Bellman Jewelers, Inc. — Local services in Manchester

One star only because zero stars isn’t an option. I absolutely do NOT recommend Bellman for those that are new to searching for engagement rings.

This past winter, my partner and I decided to take the next step in our relationship and start looking for rings. Feeling overwhelmed, I solicited recommendations from friends and scoured online reviews. Bellman was constantly brought up, and I eagerly made an appointment for a consultation.

Day of the appointment, my mother and I show up twenty minutes early. It wasn’t super busy - employees were hanging around gossiping about getting blacked out at a party the night prior - yet no one greeted us. I had to approach a group, telling them I had an appointment, only for them to tell me I was too early and they couldn’t help me. This is when I should have left, as it only got worse from there.

A woman begrudgingly called us over to her area ten minutes later and threw a box of settings at me. No introduction, no questions about me or my partner, no explanation of the appointment. When I informed her I was new to this, didn’t know my size or what shaped looked good to me, she rolled her eyes and kept pushing more stone less settings at me, rushing me through my “appointment” with constant exasperation. When I mentioned I was interested in lab grown stones and possibly incorporating two family diamonds for a custom ring, she LAUGHED and said that lab isn’t real and I should get natural as that’s the only valuable option. I should have left as it was clear she didn’t want to help me, but ultimately was conflicted and utterly confused given how much my friends raved about their experience versus how I was being treated. So we stuck it out.

I tolerated the rest of the time as I was rushed through stone less settings with zero conversation, and left once done, with absolutely no intention of going back nor ever recommending.

What even was the point of making an appointment, as encouraged on the website, only to be treated so rudely and unprofessionally? Getting engaged and looking for the ring is supposed to be fun, exciting, and celebration-worthy - and not at all the aggressive, annoyed, they-could-not-care-less experience I had at Bellman. I absolutely do not recommend.

After leaving the appointment, my mom and I stopped in a local jeweler up in Concord who had made my parents a few pieces of jewelry over the years. It was night and day in comparison to the earlier Bellman’s experience, and I am happily wearing the most beautiful custom ring that I excitedly designed after getting engaged to the most perfect man this past weekend. Go elsewhere, Bellman is not...

If you're in a rush, I'll be straight to the point: Hands down, I give Bellman my highest recommendation. Here's some more detail to offer toward the point:

I stopped in here on a weekday after several people independently recommended Bellman's to me. I had a bit of a predicament. While on an anniversary trip in the Virgin Islands, we decided to enhance my wife's engagement ring. We purchased her original engagemnt ring at another jeweler who has a lot of local celebrity; one we thought was reputable. (I mean Jewelers are like car salesman, right? How do you know?)

Anyhow, while on our trip we worked with a nice family jeweler who set us up with a beautiful new setting for my wife's original solitaire stone. The ring was remarkable and we were anxious to get it home and add the aggregated creation to our Homeowner's policy.

We brought the ring to our original jeweler to inquire about a cleaning and appraisal. After the girls at the counter ooh-ed and ahh-ed over our new creation, (and I was feeling pretty darn puffy-chested), the owner (Let's call him "Phony Sasser") came by to inspect the ring. He gave it barely more than a glance before dismissing it as defective, citing bent prongs, an incorrect setting and a quote of nearly $900.00 to set things straight, or risk losing some of the diamonds.

This news was quite a blow, and after our vacation and the cost of upgrading the ring, this beautiful piece got locked in our safe until we could just justify spending another near-thousand dollars.

It was on a hunch that I decided to get a second opinion and visit this Bellman's place I'd heard so many good things about -- and boy am I glad I did!

From the moment I stepped inside, I just felt "good." I wasn't getting that look of judgement I always feel upon stepping into a jewelry store. I was greeted by Dana who heard my plight in its entirety, (instantly qualifying her for sainthood, btw), and avowed to help. She looked at the ring, and assured me it was beautiful, and perfect. After a quick inspection, she advised me that a full inspection, rhodium retouch, prong check/tightening and appraisal by expert gemologist David Bellman could be done in a matter of a few days -- all for a very nominal $175. I was floored!

Dana was so nice, so understanding, and so patient with me. She knew I had been through the wringer and had a very bummed-out wife who was sincerely missing her bling. Together we were able to pull off an awesome surprise for my wife and I got to look like a hero twice -- once when I gave her her ring back and again when she saw how much I saved by going to an honest...

If you’re coming from social media, I encourage you to read this to fully understand what you’re purchasing.

When we received the ring, it matched everything we had approved, but it didn’t fully align with what I had envisioned. We reached out to the store to discuss our options, but their response made it seem like we would need to pay in full for any changes. To avoid the hassle of shipping the ring back and forth, we decided to work with a local jeweler instead.

Unfortunately, that decision didn’t go as planned. When we contacted Bellman’s again to explain the situation, we learned the ring was under warranty. However, because another jeweler had worked on it, the warranty was voided. This was incredibly frustrating, as there was no mention of the warranty in any of our previous texts or emails. It felt as though this information had been deliberately withheld to avoid making changes to the ring.

Even more frustrating, they never mentioned the warranty when we first reached out to express that we weren’t completely happy with the ring.

When we asked about the details of the warranty, their explanation contradicted what they publicly promoted. On social media, Alex claimed that if a customer wasn’t happy with the ring, they had a year to return the mounting for free—only paying extra if additional gold or diamonds were added. However, in text messages, they stated:

"We would need to charge you guys if you would like the rings to be remade/remounted. We are happy to re-make the rings, but we would need to charge for that. If we can convince Gabriel & Co. to swap the engagement ring mounting for a new design, the only charge for the mounting would be if it increases in price—you would need to pay the difference."

I truly believe the promise of free remounting was a tactic to draw customers in, even though they likely knew it wouldn’t be free after all. It felt like their "warranty" wasn’t clearly defined and changed depending on the situation, which seemed misleading. Furthermore, they redirected us to Gabriel & Co., claiming their warranty applied instead, but Gabriel & Co.’s warranty didn’t mention free remounting either. Bellmans took no accountability for the lack of transparency and information.

To make matters worse, Bellman’s quoted us nearly $2,000 more for a new setting than what local jewelers in our area had estimated—and that price didn’t even include additional diamonds.

In hindsight, I’d recommend working with a local jeweler who provides clear, upfront information. Although Bellman’s provided a ring that matched our approved design, their post-purchase service was...