Pavé Jewelers — Local services in Arlington

This review is long overdue. Yes, Vishal is amazing and a "diamond in the rough" (pun intended) in respect to many of the other "5 star" ring dealers that I've met with during this process.

To help others understand my perspective, I want to first explain my goals / approach to ring buying, and how I decided on Vishal. Before going to any ring dealers, I Yelp searched for local places that had both the highest ratings and highest number of reviews (~= most credibility). Then, I went to about 5-6 places total after some online education. After going to the "best" rated places in the DC metro area, I started to notice a selling pattern that made me uncomfortable and out of control of the whole process. For example: Several places would only show a few stones (3-4) at a time, blur the differences between GIA and EGL certification in price differences. At each place, I asked for a quote for a similar diamond/ring combination so I would have a "standard" to compare general pricing across places. I found that prices would range as much as over $1500 between places for no apparent reason (same GIA diamond, same metal, ring size, etc...).

I finally met Vishal at Pave Jewelers after previously visiting about 5-6 other places in the DC metro area. Pave Jewelers works by appointment only and is a small, one-on-one concierge service experience that is different than any other place I've been to.

As a person, Vishal is very patient, kind, a great listener, and builds trust immediately (my inner physician has high standards). For example: when he knew my price range and preferences, he scheduled a second visit where he brought around 10 stones (none of which he owned) for me to compare--more than any other place I've visited. He also patiently showed me the GIA certification images to compare the details of the qualities (inclusions, color, etc...) of each one and showed me his dealer prices to show that he isn't profiting off the stones to the degree most other larger companies were. He also patiently helped me design a ring which combined everything I wanted (which my inner engineer and graphic designer makes hard to please). Also, to my surprise, he was very affordable, as I presented the same design idea to two places I previously visited and I thought had potential, but their quotes were still much higher and their customer experience paled in comparison to visiting Pave Jewelers.

In terms of educating customers, when I shared what little background I read online, he not only confirmed what I read, but also expanded my learning by helping me understand how a lot of the larger companies work. For someone who likes to over-research every purchase, I appreciated it so much. He was very transparent with the entire process, and this is something I didn't truly appreciate until after going to several other "5-star" ring dealers in the area before visiting his business.

A few things that still stand out in my mind: During my first visit, after answering all my questions and educating me beyond what I already read online, he wasn't in any rush for me to make a decision or commit to him, but only expressed that he hoped that the visit was helpful in my overall search, regardless if I end up with him or someone else. Even to this day, after my most recent visit to alter my wedding band, he still never fails to go above and beyond by offering to ship it to me for free in case it comes in after I move out of town.

If you are someone who enjoys researching big purchases and has the patience and drive to educate themselves before making this investment, I would recommend a similar approach to mine--but only go to 1-2 places before going to Vishal for perspective. If you are someone who has less time to commit to this process, just go directly to him. Regardless what your situation is, if you are looking for a ring, I wanted to extend my highest recommendation to Vishal at Pave Jewelers. You will not be...

This place is the best kept secret of the D.C. metro area. If you desire the perfect piece of jewelry and peace of mind in acquiring it, look no further than Pave Jewelers. They specialize in custom jewelry, particularly for engagement rings and can work with many budgets and desires. They turn the dreaded “engagement ring hunt” into a pleasurable and educational journey.

I had the extreme pleasure of working with Vishal and his brother, Kavish; who besides being experts in their field are two of the most down to earth people you will ever meet. They utterly obliterate every stereotype of the jewelry industry. They are honest and never upsell you. All they want is to deliver what you wish to you. They are trustworthy in every sense. More importantly, they are patient. They really want to get it perfect. And that starts by listening to the customer.

I had the pleasure of getting a recommendation from a trusted connection to speak to them. The initial consultation was 45 minutes but we wound up speaking much longer. They were interested in building a genuine relationship. They thoroughly explained their process and best of all, when they quote you a price, they stick to that price.

I tried working with other jewelers but they didn’t want to let me provide the stone (because they wanted to ‘source’ it to pad their profit margin). Vishal didn’t care. In fact he appreciated the time and effort I went to in procuring a stone and helped me design the perfect ring around it. I knew what I wanted for a stone, but for the ring, I was clueless. He spent a lot of time walking me through various designs and possibilities until we came up with something that is a one-of-a-kind heirloom piece. In fact, I originally thought I wanted a halo design but after speaking with Vishal I realized that it wouldn’t do justice to the main stone, so we went in a completely opposite direction. The end result was beyond perfection. When my fiancée and I go into jewelry stores, other salespeople immediately ask about the ring. Everyone has remarked how “we have never seen that ring before ever.”

What impresses me the most is how much Vishal stands behind his products and is truly interested in ensuring perfection. For example, we had originally wanted “eagle prongs” for the ring but when Vishal’s setter informed him that there was a chance that the main stone (ruby) could be scratched with eagle prongs, Vishal told him to use prongs that would have 0% chance of scratching and then he would check with me if I wanted to take the risk. But Vishal presented me with a finished ring that had softer prongs so I could see first-hand how beautiful the deviation from original concept was. Vishal is a subject matter expert and he knew that the risk wasn’t worth it even if I had asked for something. It’s that discretion and expertise that is rare in today’s world. Incidentally I kept the new version of the prongs because the ring turned out even better. Vishal also does a free re-size of the ring if it doesn’t quite hit the mark the first time and one free professional cleaning prior to the wedding. He wants you to be happy. Truly.

Guys, if you are in the market for an engagement ring have a chat with Vishal. Ladies, if you are in the market for an engagement ring, find a way to subtly get Vishal’s information to your guy. I enjoyed my experience with Vishal so much that I am exploring more ways to utilize his services. Luckily for me, he specializes in fine watches. Thank you Vishal and Kavish. You made what was supposed to be a painful process for guys into an extremely pleasurable experience and memory. My fiancée is over the moon as well. She thanks...

This review is loonnngg over due for us. We bought our rings from Pave in December of 2024 and this is 10/10 the place you should go for ring shopping. We had such an incredible experience working with Kavish. Pave was the first store we went to but Kavish suggested we check out other stores to try and get a better idea of what we were looking for. We ended up checking out another store and my wife found the ring she thought she wanted. While she tried on rings at this store, almost immediately upon entering, we had already decided we wanted to go work with Kavish. When we went back to work with Kavish, he was able to help us narrow down to the exact ring she was looking for. He was extremely kind and each appointment felt very personal. When meeting with Kavish we had private appointments which was incredibly nice. Kavish provided a lot of guidance and information without ever pushing for something more expensive, or something we weren’t interested in. We had very little knowledge coming into this and he just really helped explain things to us. There were several things we loved about Pave but one big one was the ability to completely customize your rings. After going over what we wanted Kavish provided a CAD rendition of what things would look like. Once we approved that, he made the rings. We also came in with an incredibly short timeline for when we would need our rings by (we had decided to get married and planned a wedding for a month later). Kavish was able to get my wife’s engagement ring ready on time but unfortunately the timeline was too short for my wedding band. However, he went above and beyond by allowing me to use one of the rings he had in store so we would have something for the ceremony. I was able to go in and look at a few different options and he let me keep that ring until my actual wedding band was ready. We are truly in love with our rings, not only because of how they look, but also because we associate them with such a positive experience of...