Milanj Diamonds — Local services in Upper Merion Township

(This review is a re-post from my yelp review of this jeweler, slightly edited not to exceed character limit) I cannot believe how I was treated in that phone conversation with the store manager Mr. David M. just now. I rarely write reviews because they are personal experiences and they could be misleading, but I HAD to write something this time, perhaps to prevent from someone else having this experience.

My husband and I went into the store in August to purchase a low profile, white-gold, 1.4 ct diamond eternity ring made by Milanj (store brand). They said they would need to order it from their LA office in my size, and that was fine. I wanted a 2-mm low profile if that was possible, but the ring ultimately didn't come out that way and had the same height (2.3mm) as the stock ring they had in the store, so basically no customization was done on the ring other than having a specific range of the diamond grade (VS quality). After a month of wait, we didn't hear anything from them (they told us that they'll call us when it's ready) so we called them to find out that the ring was ready for viewing/shipment. We opted to go into the store to see it first.

There were two problems with the ring. (1) From the top view of the ring, the prongs of the rings were misaligned (2) When you hold the ring sideways, the diamonds were set in a way that the tables of the diamonds basically assume a zig-zag shape. Throughout the conversation at the store, Lily, the sales person for our ring, was being very defensive about this situation and told me that it could happen because it is hand-made, etc, but ultimately she and Ellie, the sales manager, acknowledged these two problems and told me that they'll do everything to fix this situation, make sure to let us know every step of the way and tell us exactly what's going to happen to the ring BEFORE they do anything.

Well, two weeks past, nothing from Lily or Ellie. So I texted Lily today and asked what happened, and she responded that the ring is done. I was dumbfounded at this point because I thought I was going to be informed of what was going on. So I politely asked how they fixed the ring, and her response was "any further questions, please feel free to speak with David M**, our business Manager".

So I called him. I introduced myself and what the situation was, and his first response was, "The ring was magnificent. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the ring, but we did look into those problems you pointed out and we fixed them." First of all, if nothing was wrong with the ring, then there should be nothing to be fixed, but he just acknowledged that there WAS something fixed, so something WAS wrong! The whole time we were talking, I wasn't allowed to finish my sentence because he cut me off every time I asked a question.

I asked who fixed the ring because I requested Ellie to send the ring back to LA office where it was made and NOT get fixed by the diamond setter on premise, and this is because the on-premise setter has a history of setting my engagement ring and done a bad job (we went back to the store twice to get it fixed and hence, my not-so-pleasant experience with Milanj the first time.) David's response to this question was "WE fixed it." I was like, "No no no, I know YOU guys as Milanj did (duh?), but WHO actually did the job of fixing the ring?". Then he raised his voice and said, "WE fixed it!" He talked to me as if I was a 3-yr old, but I politely asked again, and tried to explain why I was asking this question, but for the third time, he cut me off and repeated his response. At one point of our conversation, I even asked him why he sounds so adverse to me when I'm just trying to figure out what happened, which he simply denied it. His extreme defensiveness and condescending tone was very insulting.

I'm going into the store tomorrow to check out the ring, but at this point, the memory of making this ring and the customer service I got was horrifying enough to never go back to this store. I hope I saved at least someone's nightmare by writing...

