Quest Fine Jewelers — Local services in Merrifield

First, let me start off by saying something positive: I have been here with my friends a few times before they moved, Pete was always nice and welcoming, my friends ended up with satisfying engagement rings, wedding bands, and very happy marriages.

Given the positive experiences my friends had, it was not a question to visit Quest when I inherited my grandmother’s diamond stud earrings. I let Pete know that I would like to design and reset them into two necklaces, one for my sister and one for myself. Pete was very friendly and guaranteed that their jewelers are very experienced and can make any custom designs that fit their customers’ needs.

The problem started after I received both necklaces before my sister’s wedding (the necklace was part of her wedding gift.) THEY WERE BOTH TILTED FORWARD. I emailed Pete about the problem, he told me to bring it back and they will fix it. I didn’t have enough time to bring it back due to the approaching wedding day, plus with all the travels I had, I mistakenly assumed that a decent jeweler/business owner will do what’s right despite when I bring it back to have the problem fixed. I must admit, tilted diamond necklaces were the last thing on my mind.

Fast-forward to recent days after 2 years of pandemic (oh wait, is it over yet?) and their move to a new location, I went to Quest with my friend to shop for her engagement ring. I finally brought my necklace in and hoping Pete will honor a solution. It was a busy day and he was in a rush to get us out the door, without having me try on the necklace to fully understand the problem, he concludes the tilting was due to the 3-prongs setting. He ensures that changing it to a 4-prongs setting without the movable chain will resolve the tilting issue, and gave me the price of it right away. At that moment I was wondering 1) if the original setting would be an issue in the very beginning, why wasn’t I informed? 2) do jewelers usually charge for fixing a defective product they produced?

Pete informed me that the price is for the new setting and gold price has gone up; I then trusted his expertise with no doubt of his honesty, and left the necklace in their hands. A few weeks later I stopped by to pick up my necklace with Allison, the necklace was still tilted forward and now the left and right chains are uneven. Allison told me to bring it home and try it on for a longer time. I was doubtful on how time can balance the necklace, yet she didn’t give me other options.

After I have done a fair amount of research, tried a few necklaces at other stores, and consulted a few friends. The result is that great craftmanship and design are essentials to a balanced diamond necklace, whether it’s a 3-prongs, 4-prongs, 6-prongs, on a movable/fixed/adjustable chain, and despite the carat size of the diamond.

Unfortunately, when I brought my concerns and findings to Pete, he told me the reason he had me reset to a 4-prongs setting was because he thought the necklace was FLIPPING. He thought that the stone was flipping inside out vs tilting forward (to the ground). At that moment I was wondering 1) does this mean I could have kept a 3-prongs setting? 2) so… what he told me during the last visit was actually invalid?

With a few more back and forth, Pete sums up the issue in the following: A 3-prongs setting will always tilt what because of the uneven distribution of weight. He didn’t bring it up during the original setting because they tried to achieve what the customers want (even if there would be a problem?) A diamond necklace will always tilt because our neck is constantly moving. He has been working in this field since he’s 15, and has designed for BIG companies like Tiffany and a few others (the conversation was getting unpleasant and I tuned out after the famous Tiffany, sorry to those who wanted his resume) And to the GOLDEN question all customers want a decent answer to: What can you do to resolve the issue? His answer was – “NOTHING. This is the best you can get.” – A tilted, uneven necklace.

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My fiancé proposed to me in Paris back in June with a beautiful ring that he purchased from Jared. I loved the ring the moment I saw it and over the last few months, I grew more and more attached to it, as it symbolized our love and the promise we made to one another. But everything went downhill after Jared told me that they would custom-make me a ring in my size (size 4.25) and told me that I would have to wait 3 months for the shipment to arrive. Well, I waited the three months. But, when Jared informed me that I should come to the store and pick up the ring, I arrived only to find out that they had ordered the wrong ring. Instead of putting in another custom order and hoping that Jared would get it right this time, we decided that it would to not only forget about the custom shipment, but to return the ring altogether. But of course, Jared's return policy is such that you are barred from returning a ring if it's over the 30 day window. We had to actually FIGHT for our money back, and it was a painful process where I didn't want to part with the ring my fiancé chose for me, but felt that on principle, Jared should return my fiancé's hard earned money and allow us to find another jeweler that truly cared about it's clients.

Flash forward to our experience at Quest. I spoke with Huan, who I can't say enough good things about. I told him the story and I felt that he truly empathized with us and he told me that no one should have to go through what we went through. He told me that he and his team at Quest Fine Jewelry would custom-make me a ring in my size and that it would only take 3-4 weeks for them to make. My fiancé and I visited the store that Saturday and were blown away by Huan and his team - the kindness they showed us, the hospitality, the warm ambiance, it truly felt like we were among family. I looked around the store and saw many beautiful rings, but I told Huan that I wanted a ring that was similar to the ring I had before. When we showed Huan photos of my old ring and he hand-sketched it on a piece of paper in front of us, we knew we were in great hands!

In the end, Huan ordered me a ring from Coast and redesigned it so it has all of the features of the my old ring, except my new ring has a bigger center stone and a higher clarity! Huan told me that the ring would be ready in 3 weeks (compared to Jared's 3 MONTHS) - he told me that he wanted me to have the ring before Thanksgiving and he made good on his promise! In fact, the ring was finished in 2.5 weeks, which we later learned was because Huan called Coast and told them about our experience and asked that they prioritize making my ring due to the hardship we had been through. I can't express how thankful I am to him for caring about us and for being so compassionate!

To top it all off, my fiancé asked Huan if we could buy a casual ring for me to wear while my custom ring was being made. I had already been without a ring for a week at that point, and I noticed that my colleagues at work would stare at my hands, and I felt embarrassed. I thought they might assume the worst if they saw me without a ring and I didn't want to answer their questions and tell them about the whole Jared ordeal. After hearing this, Huan let me borrow a ring at no additional charge so that I would have a ring to wear while my custom order was being made. The ring I borrowed cost about $300, but Huan told me I could just bring it back to the store when my custom order came in and that we didn't have to worry about paying for it. This was such a touching offer and my fiancé and I were so thankful to Quest for this.

It's these little details that really make you feel at home and make you feel valued. At Jared, we were just another customer, but we truly felt special at Quest. To anybody out there reading this, please know that you cannot go wrong at Quest Fine Jewelers. The experience I've had at Quest erases the horrible experience I've had at Jared and I couldn't be more happy...

I had been doing a lot of engagement ring shopping with my girlfriend (soon to be fiancé