Elite Jewelers — Local services in Sterling

I had a really disappointing jewelry repair experience here. I had a sentimental ring setting which I searched for the perfect stone for to fit a few years. I finally found the stone I wanted and brought it to be set in the ring. I sourced a natural untreated champagne cushion cut sapphire from a reputable dealer, a one of a kind stone. The price for setting and resizing was $250 which I felt was a bit pricey but I was willing to pay for quality work. When I got the ring back with the stone set I was thrilled! It was perfect and just what I wanted. The stone seemed secure and I was very careful each time I wore it. Unfortunately less than 2 months later I was driving and looked down to see the stone had fallen out! I looked everywhere but could not find the original stone. I brought the setting back to Elite Jewelers and they were nice enough to see what they could do. I left the original package that my sapphire came in with the specs and measurements of the stone in case they could replace it. They took the setting back and said they would contact the jeweler who worked on the piece. I checked back and called several times for almost 3-4 weeks after with no updates from the store or manager. During this time no one told me they were trying to source a new stone or what was happening with my ring, they just said they would tell the manager to contact me which he never did. Finally, I received a call back saying that it was ready for pick up. When I picked it up, they had replaced the stone with a round cut, light pink stone. No one contacted me to ask if I approved of the stone or the work, or asked how I wanted the issue resolved. They just set the new stone without consultation or permission. Luckily this is a piece of jewelry that I bought for myself. If this had been a gift or more sentimental in anyway I don't think it would be right to mess with the piece without approving the new stone or getting permission. What if this was a wedding ring or memorial piece and it was replaced with the wrong stone?

They did not give me any paperwork so I have no idea what kind of a stone it is, if they replaced it with a different sapphire or a piece of glass. I will have to pay to have the ring appraised to find out which I don't think is right. They did not give me back the original packaging for my sapphire so I could verify with the gem dealer or anything. I asked for my original paperwork back and they said they did not have it but they would ask the manager to call me again, which he never did. Even though the staff was pleasant each time I interacted with them through this process, there seemed to be little concern for the poor workmanship. Though I am grateful that they did replace the stone, they completely changed the look and feel of the piece. Jewelry is very personal and without asking me they turned the ring into something I would not have picked out for myself if I saw it in a jewelry case. This place might be good to get a new piece from but I will be bringing any repairs directly to a bench jeweler and not using Elite for any repairs.

Photos are of my original stone and the stone they replaced it with. Original stone was a natural untreated cushion cut, champagne sapphire. They did not give me any paper work so I have no idea what the replacement stone is but it is a round cut pink stone. Both the cut and the color of the replacement stone a wrong so it looks like a completely different style ring.

EDIT: Owner's reply ignored several important factors including paperwork, communication, approval of the new stone and permission for the repair to proceed. I visited the store and called over 8 times for this one item, there was no outward communication from the store about my item or any updates at all. I still do not have possession of my original sapphire packaging and no paperwork or verification for the new stone so I don't even know if they replaced it with a sapphire or a piece of glass without paying for a...

The jewelry here is nice but I did not have a good experience with the lady who helped me and my fiancé. I don't normally write negative reviews and I don't like to be a Karen but I just had to say something to anyone who might be looking here for a possible engagement ring. My fiancé and I went in with a basic idea of what we wanted but we wanted to keep our options open. This was our first time ring shopping so we were hoping that we'd walk out with what we wanted and within a reasonable price point.

This lady was nice at first and showed me a ring I was interested in and let me try on. I wasn't sure about it, so I asked questions about customization and if I could try on something else that was similar to get a better idea of what band I wanted, etc. She then started being extremely pushy and condescending when I expressed how I wasn't sure which setting/style I wanted. I wanted to take my time and I was new to all of it, but I don't think she was having it and she just wanted a quick sale or something. She kept saying to get the more expensive option and that I should want "a bigger ring".

Whenever I would ask questions she would be so impatient when answering and gave me short answers basically made me felt like the questions I was asking were stupid. When my fiancé and I expressed that we would need to talk to each other about it and spend more time looking, she then asked me, "what is there to think about?!". When she said that it totally turned us off from the whole experience which was supposed to be fun and relaxing for all of us.

Also I understand jewelry is supposed to have a markup otherwise how else would they make their money, but she tried to sell us a ring that she "discounted" from $16k all the way down to $7k. It just felt a little rip-offy. Safe to say we didn't buy our ring from here, we actually went to Kay's and had a much more pleasant and fun shopping experience there! I would strongly advise against going here if you're new to this kind of thing or don't know what you want. Maybe if you had a really good idea of what you wanted and not a pushover afraid to say no (like me) you could buy your jewelry here. Maybe if I had a different salesperson it would've...

I ordered a ring online sometime last week and was contacted by a person from the Elite Jewelers location at Dulles. I was told that it would be in by 3:30 on valentines at a different location , that was the first mis-communication. Monday around 3 comes and I call to check on the order and at first an employee has no information about my order. I had to call back to the Dulles location to verify that I was calling the right place and if my ring was even ordered. I am then told that I have nothing to worry about because sometimes shipments are late, and I would be contacted later that day when it is there. I was re assured that it would definitely be in that day as they said it was out for delivery. No phone call for the next 2 and a half to 3 hours. I end up going to the location where the ring is supposed to be delivered to and when I get there, there is no ring. The order is still out for delivery. They try be nice and offer coffee or water to sit and wait. I decline the offer because I was supposed to be there to pick up the ring like mentioned it would be there, especially on Valentine’s Day… I was told I would be contacted when it was delivered because it should be there that day. As I leave I was assured that one of the employees would even deliver the ring back to Dulles as it is closer to me or even hand deliver it to my house. There was no message or update at all, so I would have wasted my time sitting and waiting around for nothing. Well, I was messaged at 1pm the following day to let me know it is at the farther location..No indication of the person saying they wanted to bring it to Dulles or deliver it to me. I had to go out of my way to the location where the ring was with no sorry or anything. It was a waste of my time and money, won’t be buying from here again. They ruined my Valentine’s Day because of this mishap and they had no communication between there locations. I felt scammed and lied to. No sympathy or care...