Tenenbaum Jewelers

Reviews 4

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Joe Woodhouse

Deceptive sales, sold a SUPERGLUED ring and lied about it When they closed down their old store they held a store-wide 50%-off sale. Great, right? We found a lovely engagement ring with a central diamond and diamond and ruby accents. It looked a little dirty and my girlfriend asked about some residue she spotted. They told her that it just needed a good cleaning, which they would do. We bought the ring the next day. Once she got it home, she looked more closely and saw that not only had it not been cleaned, but a ruby calibre piece was missing. We didnt have time to sort it out as we were travelling to London. Once there we had it looked at by six jewelers. Four outright refused to take it for repairs because it was in such poor condition. A fifth was willing to look at it and has a name as one of Londons best repairers. We went there wanting a price to find and cut a ruby, and to properly clean it. To our shock they told us that the centre diamond was about to fall out of its collet (setting), and that the residue wasnt a matter of cleaning but was superglue residue. We got a second opinion who agreed that every small diamond and ruby was glued with superglue, that the collet needed repairing, and that two small diamonds were also missing and a third was damaged. I dont mind antique jewelery being damaged, but I do think that should be fully disclosed before the sale. What really gets me is who sells a ring full of superglue and then actively lies about it in the store?! Both London jewelers told us if they had done that, they would be thrown out of their jewelers trade associations. But oh look, Tenenbaum doesnt belong to any. Im sure thats just a coincidence though. We of course contacted Tenenbaum. They were... not helpful. The sales person we reached quickly grew flustered and tried to lie to us (telling us that the ring was 50% off because of these issues - nope, it was a store-wide 50% off sale). Then offered us a partial refund that wasnt even half the cost of the repairs. Then stopped talking to us. We took the matter to one of the owners. They had their own repair person quote on fixing these issues and their quote was within 5% of ours. The owner said if we returned the ring they would repair it at no cost to us. (There was never any admission of superglue or that the ring had been sold deceptively). That sounds like a good answer but when I looked into it I found that the cost to us to send it roundtrip UK to the US, with insurance and all fees wed pay on "importing" it back into the UK, would be over 50% of what we paid for the ring. That is hardly "no cost to us", and I invited the Tenenbaum owner to either cover those shipping costs (obviously absurd), or to pay for us to have the ring repaired in London since they agreed thats what it would cost. They stopped returning emails or calls at that point. Zero contact from then on. I eventually reported the transaction to my bank who after investigating agreed that it was reasonable to contest the credit card charge for the cost of the repairs. Exact words were "goods sold not as advertised" and "goods supplied were defective". However I speculate that Tenebaum have been down this path before. Take a close look at their Terms & Conditions: all sales are "as-is". Learn from our mistake. Do not buy from Tenenbaum unless you have the piece examined by an indepedent jeweler under magnification in good light. If anything is not as Tenenbaum claims, or if they lie to you like they lied to us, then you will have no recourse. Apparently this is not technically fraud because those Terms & Conditions mean we agree that we are buying everything as they actually are and not as Tenenbaum claims they are. That means they could sell you a cubic zirconia and tell you that it was a diamond... but if you bought it, you will have agreed that you bought a CZ ("as-is") and you will be suckered just as we were. They should be ashamed of themselves to sell superglued jewelery, let alone to lie about it. DO NOT BUY.

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AS

Ashley Harriss

My fiance purchased my engagement ring here. We went into the store having something in mind and liked the styles that we had seen online. Upon arriving at the store on a busy Saturday, the staff was very accommodating and showed us several options multiple times. After exhausting all the selections in the store the owner Robin suggested the option of designing our own ring, using the different components we liked from several of the rings in the store. With her assistance we were able to design a beautiful custom ring that had all the components we liked. Robin and her staff assisted in the design and they were able to send digital images to my fiance before completion of the ring to ensure it was what we wanted. They were able to rush the ring and have it complete before the Christmas holiday, making it a lovely Christmas surprise. The ring was even more beautiful then we imagined! After receiving the ring we brought it in to get it re-sized down to a smaller size. The staff said that there was a back log of a week, however, they rushed the order and had it ready for pickup the next day! Overall, we had the most pleasant experience at Queen of Heirs. The staff was accommodating, friendly, and pleasant to work with. I will go to Queen of Heirs for all of my jewelry needs and would recommend everyone to visit.

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A

A Private User

I live in Seattle, Washington and shop for estate and vintage jewelry at Tenenbaum & Co. I was introduced to the company while visiting San Antonio several years ago and have purchased pieces for my husband and for me. I especially appreciate the lay-away option as they too often have that special “something” I can’t resist among their inventory of both understated and “bling.” If you are interested in adding classic or more unique pieces to your jewelry wardrobe, the sales staff will make your shopping experience an enjoyable one whether you leave with more information about that special item you might be looking for or a little box with a bow. You can’t go wrong at Tenenbaum & Co. They have a carefully edited selection of items at various price points and styles and the staff will attentively spend time helping you make the perfect choice. I’ve also been very pleased with their trade-in policy, which has allowed me to purchase a few things I might not have otherwise! I can only praise the sales and office staff for their excellent service – an important feature when you’re shopping by phone and web! Kudos to everyone at Tenenbaum…especially my sales professional, Charlene!

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A

A Private User

Queen of Heirs, located just south of the Galleria in Houston, provided an experience that I, nor my fiance will soon not forget. Robin is an amazing, cheery personality, and has some of the most unique antique and estate jewelry that I came across in my search for the perfect ring. She was readily willing to mix and match stones from other rings / earrings with the bands that I liked most. The ring I chose was from the 1920s, and had beading that was handcrafted in the gold. The level of detail on the band was something I had not seen before, as current machining technology cant provide the level of quality that an authentic antique can. The "vintage" knockoffs available as new, have little to offer next to a band by Queen of Heirs. Robin was such a pleasure to work with. I spent a total of 2 hours with her, looking over her gallery of rings. She really does add a personal touch to the buying experience. I had looked online, my brother had a "guy" off Richmond, and all of the chain stores did not even come close to the value and service I received from Robin at Queen of Heirs. Next time I shop for jewelry, I know where to go first.

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