Went in this store with my gf. we were browsing engagement rings. It's definitely getting to be that time. Anyway... we initially met with a sales associate who seemed ok as far as sales people go. After some questions and some more browsing... the owner came out from the back. his name is J. He chatted us both up. Seemed very friendly and unpretentious. My gf is not materialistic at all. I could wrap tinfoil around her finger and she would wear it with pride. I asked her to pik out some she liked and she picked one. True to form.. she has a knack for picking out the most expensive of everything LOL. She knows nothing of jewelry... so this was just funny. The ring was 99k. It was beautiful... as was all the jewelry at Milanj. Out of nowhere J comes over and begins talking with us some more. Tells us what great people we were and so on, and how friendly and nice we are. Then says "I will sell you the ring for (if I recall correctly 49k)" That exact number might be off by a few thousand, but it was right around there. He guaranteed that price for 90 days. Well on the surface it seemed great, but the more I thought about it the more I began to question it. How do you knock roughly 50% off the price on a whim like that. So I did some research and found out the mark up on jewelry can be up to 600%. So even at 49k he was still making a pile of money. Now this is al well in good. People do not go into business to give stuff away for free. That's fine. The problem was when I returned. I asked to see the ring again and he came out to talk to me... this time the discount was significantly less. So much so that I asked "are you kidding?" He said no and then tried to sell me on the idea that the price he just quoted me was a great price. When I reminded him of the original quote he gave me he said he never would have offered that ring at that price, and defended the new price. Pretty much made a mockery of what I was claiming. Fortunately the salesman that was there the original night when the owner made the offer happened to be standing right there. I turned to him...(now I am pissed) and called out the salesman. I said you were standing right there... tell him. he turned white as a ghost. I said better yet... go check the emails we exchanged. (I had emailed the sales guy asking questions about how he could offer the ring at such a drastically reduced price. At which point he regurgitated the same speech the owner gave me on my original visit.) So not only did I have the salesman back me up, but I had it in writing too. The owner agreed on his original quote, but at that point the damage was done. I was at a point in my mind where if I was lied to on more time,or someone else tried to make a fool of me I was going to hurt one of them. So I left. This review is 1000% accurate and factual! This is what I incurred at Milanj Diamonds! UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE Today I received a threatening letter from the owner of Milanj in response to my google review. Claiming the facts of my review are false, and that I have 5 days to retract or remove my review! Folks... I have the entire email exchange between myself an Gerry from Milanj. In this exchange Gerry explains how J was able to offer me the ring at the drastically reduced price. J... the owner gave me his personal contact info on my original visit. Inquired about personal training and advice about getting in better shape. Told me that he could tell we were good hearted people because I offered him some advice. This was also part of the reason he extended such a drastic discount! (at least thats what he claimed the first night we were at Milanj) As I stated earlier when i returned to inquire further about the ring... the huge discount was gone as he claimed he had no recollection of making that offer, and he would never sell the ring that cheap. Only when confronted by the emails did he begrudgingly give in. I have printed out my emails Mr. Bami. I love...

I am so disappointed and feel so cheated. 10 years ago my husband bought me the most beautiful engagement ring and wedding band as I bought his there as well. We dealt with a man named Gerry back then. Due to some arthritis over the years my finger has just gotten swollen and I needed my ring resized and I met Mr. Jalil Bami, the owner and he told me Gerry was no longer there. He explained to me that he was going to put something called a butterfly hinge and charged me $2615 to do it. The only reason I went there was because I was afraid to take my diamond anywhere else other than where it was purchased. Mr. Bami said he was giving me a VIP price. And he wanted payment upfront and stupidly gave him my AMEX card paid him. I wasn’t that happy with the results as the ring still feels too tight. When I picked it up, I brought my husband with me and Mr. Bami also said I can bring some gold to sell because gold is very expensive right now. I brought him an ounce of gold and he offered something like $720 I believe. After doing my research before I went back, I was uncomfortable with that and did not sell my gold to Mr.Bami. The very next day I took my gold to a place where my friend recommended and within 6 minutes The jeweler offered me 3x the amount ! Yes, that’s right 3x the amount and when I told him about Mr. Bami, and also, what he charged me to resize my ring the jeweler, (knew who he was ) was beside himself. He couldn’t believe how badly I have been taken for. I am so glad I did not let this man purchase my gold, and I took it to an honest person. Then on top of that he charged me another $300 to take out a clip I had put in my grandmother’s ring because it has gotten too small. He told me previously that he’d do that for free and he removed it polished it which took seconds and he charged me $300. So now this man has taken me for $3000. The sad part is my husband, and I thought he was such a genuine soul, but now when I think of what he did, I think it’s criminal. I’m sure they will remove this review, but I will make sure I put it anywhere I can somewhere else. I will never enter that store again and I’m having my diamond inspected to make sure it wasn’t switched because this is how much I do not trust this man at this point. My diamond is called FoverMark and it has a special serial number inscripted right on the diamond so I will know if that has taken place. God knows how many people he’s done this too. It’s a total disgrace and I don’t know how he sleeps at night in his penthouse. Mr. Bami, If you’re reading this, I hope it at least makes you feel as bad as you made my husband and I feel. We thought you were a genuine honest man, but you are so much more the opposite. The honest jeweler that did right by me was Russell Schwartz of William Schwartz jewelry in Rittenhouse Square area in Philadelphia near where I work. And I’m grateful that there are honest people in the world like this man Who is now my jeweler. Kathleen &...