Austen & Blake London — Local services in London

Overall - disappointing unfortunately. When looking for an engagement ring the initial experience was very positive. The staff are extremely friendly and took the time to run through the various options. They generally get the ring made once you order it but provide a temporary replica ring which is useful. The wait time for the actual ring was just over 4 weeks in our case and we were advised of this so all good on that front.

The day that we collected the ring my partner mentioned that the platinum band was much thicker (chunkier) than the one on the temporary replica ring. Now to be fair the diamond on the temporary replica was smaller. The lady said that we should give it a few days for my partner to get used to it. She also said the ring had to be thicker to counterweight the bigger stone and to retain the rings structural integrity. So we took the advice and waited a couple of weeks. My partner did a lot of research and still wasn’t happy or convinced the band needed to be that thick. To test the counterweight / structural integrity theory, we decided to visit five other jewellers in Hatton Garden to get their opinion. They measured the band to be 2.5 - 2.7mm. All five said that we could reduce it to 2 - 2.2mm safely. The price to do this was quoted between £150 - £200. We went back to A&B to explain that we weren’t satisfied with the thickness and they said that they could not make the band thinner. Now given all other five jewellers we asked in the area said they could make it thinner safely and the fact we had spent the best part of £16k with A&B, this was extremely disappointing. Be warned that the aftercare is not at the same level as that initial sales service. Retrospectively reading other reviews in detail you can see that there is basically no scope to change anything with A&B.

One thing we have learned through this process is that some of the jewellers appear to be more of a retailer and this seems to be the case with A&B. They just order stuff on the computer and you collect. When you talk with other jewellers in Hatton Garden they have workshops that can make amendments such as reducing band width and their turnaround is much quicker.

No hard feelings, just wanted to provide an honest review of our experience. It’s a hugely important purchase and one of the most expensive people will make in their life. It now appears we are going to go somewhere else to end up with the ring...

They don’t make you aware of the design issues telling me after “ Unfortunately, we are unable to resize your ring due to its hollow construction.” Not being told this when purchasing the product when I struggled to choosing ring size wasn’t mentioned everything I need to take in consideration. I wanted this ring to last for many years so I can alter sizes when older. Delayed return of my ring few times with excuses each time. When purchasing the ring manager said there’s no difference between 9k and 18k yellow gold but also no one will notice the difference between the natural diamond and lab made. Received an email from dpd saying they are coming to MY HOUSE for collection? I sent the screenshot to customer service and they confirmed it’s my ring delivery so I waited! No it wasn’t it was a collection of my ring. How unprofessional is the fact you didn’t know where this ring was! 5.Called you explained what happened someone called Ben left a voicemail saying you arranged the wrong pick up! And the fact my ring is coming back to me in a basic box not the usual Austen Blake one because it’s coming back to me quickly? When the ring returns I find out you didn’t even do anything to the ring in the first place and again you apologise for not getting back to me and keeping me informed. You state “ While hollow rings offer excellent value and aesthetic appeal, they do come with limitations—particularly when it comes to future alterations or customizations.” Even though your customer service agent said you will re size it and I paid for that. Been told to see if a local jeweller can help me with the issue as you can’t? Got given an email to speak to customer service and it’s been over a week and still no reply whilst I’m sat here not being able to wear my wedding ring which was £1200+

Completely lost trust in this company and after all the issues they only mention 70% refund, still waiting for my FULL refund. They give you 30 days return policy but who wears their ring before the wedding and who leaves it till last...

4 months ago I walked into Austen and Blake's London office with the intention of purchasing an engagement ring for my long term girlfriend, but absolutely zero knowledge of the process involved, or what I could get for my budget.

I met Charlotte in the office, and from the moment I walked in she was phenomenal. Thanks to my lack of knowledge on engagement rings, I was incredibly nervous, but Charlotte couldn't have made the process any easier.

Charlotte first explained what the process for buying an engagement ring would look like, asked for my budget, and then explained what I would be able to buy for the budget and the diamond qualities that I would be able to adjust, such as size, cut quality and colour. Charlotte showed me a great number of diamonds, demonstrating how varying each of the qualities such as colour would look on the diamond. Within the first session I was already able to prioritise diamond qualities, and not once did Charlotte ever try to get me to raise my budget or to sell me a diamond I couldn't afford. We spent 3 sessions looking at diamonds and in the end settled on a ring that I was incredibly happy with, that fit perfectly within my budget and was beyond my wildest dreams.

The diamond we ended up choosing was absolutely perfect, my now fiancee was beyond happy with the ring. I went from being very nervous and completely in the dark to a diamond expert in just 3 hours and I owe it all to Charlotte and the team at Austen and Blake. I couldn't have asked for a better service, everything was perfect.

If you are reading this and you are like me, clueless and apprehensive about the process to come, please book an appointment with Austen and Blake and they will guide you seamlessly through buying an engagement ring.

I was going overseas for a month to propose and Charlotte even extended the period to adjust the ring size so that I would have time to bring the ring in for adjustments when I was back.

Thank you Charlotte and Austen and Blake, you are...