Soho Gem Sapphire & Diamond Engagement Rings NYC — Local services in New York

I was shopping around for a bespoke engagement ring for my fiancée and happened upon Soho Gem based upon its positive reviews here. I want to add another 5-star review based on my own wonderful experience with this boutique jeweler. On my first stop here, I was pretty green in terms of my knowledge of diamonds, bands, settings, etc. The gemologist here, Keiko, was extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and explained everything to me and gave me a good sense of what was possible for my budget. Keiko has a very impressive background, having worked with all the major outlets--Cartier, Harry Winston--and was able to source exactly the kinds of diamonds I wanted to look at in terms of cut, color, quality, and price. I got such a great feeling from her that I went back to my fiancée and asked her to come check out the store and to meet Keiko, to see if she might want to have the ring made here.

On our second visit, we met the jewelry designer, Irina. Irina gave wonderful advice in terms of the style of the ring--my fiancée initially thought she wanted yellow gold, but after Irina had her try on various different bands, it turned out that platinum was a better match for her. I also had some family diamonds that turned out to be too small for the main setting, and slightly too large to put into the band. However, despite the fact that these stones couldn't be used for the engagement ring, Irina gave some great suggestions for putting them into a necklace or bracelet at a later date, and had my fiancée try on a few of her other pieces to give us a good sense of what we could create. I can only describe Irina's style of jewelry as classic and beautiful, made for a discerning taste. When it comes time to design our next piece, I will absolutely come back here.

Although at this point I was quite certain I wanted to buy the ring from Soho Gem, I still went and price shopped at a few other downtown jewelers. What I found is that the price I was quoted here was very fair and competitive, and for a quality of work that is superior to other stores, many of which have bands and settings that are factory-made (as opposed to handmade as this was).

My fiancée and I got engaged just before Christmas, and we couldn't be happier with our beautiful diamond ring. If you're thinking of an engagement ring, or any other special piece of jewelry, I would absolutely recommend Irina and Keiko...

While out ring shopping with my girlfriend, we happened upon SoHo Gem on our way to the subway. It immediately struck us both, as it is a cute shop, right on the corner in the heart of SoHo, and immediately felt welcoming as we stepped inside. Isabel, the in-house GIA certified gemologist, was working behind the counter that day, and after just a brief conversation with her, I immediately knew this is where I wanted to buy the ring. She was warm and welcoming, and gave a low-pressure and detailed description of different cuts, colors, and styles of various rings and stones. Their selection in the store was vast and of very high quality, but were very willing to be as creative as we wanted to be with designing the perfect ring. As I saw my girlfriend’s face light up at a beautiful ring design by Sholdt, thus I knew I had the ring design right away. In the cover of white lies to my girlfriend about getting drinks with friends, Isabel and I met 3 or 4 times to sift through various candidate stones. Isabel patiently guided me through the process of understanding how to optimize my stone choice between size, color, and clarity of the cut I’d chosen. Between my long work commute during the week, and trying to sneak away from my girlfriend, I was a demanding customer as far as appointment flexibility. In spite of all this, Isabel and the entire staff adapted to my needs, and worked with me with no complaints or attitude whatsoever. After we finally settled on a stone, the final product was absolutely stunning. It was the exact vision of what I wanted. Needless to say, my girlfriend was floored, and we are due to be married in 2013! My experience with SoHo Gem was a true pleasure in every aspect of the process. Of course, they sell nothing but beautiful, high quality jewelry, but they take it over the top with their commitment to their customers. I would highly recommend anyone in the market for jewelry to check...

The Beauty of Brilliance - Isabel Kammerer, GIA Gemologist, SoHo Gem

25 years of marriage and a the desire to recommit our bond led us to SoHo Gem. Jewelers often aggrandize themselves with a lack-luster welcome, though, shouldn’t they know it’s quite intimidating to be in the reflection of diamonds and jewels? SoHo Gem is uniquely extraordinary - I was warmly welcomed and assisted by the graduate GIA gemologist. Isabel Kammerer instantly put my wary feeling for jewelers out the door as she walked me through the” in-and-outs” in selecting a diamond. Color-Clarity-Cut, it sounds quite self-explanatory, but Isabel enlightened us on how to “plug-in” these components with a $ sign. And like the perfection of “pi”, with all components equated, she reserved 6 cushion-cut diamonds for our comparison the following morning. The BEAUTY OF BRILLIANCE - Isabel clarifies and directs with a pure sense of direction that expressive and personal. Though she would have gladly spent an entire morning with us, in less than an hour we chose a magnificent cushion cut to be set with the infamous SoHo Gem Micro-Bezel. It’s remarkable simplicity marks our 25th Anniversary with a mesmerising piece of art that is as timeless and eternal as our bond. And that, dear friends, is The Beauty Of Brilliance...