Barsky Diamonds

There are so many great things to say about Barsky diamonds. My husband and I purchased my wedding rings here and I must say that they’ve exceeded our expectations! We worked with Nate and Rick whom we’ve really enjoyed. NOT pushy! Great, and really down to earth men. They were extremely helpful and PATIENT, which is important when it comes to making these life changing purchases. Very reasonable prices, unpretentious, and they carry a huge selection of jewelry. I am absolutely in Loveeeee with my wedding rings! Barsky just gained another lifelong client because we’ll always go back… If you’re looking for great pieces of jewelry, Barsky is a must go!

Can’t say enough about the phenomenal experience I had shopping at Barsky. Engagement ring shopping is stressful enough but Ron and the guys at Barsky made me feel very comfortable, walked me through all the different quality aspects and showed me beautiful selections that fit my budget. They don’t work on commission so I knew they were being honest with me. I had planned to spend the whole day at Jewelers Row shopping around and even had appointments at other jewelers later in the day. However, the beautiful ring and the value I got at Barsky was an offer I could not refuse and my shopping day was done. They were able to customize the setting exactly how I wanted and even had it ready for me to take home in about an hour and a half. Thanks again guys! We will see you again soon to pick out our wedding bands. You’ve made me a customer for life.

Went back and bought both our wedding bands here. Great experience again, the entire staff seems to be helpful but I have gone to Donnie every time.
He does a pretty good job of pointing you in the right direction, he told me where I could save money, but was also was quick to let me know where I should not be pinching pennies.
Definitely check these guys out.

Barsky has amazing customer service, super friendly and knowledgeable staff and great prices! After visiting 10 other Jewelers in Philly, we decided on Barsky because we loved the family atmosphere and huge selection of diamonds and engagement rings. Rick truly knows how to make a ring look good! He helped us select the right size side diamonds to match up with our cushion cut center diamond on my halo engagement ring. I recommend Barsky to everyone and we will be back in May to select wedding bands.

I can’t begin to explain how much I love Barsky… My father came here 30 years ago for my mother’s engagement ring and then several other beautiful pieces of jewelry since then. Naturally, I wanted my engagement ring to be from here so I went several times with different groups of girlfriends leading up to my engagement and every person we met with were so personable and took their time with each of us.
I have been working with Nathan Barsky on designing my custom wedding bands and have gone back several times to work with him on every nitty gritty detail. He has been so helpful and made this process very easy for my and my fiancé. I am so excited to see the final product in about a month or so and would highly recommend this jeweler over any other in Philadelphia, because they truly make you feel like family as soon as you walk through the door!

My then boyfriend and I were shopping for a sapphire engagement ring, and had just stopped in to take a look, and do some research. John greeted us, and helped point us in the right direction. We ended up finding the perfect ring, and just had to walk out of the door with it. John was very helpful, and answered all the questions we had. We are definitely coming back to get the wedding bands as well.

Great experience with Barsky diamonds… picked out my engagement ring for my fiancé with the help of Jeff. He was very knowledgeable, patient and listened to what I was looking for in a ring. When we went back together to get her ring sized correctly Denise was great in helping with which size was best. The environment is very friendly and the selection is tremendous… we will definitely be going back for wedding bands and would recommend their services 100%

