Capital jewelry

March 8, 2005 2:18 PM

I'm looking for recommendations for a reputable jeweler in the Washington DC area.

I'm going to be buying an engagement ring, and I have a pretty good idea of what I want and how much I want to pay for it. I've looked around on-line, but I want to visit some real stores as well. I'd prefer to stay away from mall chains like Kay Jewelrs and the such, but I have no experience with buying jewelry of any kind. I'm worried about getting scammed, can anyone help?

Any recommendations (especially for shops in Montgomery County, Maryland) would be greatly appreciated.

posted by thewittyname to clothing, beauty, & fashion (7 comments total)

I have no idea where this is in relation to Montgomery County, except to say that it's in Virginia, but my fiancee got my ring at Washington Diamond. He went there originally because it was one of the few places where you could get Canadian Diamonds. We also bought our wedding bands there. The prices on the website differ from what you can get if you go in.

My fiancee knew nothing of diamonds, and Walter, who we dealt with, took the time to explain many things to him. They looked at two dozen different diamonds, and it was all very low key. Apparently, the setting was also changed twice, which required extra meetings. They worked with the budget, and a pretty rough time constraint.

We highly recommend Walter. If you have more detailed questions I can help with, just ask!
posted by dpx.mfx at 2:54 PM on March 8, 2005

Try Boone and Son. It is right behind Tiffany's there near Mazaa gallery. They had a great selection of mens wedding rings when I went and were very helpful and not at all pushy.
posted by juggler at 5:53 PM on March 8, 2005

Tiny Jewel Box near Dupont Circle is a lovely, lovely place. Their jewelry is original, beautiful, varied (everything from antiques to the newest designs), and top-shelf. The people there are also wonderful--one of the owners spent a long time with me during the busy Christmas season helping me with a school project. I tried half a dozen other stores first, and none of them were willing to help me, so I particularly appreciated his kindness.
posted by equipoise at 7:57 PM on March 8, 2005

I've just come out the other side of this very journey. I visited more than a dozen jewelry stores in person, combed the internet for information and prices, and even buttonholed a designer for the better part of an hour in the middle of his day.

Boone and Sons-- Very expensive, good designs, moderate selection. A bit distant in its treatment of me. For the most part, they were straight with me, though I did eventually learn that on one particular point the man I spoke with, Ron at their Tyson's Galleria location, misled me regarding white gold and the platings that sometimes, but only sometimes, are applied to it.

Tiny Jewel Box-- Very friendly and accommodating, and also expensive. It's not all original in there, though. What part of the store you're in may determine that. I've been there and bought from them, but they didn't have a big role in my search for an engagement ring.

After an extended search I found exactly the right ring (according to "one ridiculously happy fiancee," for whom it was a surprise!) and bought it locally. I spent a lot of time learning about stones and comparing dealers, learning about appraisals, differences in interpretations of "ideal cuts," differences between various certifying organizations, and even differences between the reputations of different geographic branches of individual certifying agencies.

Frankly, it's way too much to write it all down in hopes that some part would be useful to you. Email me if you'd like to hear more. If you're interested I'd also be willing to talk on the phone, which would probably be dramatically more efficient.

Either way, good luck!
posted by NortonDC at 10:32 PM on March 8, 2005

Ooooh, call him! He found the most beautiful ring, and amassed a huge amount of knowledge on the subject. Also he's a hottie, but that's more for me than for you. (My hottie!)
posted by onlyconnect at 10:49 PM on March 8, 2005

I highly recommend Creative Goldsmiths in Bethesda, MD. My wife and I wanted to have unique rings when we got married, so ont he advice of a friend we went to see Jason at Creative Goldsmiths. He listened to us and made an excellent sketch what we wanted. We went back a few weeks later and he had the wax moldings made. We reviewed them, made some changes and then a week later reviewed them again. They were perfect and we are very happy with them.

But that's not all! ;)

We also had my wife's engagement ring made there. Her design looks like a traditional anniversary band, but it has aquamarines (her birthstone) where one usually sees diamonds. A few months after we got the ring, one of the aquamarines chipped. We knew they were soft stones, but we thought they would last longer. So we took the ring to Jason, and asked what our options were. We thought he would tell us we would have to buy another stone or consider redoing the ring in order to protect the stones. To our surprise he told us they would replace the stone for free. Wow. Pretty cool. But then he went on to voluntarily tell us that they would also replace any stone for the life of the ring! Now that is service.

Whenever we are in Bethesda now, we stop in to say hi to Jason and he always insists on cleaning and buffing our rings (for free).

I really can't say enough about Jason or Creative Goldsmiths. If you haven't already decided on another place, consider them, and if you do tell him I sent you. (and no, I don't get anything for referrals).
posted by terrapin at 5:58 AM on March 9, 2005

I've seen the rings worn by terrapin, his lovely spouse, and onlyconnect (hers, last night, for the first time--congrats, you two), so I can vouch for their quality. I had my wife's engagement/wedding ring made at Rubini in Alexandria, as suggested by a small Capitol Hill jeweler. It was cast from a ring I got her out of a bubble-gum machine on one of our first dates, so it wasn't a particulary difficult job, craftsmanship-wise, but they did a good job, and for cheap.
posted by MrMoonPie at 5:19 PM on March 9, 2005