James Allen Vs Tiffany: Which Is Better?

Wondering which jewelry store is better (or worse) between James Allen and Tiffany jewelry stores?

Congratulations! This is the place to be.

Here you will learn about:

• From which of these two stores do customers get the best customer experience
• Which of the two stores has the best value for money
• What do customers on Reddit have to say about these retailers?
• And a lot more!

Tiffany is a common name in the world of jewelry. It is a well-known brand for diamonds especially diamonds for engagements. Tiffany has acquired its reputation as a brand that sells beautiful and quality diamonds that make a statement, thanks to celebrities like Lady Gaga and Audrey Hepburn.

If we compare, we can say that James Allen is a newbie in diamond retail trade. James Allen has been selling diamonds only for as long as a decade-plus.

Can James Allen stand out against an established brand such as Tiffany when looking for top quality diamonds? Who is the preferred jewelry dealer? Let’s find out.

James Allen vs Tiffany

Comparison By Shopping Experience

Each of these jewelry brands provides its customers with one of a kind experience when shopping. James Allen advertises itself as a top-quality diamond seller that concentrates on affordability and transparency. Tiffany on the other hand sees itself as a prestigious brand and boasts of selling the finest diamonds you can ever find.

Both James Allen and Tiffany allow customers to experience all these when shopping on their websites.

Tiffany

The Tiffany site is professionally and elegantly designed making it easy for jewelry shoppers to navigate. The search button is easy to find and use. This allows customers a hassle-free browsing experience when looking for their desired jewelry type and style if they already know what they want.

There is a variety of stones and rings to choose from, and all these are of high quality. The site is easy to navigate. However, if you would like a customized jewelry design, you need to consult one of their experts as the site only provides pre-designed pieces of jewelry to choose from.

When shopping for diamonds and their settings, you can only view the stone from the sides. This does not give room for you to get the true visual feature of the stone before buying.

Because of the reputation that Tiffany has build over the year, most customers do not find this as a factor to push them away. Tiffany looks for the highest quality of diamond for all its jewelry.

James Allen

James Allen sells its jewelry online only. Keeping this in mind, the retailer has to bring out its best to compete with other retailers in the jewelry industry.

There is no doubt that they do, and they do it big time.

The James Allen website has a modern and lively design. It is easy to navigate through the webpages and you can start shopping for your preferred jewelry at any point in the process of picking.

You can start by picking the centerpiece, type of setting, the setting itself, or color of the metal.

This feature makes it possible for you to start your shopping from the diamond characteristics that you have already figured out then continue the spree from there.

James Allen makes your shopping experience even less stressful by allowing you to view the diamonds in HD 3D images. This makes it easy for you to understand the difference in diamond grades. You have the privilege of seeing what you want to buy beforehand since no two diamonds are the same even if they have similar grades. This is a feature not offered by many stores.

And the winner is…

None other than James Allen. The unique ability to see all your diamonds in 360 just like a gemologist would makes shopping for jewelry from this store an experience you would want again and again. This experience allows you to have an idea of the diamond quality or the quality of the item you are buying. James Allen also scores high by allowing shoppers to design their jewelry from their houses. This makes jewelry shopping simple and convenient.

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Customer Service

How the customer is treated when making a big purchase plays a critical role in decision making. The same applies to buying an expensive piece of jewelry. Both James Allen and Tiffany have positive and negative customer reviews.

Knowing beforehand how the customer service staff is likely to treat you when you need  additional service after buying jewelry is a good way to know what to expect as you go shopping in that company. This helps you to know what to look forward to when you come into a problem while or even after shopping.

Tiffany

Tiffany has three ways through which you can reach out to the company: through a phone call, an email address, or in-store consultations. Their customer service is accessible to address your issues from 8 am to 12 am EST (Eastern Standard Time) all weekdays. And from 10 am to 5 pm EST on Saturday and Sunday.

Tiffany has a few unfavorable reviews on Better Business Bureau. The complaints are mostly about stones that have fallen off the jewelry and poor handling of payments. Some customers have also said that the jewelry store doe not respond to issues that their customers report.

