Jared the Galleria of Jewelry (referred to simply as Jared) is a subsidiary of Signet jewelers. Signet are the world’s largest supplier of diamond jewelry in the world. Does such a considerable title translate into a positive buying experience? If you are considering choosing Jared’s for your diamond jewelry, I implore you to read this review carefully before taking the plunge.

The History

In the interest of fairness, I focus my reviews on the quality of the products and the price; these are the areas which are of most significance to customers. However, it would be impossible to review Jared without mentioning a little of their history and the foundations of their parent company Signet; the subject of scandals and stories, the history of Jared certainly sets a tone for this brand.

The group was previously known as the Ratner Group. Established in 1949, the business boomed throughout the 80’s and 90’s, with former CEO Gerald Ratner building it from 130 stores to 2500. Ratner infamously announced at a business conference that the reason the products were so cheap is because they were ‘total crap’. After a rebranding in 1993, the Signet group was born. Stack them high and sell them cheap is still very much at the core of the Jared and Signet experience.

Further issues hit Signet in 2008 when it was sued for discrimination against female employees. Does that mean their jewelry is bad? No, but I’ve been in this business a long time and these details paint a picture that potential customers deserve to see.

Leaving the past in the past, Jared has undergone some big changes over the past few years and these improvements have not gone unnoticed by customers. A better in-store experience and optimized website have seen Jared’s win back points with the public.

The Jewelry

On their website, Jared’s states that their business targets the ‘upper mid-market jewelry customer’. A simple translation would be that Jared’s is more expensive than other large chains such as Zales and Kay Jewelers – but they are quite literally cut from the same cloth.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry (@jaredthegalleriaofjewelry) on May 14, 2020 at 4:00am PDT

Jared have updated their website to compete with companies such as Blue Nile, James Allen and Whiteflash – you can now view a high-res image of a loose diamond and choose a setting to complete the ring. What they are lacking however, is diamond light performance imaging. This is imperative when buying online! 

They sell GIA and AGS certified diamonds which is positive, however they also sell diamonds with questionable certificates from inferior grading labs.

I have created the table below to highlight red flags, so you can easily weigh up the pros and cons.

The Final Word

Although there are areas that Jared’s have improved, they must still be compared to the industry leaders and in this sense, they fall short. Whiteflash deliver a diamond education, level of service and diamond quality that Jared’s cannot compete with, nor can they compete price wise with James Allen.

Perhaps you roll the dice with Jared’s and buy a small, low value item of jewelry as a gift. Maybe you will dodge the questionable sales tactics and inconsistent customer service – but when it comes to something as significant as an engagement ring, I would give Jared’s a hard pass.

The lack of diamond light performance imaging however, means that I cannot recommend them for buying a diamond online.