James Allen Diamonds

My review of James Allen is not as flattering as others.
I am based in the UK and after 3 weeks of waiting (no complaints there) I received my ring only to find out it was a completely different shape to what I had ordered.
I immediately contacted them through the online chat where I was told it was the same ring I ordered. After I angrily pointed out the clear differences between the ring I had ordered and what I had received and pointed out that my ring looked suspiciously like another ring they offer they refused to accept that the rings were different.
JAs explanation is that they had «tapered» the ring for a more comfortable fit which I explained has now changed the shape of the ring I ordered, they had never contacted me to enquire if they could do this.
They have agreed to pay return shipping and give me a refund but I am going to have a fight on my hands to have my tax and customs fees refunded plus all of the hassle of driving to my «local» Fed-​Ex depot 40 mins away.
Suspiciously a few hours after my complaint the ring I had chosen has now miraculously disappeared from their website. Hmmmmmmmmmm
My advice would be to avoid this company at all cost.
1 star

I ordered an amazing engagement ring on behalf of someone else, a halo style princess cut with the highest level of cut and good color and clarity. James Allen was one of the only retailers that had a princess cut Halo cut under $ 1,000 for the setting. Their website was the best out of all online retailers. $ 2,000 out the door for a ring that would retail for $ 5,000+ for the same specs at any other retail store. Even better and what gives James Allen such a great review is their service. I wanted this ring by a certain time period for a proposal. I contacted James Allen customer service requesting a ship date 2 days earlier. They responded back extremely quickly even on a weekend evening. Marcus helped me. Very professional and helpful. They could not make a promise but would ask for a better ship date. The next day it was confirmed it was shipping with tracking information. It arrived exactly on time thanks to James Allen. The ring was better than expected. Very nice ring box as well. Thank you so much!

I have to say I am *very* disappointed with James Allen as a company. I thought their website was great and I was super excited when I thought I had finally found the setting I had been agonizingly searching for. But as soon as they found out I would not be purchasing a diamond from them, they completely changed their tune, were uncompromising, and refused to help me.
I had also planned on purchasing our wedding bands from them in the future… But now that won’t be happening.
I simply cannot understand this kind of customer service!

James Allen has a nasty habit of providing email quotes and later trying to pull the price when customer is ready to pay, claiming they made a mistake. They have no shame to withdraw original offer and jack up the price over $ 1000 just overnight. It has happened to me twice already. My husband and I used to be repeat customers but because of our recent experience, we will no longer buy from them. We are reaching out to Maryland Consumer Protection as well. Buyers beware.

I ordered an engagement rind that was estimated to be shipped out on Sept 30. Today in Oct 6 and I still have not received it. Nobody at James Allen can offer an actual shipping date. Apparently, they take more orders than their manufacturer can handle and give false shipping dates on your order. So be ready to not expect the ring until 2 – 3 after the shipping date they give you on the website. I would not recommend this company if you have made plans to be engaged by a certain date. I have lost time, money and effort waiting for the ring to be finished and arrive. I will not use James Allen again.

The idea of ordering an engagement ring online was nerve racking but my experience with James Allen was perfect. Ordered the diamond+setting on ⁸⁄₁₁ and received it via Fedex Express on ⁸⁄₂₁. Throughout the process I received email updates and the Fedex tracking number. I would order from JA again.

Ended up being a very good product for the price. Customer service was very helpful

Wow! What a amazing engagement ring beautiful flawless to the eye extremely happy with
. I will never be seen at a jewelry counter again. Fast simple process with unbelievable result. She loved it!!! Many diamonds to choose from and many filters to make the process easier and customer service is great.

Great Quality, but horrible shipping speed! Ordered my custom made engagement ring on ⁶⁄₁₈ and it was finally delivered nearly 1 month later to me on 7÷14÷15. Not sure about the average person, but waiting a month for a ring is unacceptable to me, especially if you have a plan to propose on a specific date. This made it feel like I was ordering something from China! Was planning to propose in Vegas (I am from Chicago) and had to jump through hoops to have the ring re-​rerouted to my Hotel in Vegas, otherwise my plan would have been ruined.
They told me the ring was going to be delivered in 2 weeks no problem when I was ordering, and that it was in inventory. 3 weeks in, they kept changing the delivery date with automated robo emails everyday, not even a call from their customer service. When I contacted their customer service, they did not even apologize, and said that the ring was delayed as it was not in their inventory. This means they lied to me originally. Not the experience you would expect when spending thousands of dollars…
The quality and prices of the diamonds are second to none, but would not recommend them based on the horrible shipping speed. I got lucky and was still able to propose in Vegas.