Because Tiffany has been selling quality jewelry for more than a decade, the number of complaints is too small to consider. However, we cannot brush off the lack of responsiveness to adverse issues raised by customers.

James Allen

James Allen’s customer service is just awesome; you can reach them at any time of the day, any day of the week. You get to choose between a phone call, an email or a live chat. There is also the opportunity to participate in real-time diamond inspection. The ability to have an all-round the clock availability is fast becoming a standard practice for online businesses, no wonder James Allen has it.

A close look at the Better Business Bureau website shows that there are countable complaints about James Allen. It is also worth noting that unlike Tiffany, James Allen has addressed all the issues raised by customers, which shows how much they desire to connect with their customers.

Also, James Allen is an online-only jeweler, the most probable place a customer with a complaint will head to is online. Tiffany customers on the other hand would head to a physical store first to complain and maybe get help and also to get a feeling that they are in control of the situation.

Online purchases do not give you the feeling of being in control since there is no human to talk to if you have a problem. This is probably the reason James Allen responds to all the issues that arise online.

And the winner is…

James Allen, again! How they respond to customer concerns and their immense attitudes towards resolving issues to their customers’ satisfaction make them stand out. Also, they are available 24/7 and take a reasonable time to respond to issues, this is above industry standards,

I choose to ignore the number of customers who have complained as this does not translate to poor customer service, it is a result of the company conducting its operations online only.

RECOMMENDED: The Complete James Allen Review

Warranty

The warranty offered for a type of jewelry translates to how quality the piece is. I mean, what is the jewelry you get is not the one you purchased or something bad happens to it while on transit?

Jewelry is very expensive and it is natural for you to want to protect them. Warranty is the only assurance that the company will take responsibility for the jewelry they sell. Both Tiffany and James Allen offer warranties on every jewelry bought from them. However, all warranties are not the same.

Tiffany

Tiffany offers its customers a lifetime warranty on the diamond grade bought. This is different from any other kind of diamond certification since you will get specific and comprehensive information about the diamond.

The information therein is much more than that provided by a grading report from GIA. Tiffany also offers additional lifetime cleaning for your jewelry and gives estimated costs of repair for free. The diamond grade is not expected to change throughout the life of your jewelry and this means that the value is only likely to increase.

James Allen

 

All jewelry customers of James Allen get free re-polishing, cleaning, rhodium plating, and prong tightening for the entire life of the item. You can also have your ring resized for free in the first year of purchasing. You will also get free repair evaluations that may not have been covered by the lifetime warranty.

RECOMMENDED: How is James Allen’s Customer Service Rated?

And the medal goes to…..

James Allen, though not so much. The customer service at this company is one of the major reason for their warranty scores as well as their commitment to offering top quality jewelry. They also address customer concerns promptly which makes customers believe that the company will stand by all that is stated in the warranty. Tiffany guarantees that the grade of the diamond you buy will not change throughout its life plays a big role in the buyer’s decision and makes the company compete favorably in the jewelry market.

Price vs Value

When looking for diamond jewelry, you most probably want the one that dazzles a lot but with an affordable price tag. To get such a piece, it means you select a diamond that has few or no inclusions, colorless or nearly colorless, has an excellent cut, and with acceptable carat weight.

There are different options when buying diamonds, this means you have to dedicate a considerable amount of time to searching through a jewelry library and different stores to get what you want.

Not a diamond specialist? You don’t need to be, all you need is time to look through the available options.

Tiffany

The minimum clarity that Tiffany accepts is small to no inclusions when the diamond is viewed under a 10x magnifier. They accept only “very slightly included” diamonds.

When you look at Tiffany’s diamonds with the naked eye, you will not notice any blemishes or inclusions. Plus the company only sells colorless or near-colorless diamonds. They also work hard to make sure the diamond cuts are proportionate so that the jewelry gets its maximum shine.

