Stienhardt & Stones — Local services in New York

Journey begin when I came across their TikTok’s and could not believe the price for the beautiful designs, not to mention that they boasted about the 1:1 replicas (this will be very significant later).

I sent my boyfriend quite a few of their designs but we needed to get my ring size so we stopped at a local store. There, I fell in LOVE with a design but they wanted 5x more for the cost of the diamond. I told my boyfriend to reach out to stienhardt to ensure that they could do a 1:1 replica and they said yes.

He sent Stiendhardt the exact link to the ring which included a 360° video on the original jeweler’s website. I wanted customizations made and he paid $160 for their CAD rendering of the ring plus a full quote.

The CAD seemed a bit off but Stienhardt assured him that it was because the CAD had the prongs opened and once built, those would be closed.

After a lengthy phone call and more back and forth in emails, they quoted my boyfriend significantly less for entire ring. The only red flag up until this point was that they danced around the answer to my question for a complimentary wedding band, but given our timeline for the wedding, it wasn’t enough of a priority for the band question to be answered. Boyfriend paid IN FULL and the ring went into production. We were told a max of 2 weeks for the turnaround time.

It must be noted that prior to payment, they were the MOST responsive out of any jeweler that we met with so we felt comfortable moving forward with them. After payment, communication came darn near to a complete halt. Our timeline for the engagement was getting thrown off because I didn’t want a holiday proposal (originally we reached out prior to Thanksgiving) and the ring didn’t get finished before Christmas.

Boyfriend reaches out again and is told that ring is delayed but that it should be finished in 3-6 weeks. Nope.

I’m guessing that their inbox is monitored by different people given that he’s had multiple people’s signatures on the email responses because he asked again for an update and gets a response from a different person saying that the ring is actually ready. Naturally, BF asks for pictures.

He sent me the pictures and I could tell immediately the ring was off. I asked for a 360 of the ring and they replied with a video of the most horrible and ill-made ring I’ve ever seen. It is embarrassing and insulting that they were going to try to send this ring to my boyfriend after he paid THOUSANDS for a custom ring.

The ring had multiple things wrong with it. First of all, instead of 5 side stones, they had only 4. We went back to compare to the CAD and they didn’t even follow their own design because there were 5 on the CAD. Then the spacing between side stones was atrocious. The metal around the side stones was straight up warped. It was so bad that I cried. They had at this point blown my timeline and ruined the ring.

Boyfriend goes into problem solving mode and replies via email to the concerns. He gets a reply stating that they’re so sorry and that not every person on the team sees the CAD (??????) and that this person (Sean I believe) will oversee the entire process to remake the ring and that they can have it delivered to us in 4 days. At this point in the process, they weren’t even REPLYING to emails in 4 days so we didn’t trust that they’d deliver a well made ring that they had had MONTHS to make in 4 days so we asked for a refund.

We asked for other options such as sending them the setting from the local jeweler and using their center stone but at the end of the day my boyfriend took the money back (minus the $160 for the CAD) and ended the transaction there.

I was prepared for litigation given their refund policy on custom designs but once you see the pictures, you’ll see why they did the refund.

I’m saddened that I can’t recommend this place given their unbeatable prices. Please be careful with them, keep everything in writing and stay on top of communication. If you sense something wrong, just follow your gut...

I found Stienhardt & Stones through TikTok, and I am so grateful I did. From our very first virtual consultation, Shayne and Valarie were warm, professional, and attentive, and they truly made us feel heard and cared for. The designer team also played such an important role in bringing my vision to life, and I can’t thank them enough.

My ring just arrived, and it is breathtaking (everything I hoped for and more!). The quality, design, and craftsmanship are all impeccable, and the process was seamless from start to finish.

One thing that really stood out was how accessible and responsive the team was. Coordinating everything virtually can be nerve-wracking, but their quick replies and thoughtful communication made the experience so reassuring. That said, give them the space to do their magic! The experience is atypical since it was virtual, but this is exactly the right team and company to trust with something this special.

To anyone who is considering Stienhardt & Stones but is not sure: book that virtual consultation. Take that first step and see where it leads. I am so happy ours led to my dream wedding ring. I feel lucky to have found them and even luckier to have them be part of this chapter in our journey!

They are the real deal. I’ll be recommending them to everyone I know.

To Stienhardt & Stones Team: All the best with your business, and we hope to cross paths again...

I was disappointed in my recent experience at Stienhardt & Stones. Prior to my appointment, I confirmed in writing that I wanted to view a selection of unique elongated cuts to help decide on a shape. Despite this confirmation, when I arrived I was told these cuts were not available to view and would require custom cutting and prepayment before seeing them.

This directly contradicted what I was told by the same consultant in advance and made me feel like my time and interest as a serious buyer weren’t respected. I had rearranged my schedule to attend, only to walk away feeling misled.

When I followed up, the explanation focused on why these cuts are rare and require prepayment. While I understand that specialty cuts are less common, this should have been communicated clearly before scheduling an in-person appointment. A simple confirmation that these shapes were unavailable would have prevented wasted time and frustration.

Recommendation: If you’re seeking standard cuts (round, oval, cushion, etc.), Stienhardt may be a fit. But if you’re interested in unique or elongated shapes, double confirm in writing what will actually be available to view before making the trip. I also encourage the team to be more transparent up front so clients aren’t caught off guard once they’re already at the...