Alert - This is my first Yelp review, and it will be a long one. I hope you find it helpful.
My wife and I have known Frank Petri for almost 10 years, first meeting him at a large jewelry show in Virginia. The whole "show" thing was new to us, with ( many! ) businesses selling jewelry of every type and quality in a big building. Hundreds of people like us wandering aisles and aisles of jewelry. It was almost overwhelming. I am not an impulsive shopper. I check, re-check, and re-recheck things before making major purchases. I was somewhat knowledgeable about diamonds, and spent a full day, without my wife, talking to many of the business owners. I compared what they said and how they treated potential customers. We then together visited the show a number of times, over many months when it returned to that location, before making any purchase. From the beginning, we found ourselves coming back to Frank as the best source for quality diamonds, education, honesty, and of course, great prices.
We have purchased a number of things from Frank over the years, including a pair of diamond stud earrings that we later upgraded with the 100% trade-in credit Frank offers on almost everything he sells. We have always been very happy with both the purchases we've made and the time Frank spends making sure he understands what we're looking for and helping us make the best choices. We have recommended Frank to many friends and family members, and the truest measure of how he works with clients is that they not only buy, but recommend Frank as well. That is his business model. He invests time with each client, whatever stage of buying or information-gathering they happen to be in, because he wants them to come back.
We recently purchased a diamond ring from Frank. He spent a LOT of time working with me to find just the right, high quality GIA certified stones to create the ring my wife wanted. He knows so many people in the business, with contacts literally all over the world. With all of the on-line information out there, there is still no substitute for actually seeing a given stone. If he didn't already have exactly what we were looking for, he had people he trusted physically check every stone to make sure they met his standards before recommending and acquiring them. He then had his goldsmith make a custom setting to our specifications. My wife is absolutely thrilled with her ring, and unfortunately already dreaming about future purchases!
Frank and his wonderful wife, Christina, do not run some chain store. They have a nice selection of diamonds and settings to fit almost anything people could want. If they don't have what you're looking for, they can get it or make it. The results are always first class. They put their clients first, which is a feeling I don't often get in those chains. If you are looking for diamonds, or just want to learn more to make a better choice in the future, you should check out Petri Gems and get to know Frank and Christina. read more