I was recently engaged. James
was internet store where my engagement ring was ordered from. I recommended to everyone who is looking for engagement ring or for wedding rings to check this site first … I absolutely love it… when I went to apprised the ring professionally, for my insurance company, I was confirmed that price we actually paid, was below wholesaler price for a great quality stone that my ring has.
Appraiser, also, stated that majority of people who are buying expensive jewelry in the store having fear of internet transactions, but that fear comes with greater price. That price included overhead, that owners of the store have to pay rent, salary, commissions insurances, depend of the buying ability of the individual stores e.t. that it is all effecting and included in the final price of every each item. The same time you deprived of comfort of your own home, time, technology and varieties to learn all specifics of your investment before make final decision. He complemented us with sadness in his voice that he does do that as often as he wishes to. He would really advise everyone to do their homework first, before spend a big chunk of money in the stores. Salesperson trained to help you based on your budget, but budget can be tricky. The same budget, the same 4C’s can offer you different quality of the stones, because those C’s stands for «the range» of some specifics… diamond made by nature and cut by men. Do your homework, educate yourself and check James Allen site. I love this store we are going to order our wedding sets and gifts for our parents from them; it is great site knowledgeable and helpful stuff, punctual and reliable. If I can, I’ll give James Allen 11 stars from 10.

Ordered diamond earrings for my daughter’s high school graduation and assured the order would arrive as scheduled. Unfortunately, after various follow up calls, was surprised to find out today they would not ship on time due to delays in receiving the diamonds. Now, I have no graduation gift and no time to order from another store. They really dropped the ball. Did not offer any alternatives and did not seem to care about the disappointment and problem they created. Still have not received a refund! I will never shop there again!

I originally looked at James Allen website, briefly, and did not see anything I liked. So I decided to go with Blue Nile, I had a ring made and ready to checkout when I thought about maybe taking a deeper look into James Allen. I am very glad I did. I wanted to compare the two sites and found
. where they reviewed both sites. In detail they went over the process for both and in the end James Allen came in on top.
I went to the James Allen website and started from scratch. I already knew what to look for in a diamond in regards to the four c’s so I picked my top three diamonds. The setting was my biggest concern. You can always upgrade the diamond later but the setting has to be amazing from the start. I browsed halo settings and came across the beautiful falling diamond halo setting. Using the model ring pictures I knew that it was the perfect setting. I choose it in platinum of course.
Choosing the diamond was one of the easiest things I have ever done. Having educated myself on what I wanted I knew I was going to pick a lower grade color, ideal princess cut, and a higher clarity all in a slightly under one carat diamond. Refined my search and done, just like that I was able to find the diamonds in price range. I ended up getting a .90 carat, ideal cut, VVS2, color k diamond.
With the setting and the color of the diamond I was a little worried that the diamond would appear too yellow against the platinum. However when it arrived it was perfect. Speaking of it took about a week and a half to make and unite the diamond and setting. I received an email stating that my ring had shipped and was given a tracking number. I of course then and there tracked my package. To my shock it had left at 1 in the afternoon from New York and was set to arrive at 10:30 in the morning the very next day. I actually laughed out loud thinking that there was no way it was going to get all the way across the country to Orange County in less than 24 hours. Well I was wrong; it actually showed up at 10 am.
The packaging was nicer than anything I had scene. It could have fallen out of the cargo plane from the sky, hit a hard rocky surface and the box in the box, in the box, would have kept that diamond ring safe. I personally enjoy when the presentation goes above and beyond the expectations. Even though the girl gets the rings I having bought feel like I am being taken good care of and rest assured knowing I had purchased a quality product. Even if I felt that already by seeing that packaging and shipping service there is a card in the box explaining my lifetime warranty, you cannot go wrong with a purchase from James Allen.
The big day came and everything went perfectly, she even said yes without seeing the ring, which made it even more exciting for her when she saw a ring that was way more beautiful than anything she had imagined. From the brilliant white shine of the platinum, to the glimmer and sparkle of the many diamonds, the ring is perfect.
Everyone who has seen the ring has been asking me where I got it, and I have no issues with telling them where and raving about my absolutely perfect experience with this company. I have to thank everyone at James Allen for making one of the biggest purchases in life a pleasure to partake in and the outcome to exceed my expectations. The fiancé loves her ring and I love the whole experience being stress free.

