Morgan's Jewelers Torrance — Local services in Torrance

Morgan's is a good jewelry store that l believe means well. But there is a little story about my experience with the store. I finally got a ring that I do really love, but the story behind it is unusual, and not what I would have expected, even though the end result is OK.

I first wanted to get a diamond solitaire ring that my husband of 17 years could give me for Christmas, and things went okay with the sales lady I was working with even though I felt it was a little pricey. But then, I changed my mind about a week after taking it home, deciding that I wanted to upgrade to a three-stone ring. That is where things got dicey.

From the way things went when I came back in, I kind of felt like the saleslady didn't seem really enthusiastic about the idea, even though it meant the store would make more money off of me! But I might be imagining that part. In any event, I wound up picking 3 new stones, of which two were from stud earrings, only .10 of a carat, and one was a larger stone of .40 of a carat. I wasn't offered a new setting (the band was/is very narrow, and I think a slightly less narrow band would have been better for three stones) but told that they could redo the current mounting to hold three stones.

But, the strangest thing happened after that. It was one thing that I didn't get a call when it was ready, and it was promised the week before I went on vacation, so I was trying to stay ahead of that; but what was really odd was that when I came in to pick it up after calling and learning that it was there, the saleslady told me that she had switched the center stone out for a different one that was slightly larger but of a slightly lesser quality! Both had equal color and cut, believe, but the one I picked was supposedly VS1, and the one she switched to was supposedly VS2. As it turned out, granted, it did make the ring more impressive; but I was not given the chance to see the stone and give my approval before they went ahead and set all 3 stones in the ring! I don't feel it's right to go behind a customer's back and select and set a different stone than the one the customer originally picked. I was trying to design my own ring, and I wound up feeling like it was really the saleslady's ring that I had paid for. What had been done didn't really hit me until I came home and gave it some thought - I then realized that I felt like something had been done on the sly, and that I couldn't just let that go, so I needed to contact the management.

When l called and said I would like to speak with or see a manager about what had happened, I was treated very well. I was invited to come in and see the store owner, and he told me they just wanted to see me happy, and that I could switch the stone back out to the one I had originally selected, which was still available. I was also shown another stone, but it was larger and of much higher quality, and would have cost too much more money above and beyond what I had already spent, which I felt was not that unreasonable, at least. I had also been given a written appraisal when I picked up the three-stone ring. I was told that the saleslady and the store had my best interests at heart, but at least, I felt that the owner did understand why I felt a need to pursue the issue.

In the end, I decided to keep the ring as is, because it really is very beautiful. See attached photo. The photo shows yet another ring, and that is because I actually got another ring, a 6 stone diamond eternity band, online from a fine jeweler during a Christmas sale, to accompany my wedding ring and the new ring from Morgan's, because I wanted so much to have a ring that I could say I actually designed!! I think they make a beautiful combination all together.

I would give the store 5 stars because of the diamond quality; but I gave it 4 stars although I would have preferred to give it 3-1/2, because honesty with the customer is always the best policy, and I didn't feel it was there in this case. Beautiful jewelry indeed, though! I will...

UPDATE 07/15/2010 Please see the other reviews by "Robert", "Bill", "Dru" and "Matthew". Funny how all of these reviews are either on the same day (Feb 2, 2010) or the day after (Feb 3, 2010). Funny how they all give Morgan's a 5 star rating. Funny how generic all of their reviews are. I am in no way accusing Morgan's of creating these reviews but wow...you would think that they would have tried a bit harder, no? Oh wait...what am I thinking? This is Morgan's - the laughing stock of all jewelry stores! Please think twice before going to Morgan's. I tried to get my Omega Speedmaster serviced here and they are worse than a typical used car dealer. I am a very reasonable customer but Morgan's left me in shock, full of disappointment and an empty wallet.

There is a very good reason why both stores are always empty.

Morgan's offered a useless service for nearly $200 to repair the watch. Most Swiss watches do require a service every 5 years or so. after the "service", nothing changed, watch was still not functioning correctly. they then offered another service for $500. needless to say, i argued for a bit and saw that Morgan's was not about customer service but making a profit. Spoke to a "manager" who was more hostile than the initial rep who took the order (honestly, Wal Mart has better service tactics).

what is very disturbing about this is that Omega does not recommend that the authorized dealers attempt any of their own repairs. instead, Omega requests for each retailers to send in the watches to Omega directly. Morgan's was more than happy to attempt their own repair (which did nothing). I only found this out afterwards when I called Omega (mistake on my part).

My rep at Omega sighed when I mentioned Morgan's in South Bay, California. Told me she has heard similiar stories about Morgan's (offering services that do nothing).

I will stay far, far away from Morgans. Please be aware of this store. They "attempt" repairs not authorized by Omega and have the worst customer service I've experienced in a...

The watch and jewelry industry have been changing a lot over the last few years. If you walk into a Rolex boutique or many other authorized dealers, you'll be met with what is more akin to asking for a fillet minion from McDonalds, "We don't have anything to help you, please move on". Not here. My wife and I were new customers who had never been in the store and met with Dylan. He was patient as we shopped for a gift for my wife's graduation and had a long discussion on our similar taste in watches. He was a great sales person while still respecting our taste, showing us some of the other interesting jewelry in the store. Ultimately, we let Dylan know we were hoping to purchase an Oyster Perpetual 28mm in blue if one came in.

We stayed in contact and he was responsive. When the time came for the watch, he gave me a call and I ran down. I got to meet the insanely sweet Thess, who helped me look at a few Breitlings as a potential gift for my father, and we chatted. I also had the pleasure of meeting Russ, the store owner, who was beyond kind and welcoming. Somehow the experience felt like 5 or 10 years ago when walking into a jewelry store was a special event and the hospitality was top notch. I can say, without a doubt, this store provides that very service.

They've created a customer for life with the experience and I'll gladly fly across the country just to buy another piece of...