CDI Diamonds & Jewelry — Local services in Washington Township

It's taken me a while to getting around to writing this, but I had such a great experience here I couldn't not share. This was, like many other people, my first time shopping for an engagement ring. I had already casually looked at the larger chains like Tiffany, etc., and the experience at these chains was exactly what I expected and dreaded. As soon as you walk in you're swarmed by sales people and drilled with questions. They do everything they can to get you to put down a deposit and you can immediately tell they do not have your best interests at heart. But, how can you blame them when their compensation is directly tied to commission? They had some nice rings in their stores, but I assumed I needed to do a lot more research on my own since I knew the information I was getting from these places was targeted to sell me and not educate me on what I should be looking for. I decided to try a local jeweler and settled on CDI based on the stellar reviews. We all know reviews can be bought or fake, so I didn't get my hopes up here either. I had my guard up walking in, and I was pleasantly surprised when they didn't jump from their seat as soon as the door opened. They greeted me, asked me what I was looking for, directed me to the place to look, and let me check things out for a bit. The communication was initiated first by me when I had some questions. I dealt directly with Matt and he was wonderful to work with. He was full of knowledge and expertise and I never once felt like he was trying to sell me on something just to get a sale. The great thing about CDI is you can buy "loose" diamonds and have them set whichever setting you like. This allows you to choose the perfect cut and size and then take that specific diamond and put it in a setting to your specifications. I was looking for something very specific that Matt didn't have in store (he had a ton of options but I was dead set on a specific size and clarity (internally flawless). Matt was glad to acquire a few diamonds that fit my criteria and have them brought into the store the next week. When I went in the next week we examined each of the diamonds under an electronic microscope and looked at each grading certificate. One of them checked all of the boxes and looked absolutely perfect. He even let me walk out of the store with it (by myself!) to see what it looked like in the sun. I couldn't have been more pleased with the experience and I was truly shocked that you could buy an engagement ring without having to fight off hungry sales people and misleading information. If you're looking for a place to buy an engagement ring or any other type of high-end jewelry, at least walk in and check it out and I can guarantee you will be able to confirm everything I said in this email is true. Thanks again Matt and I'll be seeing...

Making any major purchase can be stressful. Making the major purchase of an engagement ring is even more so. The question, "will she love it?", being silently repeated as you look over ring after ring at store after store. Most guys, myself included, have no clue what we are doing when it comes to this area. Sure, we have maybe talked with our significant other about what they like...or do not like. We may have even went "looking" with them...but it hard to know for sure, "will she love it?"...without, of course, her picking the ring out herself (and how unromantic is that?). You have to trust the person selling you the ring. You have to rely on their expertise and know that they, hopefully, can take what pieces of information you can provide and turn that into a beautiful engagement ring that will exemplify what is in your heart. You also, hopefully, can trust that the seller is not simply trying to fit you into a ring just to make a larger sale.

When I began the process of searching for a ring...I looked at probably dozens of places around town, CDI included. Of all of those places, I chose only one to visit a second time, CDI. Why?

When my girlfriend (now fiancee) initially went in, Matt (owner), probably spent over an hour with us. We never felt pressured and walked away from the experience truly impressed with not just his sales approach but his knowledge of diamonds/settings/etc. He, literally, answered probably 30 plus questions. Of course, he had no way of knowing if I would return to make a purchase. That did not matter. All that mattered is that he could help us out. I came away from the experience more knowledgeable about the process and diamonds themselves. When I returned a few months later, it was so easy. I told Matt what I was looking for and my price range. He suggested great diamonds/settings and kept me within my price range. I had seen comparable diamonds around town for more. The best compliment I can give a business is that I would shop there again, without reservation and encourage others to do the same. Shopping at CDI was a truly wonderful experience and I could not be more pleased. The experience felt like I was buying a ring from a friend...who just happens to be in the jewelry business. Thank you to CDI. PS. She did...

Although I'm very sorry to leave a 2 star review since the quality of work was great, we were pretty disappointed by the post-purchase service and customer experience for our engagement ring. We will unfortunately not be shopping here in the future. More below:

Lisa was incredibly helpful and patient when picking out an engagement ring for my fiancée. She spent 45 minutes kindly walking me through demonstrations of different gem grades, and she remembered my name when I walked back in a week later; I'm not sure what other service you could ask for.

CDI offered a band style I hadn't seen anywhere else and the final product they put together was lovely. Matt was very kind in giving a good discount for setting the band, but I believe I may have rubbed him the wrong way by buying a gem from an online dealer. This is where things went a little downhill.

The band was 3 weeks later than expected, but I didn't consider that the biggest deal; there was no rush. My fiancée and I, however, ended up needing to resize the ring twice. We were a little taken aback by being charged (an albeit reasonable price) for resizing on pickup.

I didn't sign any contract when buying the band, but I had full understanding that future work and resizing would be complimentary due to the CDI Advantage, listed online and in store: "For a period of one year, CDI will cover any and all servicing to your new piece of jewelry, including sizing and rhodium plating."

Matt argued that the 3rd party diamond meant there was no guarantee on resizing his band, and that he had generously resized the band the first time for free. Even if that is the case, I would have (at the minimum) wanted to know we were being charged for the second resizing before work was completed.

Additionally, Matt criticized the quality of the 3rd party gem every time we went in. Don't take this the wrong way; it was more of a playful ribbing thing, but I didn't appreciate that it made my fiancée uncomfortable...