My fiancé and I looked into a number of online retailers. James Allen really stood out, as it was the only large online retailer that had 360 degree magnified view of the actual diamond – it surprises me how people would pay large amounts of money on diamond sight-​unseen, given the complex natural variations not described by the 4 C’s. In addition, all the settings I liked also had photos of actual customers’ rings with different size stones. That was also really helpful, because some of the stock photos looked a bit different. Lastly, we were able to request ASET images and gemologist reports on the 3 stones we were most interested in, and the information really helped us in our final decision.
The two things we weren’t happy about both involved customer service. Firstly, a customer service person seemed unfamiliar with the procedure of transferring stones for ASET imaging and gemologist review. He insisted that my fiancé buy one of the stones before it could be assessed at the JA office. Later, he emailed to say that it wasn’t necessary and the credit card wasn’t charged. Secondly, it took 5 weeks between ordering and receiving the ring. Email updates were nearly non-​existent, and we were never told how long it would take.
Despite these issues, we enjoyed our experience, since we both really appreciated all the information JA provided for our purchase, and we were not under time constraint. The quality of the ring appears to be good. All stones are tight and the 14k gold is smooth and hefty. I haven’t had any issues after 1 month. We’ll see in a few years.

The service with James Allen was wonderful. I purchased a diamond for a reasonable price that was appraised for a significant amount more. Although the stone was beautiful, I returned it for another style of cut. The process of returning was easy and even though it was over the 60 day no questions asked return time, they happily allowed me to return the stone and purchase a new one. Purchasing online will save you a significant amount of time and allow you to purchase a more high quality stone then a brick and mortar location would. I highly recommend James Allen.

They would get 5 stars if Eileen Thomas did not treat customers as if they were common criminals when you are trying to ship to someone else. I do understand caution but the tone in her emails were unwarranted. She was very nasty. I almost didn’t go with them but decided to give them one more chance. I did however get assistance from Michelle who was a CSR and everything else went great. It shipped quickly and was in great condition.

I just got engaged to my girlfriend this past weekend and it is all thanks to great customer service AND product from James Allen.
made to look to them in the first place and thank god I did. I had a ring all picked out but my window of opportunity to pop the question in a romantic way this past weekend was closing fast and it takes a little to get the ring made. I contacted James Alen and told them my problem and they made it happen! The people I spoke to were very nice and sympathetic and really cared to make sure it happened.
As for the product and the worry of buying it online (especially for thousands of dollars!!), TOTALLY not a problem. People I spoke to thought it was silly but having the hi-​res photos helps a lot. Anyway, when I got the ring in the mail, it was beautifully presented and the ring itself was stunning.
Yesterday we stopped at a jeweler to get it sized down (my fault) and I noticed a loose diamond that was the exact same cut, clarity, etc. .everything, for 5k more than I paid! that made me feel awesome to think I put a rock on my GF’s finger that you see in a store for that much. It makes her friends jealous! haha
I couldn’t be happier and more importantly, SHE couldn’t be happier!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! You’re dumb not to!

