anyone have any recomendations of places to check out in portland? need an engagement ring for the lady and saving a few hundred bucks on taxes is pretty appealing! before I make the drive I want a gameplan of places to look though. the woman is very picky about her ring style so I need a few places to check out : )

 

The Shane Company just off Hwy 217, across from Washington Square mall.
They have the largest selection I've seen, and not bad pricing.

 

Although no tax is great, have you checked out local stores that are going out of business? Bailey Banks & Biddle at Bellevue Square is closing their doors as is International Jewelers in Bellevue/Alderwood/Southcenter/Tacoma. I just bought a diamond pendant for the woman, from the latter, for something like 70% off.

 

Bailey's going out of business?!

I'm stopping today on my way home from work to look at watches!

The other place looked kind of sketchy, so I didn't pay it any attention. Have folks been there before?

 

thanks dude. going to bellevue tomorrow to check it out. not that I should be surprised but the rings inside the Everett mall were garbage, such a waste of time. I would hate to drive all the way to Portland to find nada as well.. making me rethink going! :P

 

I just got back from Bailey's, and it didn't look like they were going out of business, just some sale going on, 40-60% off signs were everywhere.


And Ben Bridge is apparently expanding. That place is awesome.

 

costco.

 

Bailey Banks & Biddle is closing, but I think they just started liquidation more recently, so I'm guessing the discounts will increase as it goes on. Hardly anything is marked with the correct discount, so you've got to ask about any and everything you're interested in, which is pretty annoying.

International Jewelers has been around with several locations for many years, although this was the first time I've bought anything from them. They're at the tail end of their liquidation now, so their inventory is dwindling and they have prices clearly marked on every item, which makes browsing much easier. They're about to close their doors, so they're in liquidation mode just like Joe's Sports and Circuit City were.

Don't waste your time with the typical mall jewelers like Kay, Zale's, Friedlander's, Helzberg, etc... They all have the exact same stuff, lots of lab created gemstones, and not much that appeals to a younger buyer.

 

she actually really likes a ring from there and I would be inclined to buy it if it wasn't in platinum. it's my 'cant find anything else / backup' ring.

will check out bailey tomorrow!

 

it all depends on how picky you are about quality and how much you know. i'm very picky about my jewelry and the 2 diamonds i have are both vs1 even though they're only .25 carat each, both are princess cut, one's white and one's blue. there is a place in tacoma called kantor. my mom used to work there, and she worked at ben bridge before. they have things of the same quality as ben bridge and zales, if not better, but their prices are much less for what you're getting. another option you might consider is finding the setting you like and a diamond(s) to put in it separately. that allows you to get an inexpensive setting at one place and an inexpensive diamond at another. if you're looking for inexpensive quality you definitely need to check out kantor in tacoma though, it'll be worth your time. best of luck.

http://kantordiamond.com/
1019 Pacific Ave # 711
Tacoma, WA 98402-4487
(253) 272-7007

 

You wanna rob that store with me? haha

 

I'm so glad that I have a jewler available for when/if this sort of situation presents itself. :-D

 

you wont save on taxes, but EE Robbins is really nice..plus they insure the ring will stay together the life of it. Diamond falls out..they replace it. They also do a exchange program, you can always go in and trade in the diamond you bought for the price you paid always for something nicer. i thought it was well worth paying the taxes for that. I looked at all the places you are and trust me you are not paying for what you are buying..All the mall places had diamonds well under the quality they stated FOR MORE MONEY! Trust just swing by there, i worked with PAM and she found exactly what i wanted for the price i wanted..no pressure. just my two cent..but congrats either way.

 

today after work I am hitting up Bellevue to check Baileys out, there is an ee robins somewhere there .. I will get the address and give it a whirl too.

I am motivated to avoid going to portland.. after walking around 4 different jewelery places without my GF present, I didn't feel like any of them were close enough to the rings she had showed me. if by chance I pick a ring she doesnt want I don't want to have to drive to portland a 2nd time : P

 

Now THAT seems awesome.

 

Jared offered something similar - their policy was they would give you 100% credit for what you purchased as long as whatever you upgrade to is double the cost .. lol.

 

went to Bellevue today. Baileys was down to low inventory already, or at least didnt have the style we were looking for. hell, none of the places did, the woman is picky. back to the one we found at helzberg.

we checked out EE robins as well as a couple of other local shops .. EE robins had a killer one but it would have looked retarded if we got it modified to my budget, it was set up to have a huge rock in the center and I could only afford a rock half the size.. lol.

 

they just happen to have really nice stuff and don't rob you like the other places. i don't know anyone who works there, i don't really care for the owner/manager or whatever she is, and i get nothing out of it. just passing on the info. i've bought my diamonds and had all the work done at ben bridge.

 

Shane Co. is the same way.

 

As n1nj4 stated, costco has some good jewelry. From what I understand, it's worth more and or better quality than what they state.