H. Samuel Jewellers - High Prices, Low Quality

We are reader-supported. Buying through links on our web site may earn us commissions. Learn More .


Overall Score: 2.17 Reading: H. Samuel Jewellers – High Prices, Low Quality
H. Samuel Jewellers

Price: 1.5		Selection: 2	Customer Service: 3
Pros	Friendly staff
Cons	High prices Poor quality
Other Recommended Retailers	James Allen

The History

H. Samuels is one of the oldest jewellers I ’ ve been to, having been around in one format or another for about 200 years. Starting out as clock-makers and silversmiths, they grew their business in the mail-order format until opening up their first retail patronize in 1890. By 1970 H. Samuels had over 200 stores around the U.K. During the mid-eighties, H. Samuels saw many changes. finally they were acquired by the Ratner Group ( since renamed to Signet Corporation ). They presently have 300 stores global, though they are chiefly concentrated in the U.K .

The Experience

For a company with such a ample and storied history, the experience was incredibly disappoint. We visited their placement precisely off regent St. in London. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the area, Regent St. is a high course patronize district with stores by Prada, Louis Vitton etc. The H. Samuels store surely did not give off that same high course feel. It was facing an american Candy store with bright neon lights and the memory itself had a very moth-eaten exterior. The inner wasn ’ t any better. The space seemed drab and a bite dated. A workshop adjunct came over to help us immediately. She was identical decent and tried to be angstrom helpful as potential. She didn ’ t seem to know that a lot about diamonds, but that is expected at a large range store. This is a common issue with chain stores. It ’ s impossible for a company that has thousands of employees and hundreds of locations to employ knowledgeable staff .

The Product

And now we get to the kernel of the problem. Their jewellry was very inadequate quality. The beginning ring we looked at was a 0.66ct “ H-J ” color “ I3 ” clarity round ball field in 18kt blank amber for £2,399. The diamond did not have a certificate but at this level, a security is otiose. The rhombus looked so bad, even in the display, we didn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate want to bother with it. The salesgirl insisted and we got to try it on. We couldn ’ t actually see any function of the ball field that did not have an inclusion. The following one we saw was the same size but better quality. This diamond wasn ’ thyroxine about american samoa bad as the beginning ( seems like a good sales tactic ), but it was still pretty bad. It was a 0.69ct G color, I1 that comes with an IGI certificate. They had it priced at £2,799. This is a big sales move as it wasn ’ metric ton that much more than the beginning one, and the deviation in quality was night and day. But we weren ’ triiodothyronine fooled by that. The timbre was even quite low ( lower than what we recommend ) and Joy and I have seen enough diamonds in our lives to know that the hoop, while decent in comparison, was not pleasant to look at. last, we saw a one-half karat G, I1 beat rhombus in a palladium solitaire setting for £1,999. We ’ ve mentioned that we don ’ thyroxine like IGI, so we won ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate belabor the point, but the quality seemed much lower than they claimed. overall though, this was the best surround of the bunch .

The Value

therefore how did these diamonds stack up to the contest ? not well. not only were they poor choice, but the prices were out of control. Take the first gear ball field for case. Let ’ s compare it to this 0.70ct J SI2 excellent cut round of golf ball field from James Allen that costs entirely £950. The rhombus is superior in every means ( its certified by GIA, better clearness by a nation mile, and well cut ) even it ’ s a fraction of the price.

If you add it to this solitaire setting, the price is half of what the H. Samuel ring will cost coming in at £1,200. I ’ m not evening going to look for a new rhombus to compare to the second baseball diamond from H. Samuels. The rhombus we used for comparison above is superior in timbre and a average ( possibly excessively fair ) comparison. If you add it to this gang from James Allen, the price comes out to £1,110 which is a whopping 60 % less than the lower choice offer from H. Samuel. For the final comparison, here is a 0.50ct F color, SI2 clearness excellent cut baseball diamond from James Allen that costs £823. once again it is superior ( in tinge, clearness and has a better certificate ), for a fraction of a price. Adding it to this stunning 18kt ring will bring your monetary value to £1,190, which is 40 %

Bottom Line Recommendation

H. Samuel Jewellers is fair not a good place to buy an date ring. The quality was poor, the rings were very overprice and the in-store experience leaves a draw to be desired. You are better off purchasing your engagement surround from a reputable on-line retailer like James Allen . James Allen James Allen is the leader in online diamond sales. Their imaging technology is the same as inspecting a diamond with a jeweler’s loupe. They have the largest exclusive loose diamond inventory online and fantastic prices. They also have the nicest collection of lab created diamonds online. Save 10% off Lab Created Diamonds during limited time sale! Click to Visit What we love about them :

No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
Lifetime Warranty
Free International Shipping
Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
Provide insurance appraisals
One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
Free ring inscriptions
Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
24/7 Customer Service
Best-in-class packaging

Still afraid of getting ripped off?

Before you buy a rhombus, get personal buy advice from industry veterans. We ‘ll help you get the best rhombus for the money .

Ask your diamond purchase question here

Email
*
Message
*
Referrer
Hidden

VWO object data
Name This field is for establishment purposes and should be left unchanged .

Δ disclaimer : We do n’t use your e-mail for marketing. Period .

H. Samuel Jewellers – High Prices, Low Quality