Summary for those of you in a hurry:
THE GREAT:
−24÷7 Customer service with people who know what they are talking about.
–No wait times to talk to a real person.
–Ended up talking to one of the sales reps for over an hour about the company and they are NOT paid on commission so no «pushy» sales people. (see more about this below)
–You can actually see the diamond you are going to buy at several times normal magnification
–Package was shipped earlier than expected and arrived on the date specified.
–Diamond looked better than expected even though I ordered a SI1 diamond that had a visible flaw at full magnification. Requested they cover the inclusion with the setting and it turned out fantastic.
–When sending questions via email, any questions i asked were answered promptly.
THE OK:
–Selection is better at Blue Nile but BN doesn’t allow you to see the diamonds before you buy them
–Some of the setting are CAD drawings so I suggest looking at the pictures of the recent examples (called 360 HD on the website). The sales reps will mention this when you speak to them.
THE BAD:
–Nothing bad to report
FULL REVIEW
Do you ever deal with a company and they say «Your final order price comes to $X, sir» and you think to yourself «I would gladly pay 50% more than $X just because the experience was so awesome»?
Dealing with James Allen was that kind of experience.
First off, the customer service is fantastic. They are staffed ²⁴⁄₇ and you can call and ask any question you would like about the setting, diamonds, whatever. I actually called one morning at 6 a.m. and spoke to one of the sales reps for over 45 minutes about not only the ring I was buying but about James Allen in general, working there, his background etc.
Couple key things I found out:
–They are all extensively trained in judging diamonds
–They are NOT paid on commission. This means they are not «pushing» anything on you
–James Allen states to them explicitly that they want the sales reps opinions to be their own and unbiased when dealing with customers. Everyone I spoke to gave me great advice and suggestions while I went through the process.
Perfect example #1:
They will also help you compare diamonds. I was debating between two SI1 diamonds and they pointed out what they thought was the better of the two based on the cut/​clarity etc
Perfect example #2:
I wanted to add the ring to my home owner’s insurance. An appraisal is required (which comes with the ring package) but as I hadn’t gotten the package yet, I asked for a digital copy. Within 30 minutes I had one sent to me! Fantastic!
Second, you can actually SEE the diamond you are going to buy. To me this was the best part as you judge for yourself whether you think it’s worth it to get a VS2 or SI1. Some of the SI1s in my opinion could have been VS2s anyway but you won’t be able to see this on other sites that don’t actually show you the diamond.
One caveat on this that I mention in the summary:
–The settings are actually CAD drawings and aren’t always representative of the final product
–That being said, the «360 HD» view shows you ACTUAL settings with various ring sizes. The sales reps pointed this out to me when I was trying to decide which setting a comparing various rings.
Finally, the package you get from James Allen is great! It comes in a nice box with all of the attached paperwork and includes a beautiful ring box to «pop» open on the big day!
Would totally recommend them to my friends who are in the market for an engagement ring.

