So, I was going to give AJ Marks four stars because the hours suck for those of us who work 9-5…read moreM-F, and because (as someone else mentioned) sometimes you walk in and feel like you're kind of standing around waiting to be acknowledged.
I ended up adding that star back, because for me, the customer service at AJ Marks went above and beyond. Buckle in, bitches. I got engaged. ;)
I showed up at AJ Marks with a man's pinky ring and a look of wide-eyed panic. Joe proposed (yay!) but did so with a gigantic ring that had been buried under the floorboards of a farmhouse for god knows how long. It's a cool story. I'm probably cursed now.
Anyway, I didn't even know if I had a real diamond, much less what to do with it. Sean (Shaun?) took my ring and immediately set to work. He cleaned it, looked at it under under crazy techno steampunk goggle things, and then was like, "Ok this is a man's pinky ring probably from the late Victorian era when single men wore rings. The diamond is a hand-cut European diamond, but it has a couple chips." Of course, he had said late Victorian era, so I had already manifested a parasol and a bustle and not heard another word.
Sean talked a lot about diamonds, because the man knows his diamonds. Eventually Lillian took over and helped me pick out a somewhat more feminine (and five sizes smaller) ring for my haunted diamond. Despite me mentioning I had a budget SIXTY TIMES bigger what we ended up spending, no one at AJ Marks pressured me to get anything other than exactly what I wanted.
Joe picked up my ring, and he brought in some silver and old jewelry to trade in. Again, Sean was completely honest and upfront, and ended up giving us a great deal. Guys, my engagement ring, which should have cost us $900, ended up being virtually free thanks to AJ Marks.
When it came time to get my wedding ring, I had no doubt where I would go. This time, I was designing something from scratch, but Lillian was with me the entire way. She emailed me, gave feedback, and created digital renderings to see what it would look like. Then, when my CUSTOM ring wasn't exactly what I wanted, she went to bat for me and got the company to re-make it for just a small restocking fee. Yeah, I'm sure big box jewelry stores are chomping at the bit for size 4, 2 mm, black zirconium bands. But Lillian somehow made it happen and when she finally presented me with my ring just as I envisioned, I legit got choked up.
Every time I set foot into AJ Marks, they would clean my ring for free. Lillian remembered my wedding date and told me to be sure to come in beforehand for a final shine. When I expressed concern that my diamond was crooked (it wasn't), Sean took it back to his wacky machine to make sure it was up to his standards.
Let me tell you, as a recently engaged person, I have spent A LOT of time reading people's engagement ring horror stories. At AJ Marks, I felt completely supported and secure. If you are looking into jewelry on Cape, I highly recommend.