When my fiancé and I went looking for rings, Barsky was the first place we started and the last place. We’ve had multiple encounters with the group at Barsky and I have to say that its quite a funny mix of people working there. I think we learned a lot from our experience there about the business of being a jeweler and a lot about jewelry in general. There are some people you can trust to really help you figure out what you are looking for and then there are some people that just want to make a sale. Shopping at Barsky’s has a bit of that «luck of the draw» sort of feeling that comes with it. Some days are better than others. This might be a long review so I’ll break it down for you like this:
The place ⁴⁄₅ stars: The location is perfect and easily found on Jeweler’s row in philly towards the 7^th and Sansom end. They have a big black sign that says «BARSKY» in white going up the side of the store so they’re hard to miss. The store itself is long and narrow and somewhat uncomfortable to walk through when there’s a lot of people there and they’re busy, but this is the case with many of these stores in Philly so it’s understandable. This store has been in business for years and markets itself as the oldest jeweler in Philadelphia. You can definitely tell that about them too. All orders are taken with pen and paper and seem to be poorly filed. They’ve had trouble locating our job in the past.
The product ⁵⁄₅ stars: their product is perfect. The work they do is beautiful. You can pick out an already made ring or you can design a ring. Heck, you can even take an already made ring and have them change the metal, the stone, add filigree, shape it a little different, add a texture to it, get it engraved, you name it. Everything is very customizable there. You can also bring in your gem and have them design something nice around it. They have vendors they’ve worked with for years who always do a good job for their clients. The product is fairly priced for what it is and if it is unaffordable, they have a pretty decent payment plan too they can set you up with. You can also haggle if you wish (also depends on the person you’re dealing with there). After making a purchase, almost all jewelry maintenance is free (cleaning, fixing, etc). Most people who get their engagement ring here, often come back for their wedding bands and other gifts. They always do a great job. Its the process of getting to that great product that can be a hassle.
The people 3.5÷5 stars: the only people there I really enjoyed working with were Denise and Chris. Chris is an honest guy with a lot of background in jewelry-​making and designing. Definitely the most trustworthy of everyone I dealt with there and he knows what you might like simply based on your choice of rings. Denise knows how to get the job done. If I need anything, she will coordinate for me and make sure I get the call back that I’m waiting for. Now I’m not saying everyone else was like this but I did have an interaction with at least two more businessmen-​like jewelers there who will try to fish you in regardless of what it takes. Barsky definitely has both of these kinds of people working there. However, that being said, no one there is in competition with each other because their work is not commission-​based (so that’s good). One of them, although seemed like a gentlemen, was rushing me into liking something. The other refused to take no for an answer when trying to get us into the store. Both made us feel incredibly uncomfortable picking out a ring and I almost didn’t just for that reason. As a customer, I want to have my voice heard first. If I feel like you continue to pursue me after I’ve already said no 3 times, you’re not doing your job very well.
My overall experience 3.5÷5: I was really excited to get my ring from here. I basically got the very first thing I picked out with Chris. This took a lot of time but he was patient and quite the bucket of laughs. He helped me learn a lot of neat little tricks to figure out what kind of ring and stone I might want, color, etc. Very helpful guy. His only downsides: he doesn’t really remember things well and he doesn’t always take great notes, so always make sure you repeat your plan of action to him and have him write it down for your job number. He also never checks his email, so if he tells you to email him something, don’t. Just print it out and give it to him and tell him what job number it pertains to (always keep that # handy). Also check-​in with him and Denise every week or so to make sure your project is being worked on. It’s good to always be on their radar like that so you get what you want when you need it. Again my only thing was that the overall environment was uncomfortable, mainly because of some of the sales people who kept harassing us everytime they saw us walk by the store. We never window shop because of them now, we just walk down the other side of Sansom to avoid them. This is not good business practice.

Very interesting things happened after I looked in the Barsky window. I was parked in the loading zone, so I was planning on only window shopping this afternoon. A man whose name I later learned invited me in. When I told him I couldn’t stay parked where I was he told me to park in specific garage and he would comp my parking. I couldn’t say no to this.
When I sat down and we got to it there were tons of rings to look at. Many many, dozens, hundreds, they had settings, diamonds, settings with diamonds. If you need ideas or are planning on buying off the shelf Barsky is for you. I had a vision in my head though and it had to be custom made. No halos, fancy cut, etc. The salesman listened to my ideas and wanted to work with me, even allowing me to go outside with him and look at the stones in the sunlight. They had many more of my specific fancy cut loose diamonds in stock for me to look at than other places. After we talked about the stone he called from upstairs a very friendly lady who sketched my idea and described the wax mold process. After she was done with her creative sketching bit he kind of pushed her out of the picture, I felt bad for her, she was the most helpful sketcher I’d had yet. She was the first to put my idea on paper as I imagined it. I’m glad a snapped a photo of her work while the salesman was away. In the end the salesman was too pushy when I said I wasn’t ready to commit today. This was a weekday, so he appeared to have no other customers. Overall Barsky is probably fine for most people, but I didn’t appreciate how my salesperson didn’t like to take not today for an answer.
In terms of services offered, Barsky offers the same typical services like resizing, upgrades, free cleaning. Everything you’d expect from a larger jeweler.

The best place ever. We bought our wedding rings here in 2008. They still service and resize the rings with a smile. Moreover they go the extra mile to ensure you the ring as soon as possible. The choices are many. The quality of product and service is exemplary. Run by a family, this place and the people here have proven to be the best time and again. Wouldn’t shop for jewelry anywhere else!!!

To say this is the best jeweler I have ever dealt with world be an understatement. It’s possible that this is the best BUSINESS I have ever dealt with.
Their atmosphere is welcoming and friendly, and I got none of the sales push that is palpable and distasteful from some other jewelers in the area.
After-​sales service is amazing. They have replaced some small diamonds that fell out of the band of my wife’s engagement ring free of charge (and with a smile). It is clear that they are looking for a long term relationship, not just a quick sale.