Warning! Lengthy Review Ahead.
Supposedly, there’s a sucker born every minute. I used to think that I wasn’t a sucker. But then I met someone special. While this special someone downplayed her desire for an engagement ring (because she’s great like that) I was worried that her friends/​family were going to judge if I shirked my responsibilities. Suddenly, I was concerned that she would feel left out. So… I became a sucker and fell for the diamond industry’s brilliant scam.[1]
But I wasn’t about to run to the mall and drop major bank on something that’s grossly inflated in price. The notion that an engagement ring has to be super expensive before your love is deemed authentic is a load of bunk, and you should dump any girl who tells you as much. Preferably in public to make it extra embarrassing for her.
Ideally, I would have preferred getting close to a Jewish person from NYC’s diamond district, but I was limited on time so that wasn’t an option. Instead, I trolled every store in greater OKC (and even some NYC stores). Then came the online options. For obvious reasons, Craigslist was out. After much research, Blue Nile (BN) and James Allen (JA) seemed to be on the up and up.
BN is slightly more expensive; JA has cheaper diamonds and rings. However, BN has greater variety in engagement ring styles. Both are cheaper than all of the big name diamond vendors (Jared, Kay, Helzberg, Zales, etc.). JA sells GIA, AGS and IGI certified diamonds. That may look like gibberish to you; I suggest you only consider GIA and AGS. People will tell you that one is better than the other, but they’re comparable. Don’t let the pretty rotating CAD photos fool you into thinking a diamond is good. When you click on a diamond, it will provide you with additional information, including its dimensions. These dimensions are what matter (more than certification, imho); they determine if a diamond will have the brilliance, fire, scintillation, etc. that you want.
JA’s customer service is great. Any chat/​phone interactions I had with them were amiable, and helpful. If there’s a specific loose diamond that you’re interested in, but you’re scared it will be gone while you’re searching, they’ll let you put it on hold for 24-hours.[2] If you’re unsatisfied with your purchase, you have 60 days to get a full refund. I was satisfied so I didn’t return it but it’s nice that there was an option; free shipping both ways as well. JA also offers a discount on loose diamonds to Pricescope members.[3]
My only complaint: Near the end of my search, I narrowed it down to three diamonds. I put them on hold, and pored over the Idealscope and dimensional details. I asked them to verify the Pricescope discount, and the guy gave me the adjusted prices. I noted the prices; even took a screencap of the conversation for proof. When I was making the purchase (with another guy), the diamond that I wanted ended up being (a few hundred dollars) more expensive. I pointed this out, and he said they must have gotten the discount wrong and refused to budge when I asked him to uphold the previously established price. Since it was discounted, what I paid was still lower than the original, but I was kind of irked by how it was handled. Also, their post-​purchase verification process is annoying and is only mentioned after the fact.
Just to give an idea of pricing: After the ring arrived, I had it appraised. It was worth significantly more than what I paid. Thousands more. Really sparkly too. A similar (but smaller and lower quality) engagement ring from Helzberg was asking for $ 3000 more than what I paid.
Honestly, I hated the whole experience. The diamond industry places monetary value on your affections and says, «Your relationship is less meaningful unless you spend X amount of money.» But if you choose to deal with it, be smart about it when doing so. Do your due diligence and you’ll likely come out of the whole process fairly satisfied. When you play the game of diamonds, you win or you go broke.
P. S. There is no such thing as a perfect diamond. It’s a lie. Come to terms with that. It will make the process a lot less stressful.
P. P. S. Also, diamonds aren’t forever. They turn to graphite, but not in your lifetime. So a more accurate statement would be «Diamonds are going to last longer than you.» What can I say? I’m a romantic…
[1]Note: De Beers basically manipulated the international diamond market, then proceeded to tell women that love is demonstrated only by a rock on their left hands. Then De Beers jacked up the prices to ludicrous levels and laughed maniacally. If every diamond in their vault was released, diamonds would qualify as a semi-​precious stone. It’s genius marketing. I feel the urge to slow-​clap.
[2]Note: Place a diamond on hold Friday, and it’s going to stay on hold until late Monday, so you get a few extra days to think about it.
[3]Note: Pricescope membership is free. Therefore, join Pricescope.

I was browsing and saw a flawed but still reasonably nice stone at a reasonable price, which I wanted to make a necklace out of, so I ordered it. It was a little concerning during my order it went between unavailable to available twice, but I didn’t think much of it since the order went through, and the payment transaction put a hold on the amount with my google wallet.
A week later, no email, no update, not even any confirmation in my account, but the hold on my google wallet was still there. Finally, I called up the company and apparently, they would not honor the sale because it was a «pricing mistake». You would think they’d notify the customer, apologize, offer a small concession on the next purchase… something, ANYTHING? No. Nothing but your order’s cancelled, pricing error.
Wow… so much for customer service, and I’m glad the order didn’t go through and I saved that money!

After quite a lot of research and comparison shopping, I reached the firm conclusion that there is simply no better place to buy a diamond than James Allen.
I purchased a stunning diamond engagement ring for my sweetie, saving thousands of dollars from what I would have paid at a brick and mortar store.
It didn’t take me long to find out that what the «mall» jewelry stores are offering is a joke in comparison. James Allen offers only GIA certified diamonds, the industry standards. The mall stores have their own less trustworthy certs. And while I was able find some nice stones in other high-​end stores, the price for a comparable diamond was thousands more.
Compared to other online retailers such as Blue Nile, JA offers a couple of pluses. Their 60-​day no questions asked return policy is twice as good as the industry standard 30 day policy.
Most importantly, the web site allows you to see actual high magnification pics of the actual stone you are buying. As all diamonds have flaws (inclusions) the ability to SEE what I was buying allowed me to purchase with confidence.

Finally, the personal service they provided was fantastic. I probably could have done the whole process over the computer but I thought I’d call as I had just a few questions. Julie was extremely knowledgeable and fully answered all my questions without being pushy. She even followed up after the ring was delivered to make sure I was 100% happy.
Which I was.
And the best thing? My girlfriend, now my fiancé, absolutely loves the ring!!! At the end of the day that is the single thing that really matters.
Unless you are some kind of bridezilla who needs a flesh and blood person to beat up on, this is THE place to buy your diamond.