Raleigh Diamond Fine Jewelry — Local services in Raleigh

[UPDATED REVIEW - 7/25/24] A few days ago I received a call from James. He had been trying to reach me to address my review. Without hesitation he took responsibility for his actions and apologized for making me feel rushed. As a fellow business owner, I greatly appreciated his self-reflection and accountability about his customer service. He didn't need to reach out, but he cared enough to do so--that means a lot!

James offered to return my heart pendant, that I previously mentioned not feeling comfortable about selling, at no cost. He stated this was his way of apologizing for the experience I had and asked if I would change my review. I agreed. This gesture was extremely generous of James and it communicated to me his care for his customers, business, and reputation.

As promised, I got back my pendant today. James even invited me to examine the piece under a microscope to give it a thorough assessment. I'm grateful for the extra time, accommodation, and information James gave to me today. Therefore, I changed my 2 star review to a much happier 5 star one! I would return because I believe Raleigh Diamond does highly regard their customers. Thank you so much, James! • • • [Original Review - 7/19/24] I came in the Raleigh Diamond Fine Jewelry store today to possibly sell some jewelry I had. I checked in easily and was seated briefly to wait on the buyer, James.

He greeted me then ushered me over to the display counter to examine what I had. As I took the clear bag out my purse, I told James some pieces were real and some I was unsure about. Before I placed the bag down, James was telling me the pieces were fake; yet nothing had been taken out the bag. I told him to wait because there are real pieces. As I emptied the bag he continued insisting they were costume jewelry, aside from a gold ring. His insistance started to irritate me because it seemed dismissive and arrogant.

I will commend him for being extremely thorough in ensuring the scale was weighing accurately. He recalibrated it over 3 times until a reference nickle weighed correctly. I appreciated his precision.

He weighed & calculated the value of my gold ring, before glancing quickly at a 14K gold bracelet I had and saying it wasn't real. He examined it only to reveal it was real. First piece he was proven wrong about. The many pieces he told me were "costume", were Sterling Silver so he weighed those too. I had a diamond studded gold heart with no engraving but I was wearing the original chain which was 14K. James again said he doubted it was real. He X-rayed it and to his surprise, again, it was real 14K. Second piece he dismissed and was proven wrong about.

The last piece I had was a vintage 14K gold pearl necklace. He didn't even examine it before saying it was fake. I told him, once more, it was engraved AND signed. He was able to confirm it was real, then told me 'pearls don't sell and people don't really buy them', but he offer me extra money to melt the gold clasp. Absolutely not! I've researched the piece and the designer, whose pearl necklaces go for between $8-10k. Now, I wasn't expecting to receive that kind of money, but I wasn't going to accept the extra $25-50 for it either. So I declined.

By the end of my interaction with James, I felt completely dismissed, rushed, and invalidated. It is not professional to disregard someone's jewelry before properly examining them. I understand expertise allows fakes to be spotted quickly; however, some items need to be examined closer. I also didn't appreciate how rushed the process was. James mentioned he had a new shipment of diamonds that needed to be added to the floor, which I imagine takes careful execution and time, but I shouldn't be rushed.

Ultimately, I impulsively sold most of the real jewelry I brought, aside from the pearls. James isn't a bad person either; I just didn't enjoy...

I am blown away by the ring-buying experience at Raleigh Diamond! This business gets the highest praise from my family and I. From the beginning to the end of our ring-buying experience, we felt as if we were not only valued as a customer but valued as a person. The owner, James, exceeded my expectations for what standards one should hold his business at. I can honestly say that my experience with Raleigh Diamond, was by far the best customer service experience I have ever experienced.

Gerald’s customer service was outstanding. I simply cannot put into words how great he made this experience. He answered all of our questions (and we had a great deal), all while remaining patient, kind and respectful. He really has a broad knowledge of the ins and outs of jewelry and I was highly impressed by his expertise. I was blown away by the commitment to excellence that Gerald had. He made our experience far greater than any other jewelry store we had visited. There are lots of jewelry stores out there, but I strongly believe that Raleigh Diamond is the best of the best. Gerald spent so much time with us until we found the perfect setting and diamonds for the ring we had in mind. He spent time locating the perfect diamonds to be placed into the ring and made sure that they were nothing short of amazing, all while staying within our budget. I felt as though I was a top priority at each and every visit during the ring-buying process. I was treated with respect, appreciation, courtesy, and attentiveness. Well done, Gerald. Very well done!

Now on to the ring— it came out far more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. It was beyond beautiful and far exceeded my expectations. The boxing was beautiful as well. People often forget about how much of an impact the little things have, but their delicate care with the ring, box, and paperwork, speaks volumes as to how important their products are to them. You can tell that they only want to produce the most amazing pieces and customer service experiences for their customers. When I picked up the ring and opened the box, I saw firsthand that I had made the right choice in my high-quality product as well as someone who took the time (no matter how long) to help me create something so beautiful.

I am very pleased with our purchase and will definitely be visiting again in the future. When you put the human element into your business, it means a lot to me as a customer and makes me want to return. It’s nice to know that a business takes the time to get to know its customers and treats...

My fiance and I got engaged last year and we finally decided to start looking for wedding bands a few months ago. When we first went, we had no idea what we wanted. Both my fiance and I are nurses and knew we needed something sturdy and durable. I have a marquise cut ring and I knew it would be a challenge to find something that compliments it. I had heard amazing things about raleigh diamond and decided to check it out in May/June. it was such an amazing experience from the second we walked in the door. We ended up working with Sam, (who I wholeheartedly would 1000% recommend to anyone and everyone) and he was incredible. Sam made the process very easy and he was extremely knowledgeable about all the options in the store. He guided us and gave us his best recommendations. We walked out knowing exactly what we were looking for but had decided to go to our local jeweler who had created my engagement ring, but I had a feeling we would be back. I could not stop thinking about the rings we found there. In July, they had texted us happy anniversary and I decided I was going to make an appointment to come back and get the rings. Sam and I decided on a day and we came back in and it was like we picked up where we had left off months ago. Sam and Hallie were amazing and had everything squared away for us quickly. I am so so happy that we decided to go with Raleigh Diamond and I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for...