Can I put 0 stars? Sorry for all the words 1^st time I’ve been annoyed enough to post.
These guys are like the annoying rental car sales men of jewelers row. Upon walking in they asked what I was looking for and price range of course. Being that it was my first time shopping of course I wasn’t 100% sure beyond some direction from my girlfriend. That said there is no way I was going to pull the trigger, but rather wanted to get a feel for what I liked and pricing. So inevitably I found a ring I really liked, but of course wanted to get the info to shop around and they didn’t have to many diamonds to compare at the time anyway. John my salesman (avoid this guy at all cost) in car salesmen fashion gave me a price and said, I can do it for… Right, I said «okay well can you give me the info and I’ll be back I’m not buying today.» That I guess to him just meant I like the ring just need to hear the right price to get the quick sell.
So he went to his lead salesman or manager and came back with a lower price like well he can do «x» what’s keeping you from buying right now? Um maybe the fact that it’s the most important purchase I may ever make in my life? Even if it was a car you can’t talk me into what I want I’ll know when I know I could look at 100 rings until I find the one. Similar to dating I’m not buying, dated my whole life to find the right girl.
He gave me the slip told me well I can’t guarantee it will be here when you come back. Another sales tactic that was in poor taste. By the feel of John’s pitch he either is accustomed to quick sales or simply doesn’t get a lot of repeat business. Regardless here’s the thing as a guy in Corporate sales and planning I know the value of building strong relationships and this has to be one of the most relationship oriented businesses there is. John didn’t care about that though, which is fine with me because I won’t be back. I’d urge others to beware as well.

Nate rules! Best diamonds on the planet. Everyone looking for a diamond should go to Barsky!

Went here with my girlfriend to look at engagement rings and got a very bad impression. I won’t be back.
First of all, I don’t think they believed our price range and kept showing us rings way below the general range I gave. The rep kept mentioning that I definitely wanted to buy a ring under $ 9k because I wouldn’t have to fill out a tax form to show where the money came from. As a customer, I pay the same tax rate no matter what the ring costs and I could care less about whether the STORE needs to identify where their money is coming from. Show me rings in the range I asked for!
Secondly, the guy was a bit of an idiot (or maybe took me for one). When he pulled out a small envelop with a diamond inside, the label on the outside of the envelop read $ 30,000. He then told me not to worry because that was the wholesale price, and their store sells at retail prices. (Uh… Retail price is greater than Wholesale price. Congrats, you’ve now passed Econ 101.) So I’m meant to think the store buys it at $ 30k and sell it to me for $ 9k? Uh huh, right…
The whole thing just felt shady to me, like there was some motivation behind the sales process that didn’t line up with what was best for me as the customer. I didn’t feel respected, and ultimately didn’t end up being shown anything in my price range. For what it’s worth, I bought a $ 22k ring and wedding band from James Allen.
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Would have left a lower rating, but raising it to 3 stars as the owner of the store reached out through Unilocal to apologize for the poor experience. I do appreciate that, but still would never recommend this place.

Complete scumbags! I went in to them wanting to trade up my perfect 9 carat weight diamond tennis bracelet to a 12 or 15 carat weight tennis bracelet. So the scumbag sales guy Matthew takes my Bracelet to cleanit and comes back to me saying my bracelet is full of mossinate! and he will give me 1500 on a trade in! On a bracelet that a that I already had an appraisal at 20,000K
so this bastard tried to make me believe my real tennis bracelet was a fake!
l

I just want to say that I was very skeptical about my fiancé buying my diamond engagement ring from any place that wasn’t a chain jewelry store. However, my fiancé (being from New York) thought that you get a better deal going to the Diamond District (in Philly it would be Jewelers Row). Since he was buying, I turned to Unilocal to see what people said about the jewelers that we considered. I found myself at Barsky Diamonds. The reviews were pretty good but the beautiful jewelry was even better. They offer styles that you don’t come across in the chain jewelry stores and one of them stole my heart. I initially worked with Ron, but Nate sealed the deal. Both gentlemen were very patient as we deliberated on picking the perfect center stone for the most beautiful engagement ring ever. Nate went as far as emailing me a video of my ring when I was having second thoughts about the center stone that we initially chose. He took his time to explain to us the process of obtaining a GIA cert, he showed us the characteristics of our stone under the scope and how those characteristics were described in the cert. He explained the effects that the colors of the room have on the color of the diamond as well as many other things to help us feel comfortable with our purchase. Nate went on to make us an offer we found to be fair for the engagement ring that we chose, and we were able to buy the matching wedding band as a result. Barsky gave me the cutest little «blinged out» black T-​shirt with the word Barsky written across the chest. I love it and wear it often. I would definitely come back to Barsky Diamonds and plan to for my husband-to-be’s wedding band. Thanks Nate and the gentlemen of Barsky Diamonds (everyone that I encountered during the several visits to the store to pick the perfect ring was very nice and made the overall experience very pleasant)!

