Return-Path: Received: from IUS4.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU by K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa22083; 8 Apr 94 10:52:36 EDT Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 10:44-EDT From: James.Moody@IUS4.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU To: bovik@CS.CMU.EDU Subject: jewelers Message-Id: <765816285/moody@IUS4.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU> Dr. Bovik, I recently received numerous replies to a post asking for jeweler recommendations. I was in the market for a traditional anniversary band. What follows is a summary of the replies. First however for those interested in buying diamonds, a good guide explaining the basics of the diamond is "Engagement & Wedding Rings: The Definitive Buying Guide for People in Love". In spite of its sappy title, cover, and dedication, there's lots of good technical stuff on diamonds. The author(s) (Matlins, et. al.) have other books out which might also be worth checking into. Now for the replies: ---------------------------------------- From: David.Kosbie@KOZ.GARNET.CS.CMU.EDU I've been very pleased with Frost and Co. They're in the Clark Building on Liberty Ave downtown. So are dozens of other jewelers -- it's really the only open diamond and gold market in the city. I suggest that you go to the Clark Building and sample a bunch of places. Good luck. ---------------------------------------- From: Jean_Harpley@A.GP.CS.CMU.EDU I've never purchased jewelry from this guy, but I get all my jewelry repaired and get watch batteries from Stonebraker's Jewelers on Braddock Avenue in Regent Square. Stony's a real nice guy and he's always been good to me and my husband. My friends have purchased things and always felt the price was fair and the material was good quality. Their number is 243-1554, address is 1112 S. Braddock. ---------------------------------------- From: Regis Hoffman I highly recommend the jeweler from whom I purchased Gina's engagement and wedding rings. He tends to make more custom jewelry (not the "stamp'em out" mentality of mall jewelry stores), but was very pleasant to deal with (was even explaining to me how molecular impurites effect the color of diamonds). His name is Robert Levine, and is located downtown. His ad is in the Yellow Pages. ---------------------------------------- From: Wilson_Harvey@MAPS.CS.CMU.EDU James, My friend and neighbor, Craig Tower, is manager of The Engagement Store, located in the Clark building downtown. This is affiliated with International Diamonds. I've dealt with him and his wife several times when purchasing jewelery, and they've been helpful, considerate, and patient. They've helped to educate me on what to look for and why, and they're very willing to work within a budget. If you're unaware, the Clark building is a sort of diamond Mecca in the area. My understanding is that almost all quality jewelery merchants work out of the Clark building in some capacity. Please tell Craig that I sent you. -Wilson ---------------------------------------- From: Jeffrey J Basista Don Palmieri, in Mount Lebanon, is honest and expert. He's a Master Gemologist Appraiser. I'm not sure how much stuff he sells. We got our wedding rings through him, because he had some beautiful rings we couldn't find elsewhere. His selection is limited, though. I'd advise you to stay away from the Clark Building downtown. If you're looking for diamonds in particular, make sure that the jeweler writes any relevant information on your receipt. [ Here I ask Jeff to elaborate on his Clark Building warning. ] >Thanks for the tips. It's funny, I've recieved comments saying that >the Clark Bldg is the only place to go, and others say stay away at all >costs. The jewelers in the Clark Building will tell you, say, that they'll give you an F-color, N-carat, VVS-clarity diamond for X dollars, and one or more of the color/carat/clarity ratings will be a lie. I was sold a diamond by a jeweler there. I took it to Palmieri for appraisal. (He didn't stand to gain anything, because I told him we wouldn't buy a diamond from him.) Not only was the diamond not true to the jeweler's promises, the promises were totally unrealistic. Fortunately, the jeweler made the mistake of writing the stats on the receipt, and I got my money back. I collected some grade/price pairs from a couple of jewelers in the building and took them to Palmieri. He said that in each case, the prices I was given were impossible, because they were actually below wholesale. Either the jewelers were selling at a loss (not very likely), or they were lying. There's no incentive for them to tell the truth; the best you can do if they're lying is to get your money back. The Consumer Protection Agency doesn't seem interested in doing anything about this. So, if people are happy with what they get from the Clark Bldg, that's fine. It's just that they might be getting ripped off when they think they're getting a great deal. It's certainly possible that the prices are better than at other jewelers (all things considered), but not nearly as much as they would like you to think. The Clark building selection, of course, is quite large! ---------------------------------------- From: esb@CRAFTY.FOX.CS.CMU.EDU We were happy with Dahlia's, on the Shady-Murray block of Forbes. I don't know if the prices are especially good, but the quality is. She will cheerfully do special orders, help you choose designs (she may also do custom stuff, I don't know), and do a good quality job. ---------------------------------------- From: dottie@jaguar.ee.pitt.edu (Dottie Setliff) Ron McNeish owns The Collection on Walnut Street. He does beautiful original pieces and the prices are not out-of-line. I strongly recommend him. He made a grandmother jewelry piece for my mother. It is beautiful. He has original thoughts but is willing to listen and think out your suggestions. ---------------------------------------- From: "Curtis P. Yeske" I have had excellect luck with Forbes Jewelry (not forbes Ave jewelers). Located near ho-lee-chow. ---------------------------------------- From: dennis@mr2.ece.cmu.edu (Dennis J. Ciplickas) I strongly recommend Bloomfield Jewelery on Liberty. Our account was handled by "Mike" the owner (a surprisingly young man to be owning a jewelery store) and we were very satisfied with our service. Our request was a bit odd but he was very accomodating. (We finally found hand made wedding bands we liked at a highly expensive and snooty store on Walnut but we couldn't afford them there. So we got all the information about the artist (who is in Wisconsin) and karted over Bloomfield Jewelry where Mike ordered them for COST for us! We saved about $400 because of this. In addition, we were not paying cash for these rings, but rather were bartering for them with other diamond rings we had. I researched the value of our diamond rings for a while before trying to sell them and he gave us the best price I could've gotten anywhere in the area. He really did us right: that's why I'm recommending him so strongly. :) During our myriad of visits there I got the impression he is a family jeweler of sorts and has catered to certain people or families for quite a while. We discovered this store through a recommendation from a friend of ours who also owns a store down on Liberty ("The Allure," formerly on Walnut and called "The Allure of Shadyside").