Every Tiffany diamond is eye-clean. If you are looking to buy highly sparkling diamonds, this is the store and you do not have to view the diamond in person before buying. Since the minimum accepted clarity is already set, you can be sure of not being disappointed once the jewelry arrives. This makes Tiffany a reliable online jewelry store to shop from.

Furthermore, Tiffany carries out its certification process that guarantees the diamond grade not changing for as long as you wear it. The diamond grade, as well as certification, adds value to the diamond which in turn increases its price. The widely used GIA Certification does not offer a diamond grade guarantee and often state that inspection done on the diamond in the future may not have similar results.

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James Allen

James Allen offers diamonds in different qualities with each quality category having a large selection of diamonds each in the best quality. The goal of this company is to provide a better or comparable quality of diamonds at cheaper prices than other jewelry retailers. Contrary to what Tiffany does, James Allen takes in diamonds that include blemishes even to the naked eye.

All of their diamonds can be viewed in 360-degree high-definition images, this shows you exactly how the diamond looks like depending on more than just color, clarity, cut, and carat.

If you navigate through the James Allen website, you will see that an I1 (Included) category of diamond has imperfections in the diamond. You can see this even minus a loupe. The 360-degree view allows the company to provide low clarity diamonds as the buyers get the chance to see what they intend to buy before purchasing.

The same viewing criteria give you the chance to see diamonds at the Flawless level. At this level, you should not see any blemishes when viewing the diamond under 20x magnification. In this regard, James Allen can provide its customers with affordable diamonds and also see the jewelry that will be delivered to you instead of ordering on the site and hope to get good quality products.

Diamonds sold by James Allen have several certifications. There are diamonds certified by GIA (Gemological Institute of America), others by IGI(International Gemological Institute), while some by AGS(American Gem Society). All these certification bodies are trusted in the market to provide detailed information about the diamond you wish to buy.

The winner is…

With no doubt James Allen. No doubt Tiffany’s diamonds are magnificent and worth their prices, but a larger percentage of the fee is payment for the Tiffany brand name.

The diamonds sold at Tiffany can be found at James Allen at a lower price, this makes James Allen the definite winner in terms of price and value. James Allen also gives a rare opportunity for customers who know nothing about diamonds to buy beautiful products online. Viewing the diamond in 360 allows you to see exactly how the diamond will appear when you finally buy it. They gain a competitive advantage because there are no two diamonds are identical.

James Allen vs Tiffany on Reddit

Reddit users tend to be non-partisan and unfiltered when giving their opinions and reviews. This is the perfect place to get an objective comparison and so I thought of including it in this guide.

Just like they opine on any other issues, Redditors also opine on diamonds and diamond retailers. A trip down Reddit pages enables you to get information on anything and is the perfect way to get people’s opinions about what to expect.

Most people on Reddit agree that buying a jewelry piece from Tiffany involves you spending money on the name too. They also share the same thoughts that there are other jewelry stores like James Allen that offer better deals. Previous Tiffany employees say that if you wish to buy a statement piece of jewelry, a Tiffany piece will very well do that for you. However, if you are more interested in a piece of beautiful diamond jewelry and not the brand, you could as well shop elsewhere.

James Allen is recommended by many. Many Redditors have nothing but good reviews to give about this company. Although there are also negative comments, they are few and seem to have been dealt with positively.

Both of these jewelry stores have advantages, wherever you decide to shop depends on the kind of diamond you are searching for.

For instance, if you are looking for an heirloom, Tiffany is a perfect choice. If you want a high-quality diamond piece that is durable and will cost you less, James Allen has exactly that.

Winner: James Allen

Audrey Hepburn has done a wonderful job ensuring Tiffany has a place in our hearts, but James Allen scores highly in this match.

With the above per customer service, room for diamond customization, best quality, and value for money, James Allen is the one-stop-shop for today’s jewelry buyer.

Redditors are hard to please, but they have a soft spot for James Allen. We are looking forward to seeing the new creations that they will bring to the market. The shopping experience is likely to change for the better too. As we already know, diamond jewelry from James Allen is high quality, budget-friendly, and is going to be with us for a long time.