Ask for Chris to help you when choosing an engagement ring. He is not a pushy salesman and he’s also one of their designers for custom made rings. They put you in a file after you make purchases and will take care of you the next time you come in to buy more jewelry. they call you repeated offenders. The custom made ring was done in a great time frame and also you can go get anything you purchased from them cleaned for free as much as you’d like! They offer free parking and are open late on certain days. We will definitely be back here to purchase our wedding bands. My ring turned out absolutely beautiful, plus if we were not 100% satisfied with it even though it was custom made, they would take it back and try again.

My fiancé proposed to me the week before Christmas 2014, on the 102^nd floor of the Empire State Building, with an engagement ring from Barsky Diamonds! It was PERFECT!
In the past I showed him one or two rings that I liked, but we never looked at engagement rings together. He went into Barsky completely clueless about diamonds and engagement rings, but the Barsky family explained EVERYTHING to him, from the different diamond cuts to the color grading scale. He said he felt like an expert in diamonds when he left. They made him feel comfortable about the decisions he was making and weren’t pushing him to spend more money. He picked out the center diamond and designed the band with the help of the Barsky family. The ring is more than I could ever dreamed of! The quality of the diamond and ring is impeccable! We will be back to purchase our wedding bands!

My fiancé proposed in April with a ring from Barsky. I couldn’t have done better if I had picked out the ring myself — it was exactly what I wanted!
Fast forward several months. The ring has always been loose, but over the winter it has been looser than ever so I knew I had to get it resized, and quickly. I brought the ring to Barsky the day before Valentine’s Day, because I like to torture people. Kidding, but I happened to be in the area so I made a stop, knowing I would most likely have to leave the ring for several days. I was told it would take about a week. When I mentioned that I had an event to attend on the following Wednesday, the gentleman helping me said he would get it done in time.
I called on Wednesday and sure enough, my ring was ready for pick-​up. The end result was stunning. Not only does the ring fit perfectly but it looks like it is back to its original condition — all sparkly and shiny! We’ll be heading back to look at wedding bands and I’m looking forward to that experience as well.

Update: After my experience the owner did contact me and apologized for what happened. He ended up sending me the ring we had picked out for free. I appreciated the fact that they tried to make good on their mistake.
I purchased the band for my Fiancé’s engagement ring at Barsky. I already had the diamond. My stepfather had worked here years ago and he said I should stop in and see what they had. I did go with him and purchase the band for the ring and they did give me a fantastic deal. Since I had such a great experience I returned to have a custom wedding band made and purchase my wedding band. This is where everything snowballed down hill.
My fiancé and I picked out the type of wedding band she wanted and they had to make it from scratch so it would match her engagement ring. They gave us a completion date of about 1 month from the time we ordered it. During that month we would have to return after about 10 days to approve the wax mold and again to approve the casting of the band. During this time they had to keep my fiancé’s wedding ring. I thought this was a perfectly acceptable timeline. We placed the order on May 17^th and finally picked it up on Aug 3^rd. So this was 2 months over the timeline we were given.
After two weeks passed we had not heard anything so we called to check on the status of the wax mold. There were confused at first when we called and they gave my fiancé the following story. They stated they were waiting on the manufacturer to get back to them about a matching band before they made one themselves. This was never discussed and was not acceptable. I’m sure they just wanted to stall since they were busy or just forgot about it.
After speaking with them a few more times they assured us the wax mold would be made quickly. Finally about a month into the process the wax mold was finished. We came in again to approve the mold. A few more weeks pass and they finally get the casting made. I approved the casting and asked to take the engagement ring back since her shower was the following weekend and I wanted her to have the ring for it. We placed the order on May 17^th and her shower was in the middle of July.
So the following weekend we brought her ring back so they could finish the band. While we were there I picked up my wedding band and they said they would have it in about two weeks.
We returned on August 3^rd to pickup her band and my ring was still not in. They said it would be in soon. We didn’t get any calls to update us on the status of my ring. On August 18^th we called to check on it. On August 20^th I received a call stating they were not going to have my band in before our wedding. Now I have to find one locally so I’ll have it for the wedding.
During our last visit there I was speaking with another couple that was from our area. They had experienced the same thing last year for their wedding. Their rings were not ready and they had to purchase (2) rings to use during their ceremony and pickup the ones they were waiting on after their wedding.
I work in the service industry and I totally understand supply and demand. Sometimes we are at the mercy of our suppliers. The reason I’m giving them 1 star is because of the complete lack of communication and organization. If we had not stayed on top of them we still might not have her wedding band and I might not have known they weren’t getting my band in.
The in store experience was very good and everyone was helpful but I will not be back.