, I got the ring of my dreams meer months later. It’s on my hot little hand as I type!

EXCELLENT service! The best line of options from all jewelry stores I have been to and extremely helpful. Not pushy at all and I HAPPILY bought my ring from them and do business with them. I would recommend Spence Diamonds Downtown Vancouver in a heartbeat.
Also, I worked with an employee there named Ian and he was a joy to work with. He was very helpful and made it a very fun experience.
Chase Wickham

Great jewelry store. Yesterday was our anniversary and we popped in there for a few minutes before a movie. Jessica showed us the perfect little band to go with my wedding ring. We hadn’t really planned to get anything, so we left to go to the movie and think about it. Came back after the movie to get the specs on it, but decided we should go back to our hotel to do a little research. After concluding that the price was right and it was a reputable store, we went back in a third time on the way to dinner to buy it. It wasn’t a very expensive piece compared to most of what they sell, but the staff was really patient with us… and our three visits. Love it!

This is an update to my original review, I’ve edited the original review to respect the privacy of the salespeople involved. I don’t feel anything was just one person’s fault but a whole array of misunderstandings.
Since posting my review Spence contacted me almost immediately and had the branch manager of the Burrard location directly contact my partner. This shows they certainly want to keep people happy and provide good service.
My original review is subjective and was only my personal experience, I wouldn’t let it stop you from visiting Spence! Like I stated previously my first impression was really great and they certainly do have some wonderful staff working there! You will always be respected, educated, and who knows you might just find the perfect piece of jewelry.
Who knows, maybe I’ll be back in the future. I’ll just be slightly more cautious before handing over a hefty deposit.

If I give 5 stars, I have to be wowed. I went into Spence specifically to buy a promise ring. I was greeted in an upbeat way and quickly introduced to Jessica. Jessica genuinely and warmly guided me to the perfect ring, something definitely nicer than I would find in my price range. I needed it sized and I was promised that it would be 6 or 7 days and it was ready in 4, exactly how I wanted it. My ring is a promise ring with a promise of bigger and better on the way.
The staff at Spence were truly excited and supportive for my upcoming life changing moment. Thank you Spence, you wowed me!

My husband bought my engagement ring from Spence. He spoke of a great experience. But my review is about my experience here. I come here to get my ring cleaned every month or so. Workers are always so friendly and helpful. And they always welcome you to look around. I don’t know what it is about jewelry stores that always make me feel very uncomfortable, maybe the pressure of buying? Or just pushy sales people. But not here! Another thing I love about Spence is that the have most of the rings on display (not the real ones of course) but it’s nice to be able to try things on… And dream … Lol

Went diamond shopping with a friend.
Out of the 4 shops we looked at, Spence was my favourite. Not because the store was the largest, but because the sales lady was actually HELPFUL. The other stores we went to (all in Pacific Centre) showed us pictures on a chart, but only Spence actually lets you look at the diamond under a microscope, along with demo units that help you see the 4 Cs.
The other thing that was nice was that the rings are not locked away in some case. You can actually pick them up and look at them. I’m sure they have 5 security cameras trained on you when you do, but that’s besides the point.
Oh, and they give you free water for shopping there too. Yay!
My only complaint was that the sales lady seemed a *bit* pushy when my friend hesitated. I don’t blame him, I’m sure I would a bit too before dropping a few Gs on a rock. But she was still good with it, and left my friend a card with a reference number so he would remember what we talked about.
As part of their sales pitch, the sales lady also mentioned that Spence does all the «middle man» stuff between the actual diamond mine and the store. So in theory they should be cheaper. I’ve never bought a diamond in my life though, so I have no idea how to even start comparing.