Jewelry

[boomerchick]

An ad for Zales popped up on my FB page and Albany Irvin was doing a video showing the Marilyn Monroe diamond collection.  She is the first former Q host I have seen doing a commercial other than an infomercial.

[ECBG]

Zales is a pretty good store as far as I know.

[depglass]

My dental hygienist is buying her engagement ring from Zales, a Morganite with diamonds for 2400.00.  That news came with my last cleaning, just before the pandemic shutdown.  I hope when I see her in October I can view this ring.  So I'm hoping Zales is a quality store for her sake. 

[faeriemoon]

Isn't Zales a mall store?  I kind of got the impression is was sort of mediocre.

[FrostyBabe1]

Zales is a mass market, chain store. It's parent company is Signet. They also own Kay Jewelers and Jared, among others. I'm sure people have found perfectly lovely things there, it's just not where I'd shop. 

[FiddleDeeDee]

Many years ago, DH purchased my engagement ring at Kays Jewelers. Got a great deal on it. He took his mother (who knows her diamonds!) and she said to him afterwards that the salesperson knew nothing about the stone because if he had, he would never have sold it for such a low price. When DH had it appraised, he was SHOCKED at the appraisal. He DID get a great deal, lol.

Thank goodness we had insured it as 2 years later, our house was broken into and it was stolen (we were at the beach and I don't bring good stuff on any vacation). I have to say, I have never, ever seen a diamond since with such fire, so clear and gorgeous....trust me, I've looked. 

This store buys from the same place on stores do when it comes to their stones. They also have some "tucked away" for those who want more than what is shown in the store. 

If I were to buy a ring now, I'd head over to Costco. They have a guarantee that your diamond jewelry will appraise for at least double what you paid for it. I know many who can tell you, YES IT DOES.

[patbz]

Another often overlooked great source for diamonds is USAA's buying service. When I lost the main stone in my wedding set they replaced it with a gorgeous slightly larger stone ( they also sell to their members).

[FancyPhillyshopper]

Zales was a very old historic independent jewelry store that started in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1924.  You can still visit the first store--it has now been converted into a restaurant and the original vault is the wine cellar.  It was very successful and began to expand across the state and the area.

Like many stores, it became a conglomerate and the quality has gone down substantially.  It bought and sold Bailey Banks and Biddle, a famous Philly jeweler that is now defunct. Once Signet bought Zales, they made the inventory more similar to Kay's.

From my perspective, most jewelry sold in these chain stores is now more like fashion diamond jewelry rather than fine diamond jewelry.

However, it is still fun to browse, although I rarely purchase.

(James Allen is a very popular online vendor of loose diamonds.)