About
James Allen, established in 2006, specialises in high-quality diamonds and fine jewellery. Known for its extensive online inventory, it offers a unique 360° HD video technology that allows customers to view diamonds in exceptional detail.
Aiming to differentiate itself from other retailers, James Allen focuses on providing a comprehensive online shopping experience, including a virtual ring sizer and a diamond inspection service with a non-commissioned gemologist. They aim to offer competitive pricing and a generous 30-day return policy.
Australian customers can benefit from international shipping and a user-friendly website designed to make the jewellery purchasing process seamless and enjoyable.
7 Reviews on “James Allen Reviews”
I ordered a very simple 0.29 carat princess cut diamond, D colour, I1 clarity on a four prong 14k white gold presentation solitaire ring.
Like most online shoppers I had my shields up and was very skeptical about purchasing online. I’ve been burned way too many times before but, bang for buck (Australian retailers are, for lack of a better word… horrible, when it comes to price) you couldn’t beat James Allen. I was trawling for awhile, between two other major competitors, and also a local (Aussie) Jeweler. All 4 (James Allen included) had been recommended to me on my modest budget.
James Allen had me at the live photos of each diamond – made it easy to find an eye-clean rock, regardless of clarity rating. As with any online purchase, you take that leap of faith; your heart stops as you submit your credit card details and you brace for the worst.
Several confirmation e-mails started coming through, which required personal verification – which at first – to be honest was a bit of an annoyance. But you come to realise that they’re doing it for not just their safety, but your own (considering I’m an international customer).
So the shipping date was provided to me in one of the earlier e-mails and the days ticked by incredibly slowly. The day finally came when it would arrived – only to be stopped in my tracks by FedEx! The package was supposed to be delivered Wednesday, but it had arrived on the Monday. I called them up to organise a pick up (lucky the facility was less than 10 minutes drive from work) and after a tedious I.D verification, I had in my hands my product.
Securely packaged and beautifully presented, my low expectations were slowly being shattered bit by bit. It was a beautiful box, not like the ones I googled but even better in my opinion. Red isn’t exactly my colour but I can’t deny the actual ring box was just amazing.
The ring came out SO much better than I expected! Diamond was eye-clean, the ring was even nicer than the pictures on the website. Don’t be fooled – just because the lustre isn’t apparent on the website pictures, doesn’t mean it is low quality. Memo to James Allen – may want to take new photos of the rings because they are more stunning than the stock pictures make them out to be :).
A massive bonus, free engraving. I mean wow – local retailers would ask you to pay extra or in a bid for your continued business, they’ll do it once off. To have an online retailer offer free engraving to all customers is quite simply amazing.
I have nothing but praise for James Allen. Despite the fact that I’m what can be considered a “small-fish” in the otherwise vast ocean of buyers who have pockets deeper than I could imagine; the service I received was comforting and personal – which made the experience for me, as good as face-to-face service.
100% I would recommend James Allen to family and friends – bit of a white lie saying I would.. because I already have!
Thank you James Allen team!
I had a fantastic experience form start to finish.
The staff available on 24/7 chat were so knowledgeable and helpful and answered all my questions and helped with all my hesitations. I was worried to buy a piece of jewellery online, it was a first for me, but after this experience, I’d definitely do it again.
It was so easy to put the order in and keep track of progress. I had my ring in Australia less than 2 weeks after I ordered it. there was a one day delay to when they promised I’d receive it and they let me know in advance. The ring is beautiful.
My only tip for James Allen would be to send a smaller package – it would cost a lot less! it came in huge packaging, larger than the size of a4 ream of paper and quite heavy. Maybe invest the money saved on postage on a prettier box for the actual piece of jewellery!! but it’s really not that important, it’s the only thing i could find to ‘fault’! 🙂
I had a terrific experience and would do it again, without hesitation.
I am yet to give my husband the new ring, hopefully it will fit – if it doesn’t, then we’ll send it back for a free resize! Did i mention postage was free and engraving was free?? Fantastic deal 🙂
I was in the market for an engagement ring. I therefore familiarised myself with the “4Cs” and searched intensely for the perfect ring. I considered many retail stores and decided instead to source a diamond separately and match it with a band that I thought my wife-to-be would love.
I looked at a lot of internet sites, however I found the that JamesAllen.com stood out, as I was able to search for diamonds and have an actual picture of the particular diamond. This was not a feature of other websites, and as I am sure you will appreciate, not all diamonds are created equally. Were it not for JamesAllen.coms comprehensive website design, I may well have purchased a deeply flawed diamond. I didn’t.
I selected the diamond, and I select the band and I wished to pay by wire transfer. As I am in Australia, I thought this may be difficult. It wasn’t. I went to may bank, they helped me with the transfer.
