Helzberg Diamonds — Local services in Escondido

In February 2022 I went to Helzberg to get a custom engagement ring done. I had a 100-year old diamond ring and four smaller diamonds that belonged to my great-grandmother. I wanted them to attach two of the smaller diamonds onto the existing ring. I went in, no problem, everything seemed professional and good. The ring was finished a few days later than I had asked, but no biggie. I proposed about a month later, and she accepted.

Two weeks after I proposed (aka two weeks after she started wearing it), she bumped her hand while doing laundry and broke one of the prongs. One of the small diamonds was lost. Luckily I had a replacement. I wasn’t sure whether they’d reimburse me for the lost diamond, but I was sure that they’d fix it for free, considering how it was their setting that broke after just two weeks of wear. To my shock and disbelief, the lady we talked to (not the same lady who originally helped me plan the setting) said that they would charge me for the repair, because “the setting was good at the time it was made” and that the warranty didn’t cover “normal wear and tear.” Utter bs. Obviously the setting was not good if it failed after two weeks (and lost a priceless family heirloom). After we pointed this out, she changed her mind and didn’t charge us. She did not seem at all concerned about her company’s faulty setting, about the heirloom that was lost, and expressed annoyance to us multiple times. We did not feel like she cared about our problem (maybe because we were not a super pricey customer) and ended up feeling embarassed for a problem that had not been caused by us.

Unfortunately, we also asked them to resize the ring. After these repairs, the prongs looked noticeably less stable and were noticeably less evenly spaced around the diamonds. Whatever. A few months later we moved to CT and it was too late to worry about it anymore. While sitting in the backyard reading (no bumping whatsoever) my fiancée realized one of the other diamonds fell out and was lost. Prong completely broken off. Two hundred-year-old diamonds lost within four months of use. Rather than trying to repair the obviously faulty setting, we started over with a new setting.

I meant to write this review at the time when these events took place. I realize that writing almost a year later makes it less significant. I’m not hopeful that Helzberg will reimburse us for the second repair we had to do or for the two diamonds lost. I just want to let people know that we had a horrible experience with Helzberg and to hopefully encourage people to think twice before...

This is a very long review, but I encourage you to read it all! If I could give them zero stars I would. I live in Idaho, but I was in California on a very special vacation that my family had planned just for me. My husband bought me a beautiful ring for my birthday, but it had to be ordered and then it would be shipped back to my house in Idaho. This was on February 5. They said I would have it by February 17. Fast forward to February 22 and I still do not have the ring. I was told on February 17 it arrived at the store and then would promptly be sent to me and I would have it in a couple of days. I called the store and inquired where my ring was. The guy puts me on hold for about 15 minutes searching the whole store for my ring. He comes back empty handed and then proceeds to tell me that they have one ring in the store and it is a size 8 1/2. That is my ring....he then proceeds to look closer at the ring and notice that it had my name on it with a note saying to send it to me, but no one did. He then sort of apologizes to me on the phone, but he did not seem like he cared much. Here it is February 26 and I still have no ring. They sent it by FedEx and it says it should arrive tomorrow, but guess what there is another catch! In order for me to get the package I have to present ID and sign for the package when it is delivered. My husband and I both work during the day and will not be home when it is delivered...I am so very unhappy with the service here. The man I spoke to on the phone was not very compassionate that they had misplaced a $350 ring we had purchased. I love Helzberg very much, but this store is horrible. I should have waited to purchase the ring from the wonderful Helzberg in Idaho. I am so close to just sending the ring back and asking for a full refund. Big waste of time and money for me. I also then went to the corporate customer service and asked for a small refund because of the issues and they told me that only the store itself could offer me a discount and they could do nothing. I am not calling the store again to get crappy...

First and foremost, the staff at Helzberg Diamonds (Escondido CA location) is absolutely phenomenal! This is literally no exaggeration. I have been to other jewelry companies and have never experienced customer service the way Peter C and Cynthia (Cindy) H demonstrated customer service to my partner and I. Secondly, when you walk into a jewelry store, you always expect for a sales representative to try to “sell” what they have. Day one, my girlfriend and I walked in and informed Cindy and Peter that we were simply just looking at engagement rings and what exactly we liked- we had no plans on buying , running credit , nothing - just simply looking. Peter and Cindy were super understanding and explained that we could try on every ring “style” (e.g. pear shaped , diamond princess cut , etc) just to see what we liked. My partner and I finally decided what think looked great on our hands. In our heads, we knew which ones we wanted to choose from. Cindy and Peter didn’t apply “any pressure in buying.” They told us to come back anytime. Weeks/ months later we come back (right before Christmas), and our rings are sold out! Guess what? Peter made some phone calls and in the next couple of days , we were able to get our newly engagement rings right before Christmas Eve! I say all this to say that Peter didn’t just display customer service , he actually made me and Partner’s transition to prepare for engagement and marriage super easy. He even called me today and asked how everything was fitting! He is not just demonstrating an excellent skill set at what he does , but he is demonstrating that he absolutely loves to make people happy and smiling. He deserves...