DeVries Jewelry Store — Attraction in Grand Rapids

When my grandmother passed away in October and I inherited one of her anniversary rings, I was certain I wanted to take it to DeVries to be re-sized and appraised-- after all, they had been in the Grand Rapids area for years, had great reviews, and, most of all, were trusted by many. I wish I could say that my experience matched the experiences of so many others before me, but it truly was not (at all). I brought my ring in October 9th and was told that they were 'very backed up' and that I could pick it up, along with the appraisal, the following Tuesday, the 16th. Sure, no problem. The following week, I called in the morning to let them know that I would be in around noon to pick up my ring and appraisal. I had to talk to two different people because nobody could seem to figure out what my ring was there for (despite me giving them my name AND the ticket number). The woman then told me it was still being "cleaned up" and seemed surprised when I mentioned the appraisal as well. She requested that I pick it up after 1pm as "the appraisal notes are still being done". I went in at 1:30 and was given my ring (which had been cleaned beautifully and fit properly), but no appraisal. When I asked about this, I was then met with a face of surprise and the gentleman at the counter quickly jotted down the ring's specs and told me it would be in the mail "in a few days" and sent to my homeowner's insurance company (despite me not divulging that information). A week passed, and then two, then three....November 6 I called once again and spoke with Dan, who apologized, said that they were very backed up on appraisals (fair enough). I mentioned that this had been my recently deceased grandmother's ring and that I had been nervous to wear it as it had not yet been insured (since I had not yet received an appraisal). He stated that he was putting my appraisal slip at the top and that he would email me the next morning. I never received an email but finally received a mailed appraisal yesterday, 11/15---with the wrong information. The slip indicates my ring is 14k gold while the stamp shows 18k (could it be mis-stamped? perhaps!). However, it also has the wrong number of stones--my ring has 23 stones; five in the middle and nine on either side, whereas the appraisal has 22. I am unsure of the pricing breakdown by DeVries, but had paid $75 for their services. I am happy with the re-sizing but am very disappointed with the apparent lack of communication between employees, and really don't believe the frustration...

I am really disappointed with how our first interaction with DeVries Jewelers went because a friend had recommended them. I went in with my fiancé to have my engagement ring resized because it was a bit too lose and as a sign language interpreter rings need to be fitted well. I asked to go one half size down and the gentlemen (who was a bit younger) laughed at me and told me “no, that was wrong I need a full size.” He showed me the difference between the two, and I felt the size he recommended would be too small because even he struggled to get it off my finger. I explained that if it was too tight that would be problematic too especially with how much I use my fingers. He dismissed me until my fiancé restated what I already said. He then called a nice older (in comparison to who we were speaking to) gentleman who gave the same recommendation and then looked at the young man and laughed and said “what she didn’t believe you?” I admittedly don’t know much about rings or sizing but felt really unsure that it was the best choice, but after some more chastising I agreed to size it down a full size. The man continued to speak down to me and when I asked if they called when orders were completed he laughed and said “if I had to call on every tiny order like this I would never have time to do anything, so just come in next week”.

We recently got the ring back and it is so tight it leaves marks on my finger and is INCREDIBLY difficult to get off. I am mad at myself for allowing them to bully me into something I wasn’t comfortable with and will definitely be going elsewhere to size my rings and to buy our wedding bands. I always hope to shop local, but I would encourage others to look elsewhere before...

I had my engagement ring resized here before my fiance proposed. I also had another ring resized as well, which was silver and has sentimental meaning behind it. Both my fiance and I got the impression that they don't like working with products that they haven't sold. And heaven forbid that your ring is silver. You can see on the inside of the silver band where that ring has been resized. On my engagement ring (which is 14k white gold), you can't tell it's been resized. Funny how craftsmanship is worse on the ring that they deem "cheap".

Anyways, my fiance proposed this past week and today I went to another jeweler to get an appraisal for my insurance rider. The appraisal says my band is a 6.75 and the appraiser confirmed that. When Devries resized my rings, I asked for a size 7 because the 6.75 was too tight. The smaller size than I requested explains the awkward "muffin top" my finger has with my engagement ring.

For those who don't know this, when you pay to have a ring sized up, you pay for the cost of the additional gold that has to be added to the ring. I'm far from pleased that I paid for that extra white gold to be added to my ring and it wasn't. I'm even more displeased that my ring not being the size I asked for wasn't disclosed me and I had to find out from an appraisal.

I will now have to spend more money to get my engagement ring resized again because it's noticable that my ring is too tight. You can bet I will NOT be having it...