I contacted customer service and they alleviated my anxiety, having just transferred a sizeable wad of my hard earned cash to the other side of the world for a ring which was yet to be created. I was desperate to make sure that everything was going to plan. I used online chat and email and was thoroughly satisfied with the level of service on every occasion. It was incredibly reassuring to know I had such good assistance at hand, when required, given the distance the ring needed to travel and the size of the purchase. I’m don’t believe you can expect that level of service just anywhere – I didn’t.
I kept in contact with customer service through the ring making process. It was all very exciting. I was was then informed that the ring was on its way! Fedex gave an estimated time of arrival and I tracked the ring from New York, to Memphis, to LA, Honolulu and finally to Sydney. The delivery was precisely on time, and was delivered to my work address.
The presentation box was beautiful. With much trepidation I opened the little red box within, and felt immediately satisfied with my purchase. The ring I purchased was beautiful, just as I had hoped. The pictures of the diamond from the website did not do the diamond justice though – it sparkles so much more in person. It was difficult to pry it away from the women in my office.
I immediately went to lunch to show my friends. I am a lawyer and many of my friends are too. They were all very impressed by the diamond and band, which was clearly on par, if not better than rings they had paid 3 or 4 times for at other retail outlets, for their wives.
I then waited until the following day, and popped the question. My fiance said ‘Yes!’ and she absolutely loves the ring, it is truly a work of art and I didn’t think I would say that, or even get very enthused about a ring!
In all, I had an excellent experience using JamesAllen.com and recommend them to anyone looking for quality pieces of jewellery. My fiance is looking forward to choosing her wedding band soon, and it will be most certainly from JamesAllen.com.
Thanks Again!
David
I looked for a long time for a diamond, both here and overseas. While I didn’t know anything to begin with, I felt like I was a bit of an expert by the end and knew what I was looking for. I knew that I wanted to see the exact diamond I was going to buy and i knew that I wanted it to have hearts and arrows symmetry.
James Allen had the best information online and the best pictures and videos. I narrowed down what I was looking for to three of their hearts and arrows diamonds – they call them true hearts – and then talked through the different options with one of the customer service reps, Rohanna. We talked through the different diamonds and the trade-offs between them and then I made my choice. It felt like a consultation and not like a sales pitch and I am really happy with my choice.
Shipping was obviously a bit nerve-wracking but went well. I paid the extra fees when it arrived in Aus and then it came a couple of days later. All in all very smooth and the diamond is stunning.
The James Allen Team was fantastic! I am very happy to have chosen them. Not only am I extremely happy with the quality of their product, but their customer service team is one of the best I have ever seen! They worked diligently to have the ring I ordered prepared in time for my proposal while not neglecting their Quality Assurance process. They communicated and worked with me effectively and efficiently throughout the whole process
We ordered a loose diamond because James Allen offered a competitive price and we wanted to be able to see detailed photos. The chat function was very helpful, and customer service was prompt (especially given the time difference- we are located in Perth). The diamond arrived within 5 days after it was shipped, although there was a delay of a few days because we were requested to undertake additional steps to verify our purchase. This was because I placed the order but it went on my partners credit card. It would have been helpful to know that this would delay out order, as we would have used my credit card if we had known.
Buying from Australia, and purchasing an big investment, such as an engagement ring, online & on the other side of the planet, is such a huge risk. However, I have had friends recommend James Allen to me and have only good words to say. So it gave me confidence to try them out and see how it turns out.
I will rate my experience under 3 metrics:
1. Ring Quality – 5/5
– I purchased a Platinum Cross Over Trellis Pave Diamond Engagement Ring 0.58 crt D VVS1 EX EX. I opted for an overall top tier quality of a ring as opposed to a higher ct but sacrificing the quality of the setting as well as the other C’s. The ring looks BEAUTIFUL on my fiance’s finger. She gets a lot of compliments on it and it shines ever so brightly. I am 100% satisfied with the ring I purchased as I also had a lot of help from the online diamond expert who clearly knows what they’re doing.
The packaging was elegant and it came with all the paperwork as well as certifications around Quality testing.
2. Online experience/Ease of Transaction – 5/5
– The website is easy to navigate, the collection is massive, the drill down options were specific, and the cross-referencing is efficient. A big plus as well is the real time chat available with a diamond expert. It made me feel like I was literally sitting in a brick/mortar Diamond Shop picking out the biggest purchase of my life. The tracking of my order was also seamless, partnering with Fedex is also a big plus as they are a reputable shipping company globally.
3. Customer Engagement – 5/5
– What I loved most about the customer engagement is the decisiveness. The James Allen customer representatives were decisive about their recommendations. They provided all the information that helped them make a decision, so all I had to do was trust their judgement. Not once did I hear the words “It depends on what you want”, which I honestly find refreshing. I’ve also had to return the ring back because I got the sizing wrong, but that also proved to be a painless transaction as James Allen was on top of everything every step of the way.
Overall, James Allen has been a big factor in helping me deliver the best engagement/proposal experience of me and my fiance’s lives. We’ll definitely be purchasing our wedding bands from them as well.