Markman's — Local services in Knoxville

We bought my wedding ring here many years ago and between having it resized, saudered together and cleaned I never had issues until recently and the quality of work and customer service was so horrible that I wanted to warn others. I needed to have the head replaced on my ring as it had worn down. 4 TIMES MY RING CAME BACK WRONG OR DAMAGED. The first time they saudered the rings backwards. The 2nd time after it was reversed they didn't polish out all the bumps and imperfections from where it was recoated and horrible discoloring at the base of the new head. The third time the stone was crooked in the setting, and the last straw was when I was inspecting the ring and noticed 2 of the prongs were not even properly holding the diamond (barely even touching it) and it was pulling my hair, my clothing, bedding, it snagged on everything because they were not properly set. At this point I was so worried about thw integrity of my ring and how they CLEARLY were not paying attention, I took it to another jeweler to be inspected. They did tell me that my diamond had no nicks or cuts but that head was not cut properly to fit that stone and that is why it was snagging. THE WORST PART OF ALL OF THIS is when I went to make my final complain and ask for a refund because of how cropped the work was, the jeweler literally told me to my face that the stone was never crooked, that all the prongs were fitting perfectly (even though I can see with my own naked eye, not even under a scope they arent touching), and that all these silver bumps were their before I just never saw them. WHAT?! I think I know what my ring looks like. If a mistake happens, just own it and fix it but to tell me that there is nothing wrong and I am seeing things really blew my mind. Even one of the associates apologized and said they were sorry for the errors in my ring and that I was better off taking to a better jeweler. I have lost complete faith in their craftsmanship and will not trust them with my jewelry again. The staff are great, but the jeweler isn't paying enough attention to detail and doesn't care about his work at all, nor is he polite. I have attached pictures to show how the stone isn't setting in 2 of the prongs. If I had left it like this, it would have only been a matter of time before it snagged on something and ripped my diamond or head off.... what POOR...

Had an unfortunate interaction with a sales rep there that just all around was missing the high quality customer service and expertise expected at a place like Markman's. Really wasn't that big of a deal, so did not say anything in store but I did call later and ask if I could speak to a manager - Linda - just to share my experience. She really did an excellent job of being confrontational and escalating the situation and refusing to ever once apologize for the poor service received in-store. I get sticking up for your employee but it is inappropriate and unprofessional for her, as a manager, to take a condescending attitude and tone with a customer and refuse to apologize. Not only that but it was fairly obvious she was not even listening when I was talking. This experience left me with no reason to return to this store, and I wouldn't be writing this if Linda had just apologized. Such poor customer service was shocking and disappointing from the leadership of a local family-run business.

the owner has mischaracterized this interaction - it was a small signet ring with a University crest on it - hardly a large bulky class ring you think of - clearly if Linda had listened she would know that. Additionally, it was totally acceptable for the final answer to be speak to the company that you got it from - but that was after being really pretty much completely blown off by the staff in-store. Never once was the ring examined or offered to speak to a Jeweler. Never once did the sales rep make any effort to say well please come back soon - or make any small talk. It felt like she wanted me to leave asap and that I was a bother. Never once did Linda say "Sorry you felt that way we would love a second chance to show your our high quality customer service." Not likely to return soon...

My experience here was nothing but exceptional. The sales staff (Bob in particular) was in no way pushy, and was far more customer service oriented than you will find in any 'big-name' jewelry store. You feel more like a cherished customer, and less like another sale.

Beyond customer experience, the quality of the products are spectacular. They are up-front about each diamond's characteristics and qualities, never failing to show you the individual GIA reports. You won't be left guessing about the integrity of the information you're receiving - allowing anyone to buy with confidence.

Speaking to the quality of the stones, it is hard to find diamonds of this quality in other, larger jewelry stores - without facing astronomical prices. You will mostly find cloudy or heavily included stones that are purchased in bulk, but at Markman's, each stone represents the brand's quality, and it can be seen in the selection of stones they offer. None of the stones I had seen as options were visibly included, and the clarity was beyond what I could find in any other store.

Finally, many would assume that a ring purchased at a smaller, local store would be much higher priced, but not here. It would be an insult to say their prices are cheap, but they are reasonable. I was able to get the ring I (and my future wife) wanted within my budget with no compromises on the quality or size of the ring.

Overall, Markmans has gained a customer for life, and I will forever be thankful for their dedication to quality and...