I came across The Classic Gem by doing pretty extensive research on where to shop for engagement rings locally. After having more than 4 consultations, we were blown away by our experience with Lollie (The Classic Gem) . The fact that they are family owned, with generational expertise I felt 100% informed, comfortable and well guided in the consultation that does not compare to other consults had. From identifying ideal stones and settings to identifying diamonds with lower quality (which they do not offer), to even educating us on WHY our eyes were being drawn to certain diamonds. That education alone has been / is pivotal in identifying what I want and expect when my ring is ultimately selected We dropped our search entirely...no more consultations and decided that The Classic Gem will be our first YES in who / where we will be moving forward before the formal YES & commitment of marriage. read more

The Classic Gem is what it represents! Classic, contemporary, and modern designs - they do it all! With the capabilities that they have such as the option for remote client interactions, CAD capabilities, to the manufacturing of your CAD designs, quality, and certified GEMS, appraisal, knowledgeable and experienced staff, private space for appointments, assorted high-quality inventory - look no further. I worked with them from Portland, OR after a referral. Everything went smoothly, they were ready, prepared, and on-time during scheduled video conferences, sent pictures I asked for, and worked with my proposed budget. In the end, my fiance has a ring that she was ecstatic to receive. read more

If I could give 10 stars I would! Lollie and the entire Classic Gem team are the absolute best. When I began my search for where to purchase an engagement ring I found and ended up choosing The Classic Gem because of their great reviews and it could not have been more true. Lollie and the entire team were so professional, knowledgeable, easy to work with and made us feel at home. From the initial consultation to the pick up they made it so enjoyable, exciting and stress free. We will be going back to them for our wedding bands and any future jewelry purchases. If you are looking for any jewelry at all you have to go see Lollie and team, they are incredible! The ring is gorgeous and exactly what we wanted. read more

The Classic Gem - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We loved working with Lollie and Jenny at The Classic Gem! We wanted to incorporate a vintage heirloom stone into a custom engagement ring. They were patient and generous with their time and advice while walking us through the design process. Their communication was clear and thoughtful. When we finally decided on a design, the production time was speedy and we were very pleased with the finished product! We're so happy to have this business in our neighborhood and will be returning soon for wedding bands! read more

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This review is WAY overdue. If I could give a rating, it would be 10+ stars...but I digress. I found The Classic Gem by way of my fellow Yelpers. About a year and a half ago, my fiancé and I were talking about engagement rings. I knew he was not one for researching, so I went online and found TCG. I saw the positive reviews and thought it could not hurt to check them out. We made an appointment and met The Team. They were awesome in educating us on everything we needed to know about diamonds, the setting, what we needed to be looking for, etc. They patiently showed us everything. They answered all of our questions. They were just amazing. And in the end, they made us feel like we were welcome to go to other jewelers and compare what TCG had to others. My fiancé is a big shop-around person. When we walked out of the store, I asked him where he wanted to go next and he said that he did not want to go anywhere else. He felt completely at ease and trusting of Jenny, Lollie, and Kara. Fast forward several months. Still no ring. We went back. We talked with The Team again. We looked are more diamonds. As always, they were patient with us and our "window shopping." Fast forward a few more months. We went in and picked the center stone. We went through everything we were looking for. Jenny patiently took notes and they were able to send the design of what we were looking for. Actually, Jenny sent us the CAD design of what I wanted and what she thought might look better for the stone we had. I went with Jenny's suggestion. She has the eye and she was right--her design looked better than what I had in mind. The final engagement ring is AMAZING. So much better than I could have imagined. I was so happy with the ring. I went back to have it sized to a perfect fit. I could not stop with just that ring. Since the engagement ring, I have gone back for repurposing other jewelry AND I had a custom right-hand diamond ring made. From start to finish, Jenny and her team was amazing. I got exactly the ring I wanted and at the right price. I can't say enough good things about The Classic Gem. This is the jewelry store I will be using from now on. I read some of the reviews about people having issues getting information from TCG and I just don't understand. I have NEVER had a problem with this. In fact, I think they are great at responding immediately to me and my never-ending questions. My fiancé and I will be buying our wedding bands from Jenny and her family and I know more shiny, beautiful things are in my future courtesy of Jenny, Lollie, Kara and Dara. Thank you to The Classic Gem! read more

The Classic Gem - The Ring...absolutely everything I wanted. - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Lollie and team are the best! We used them for my fiance's engagement ring and then for our wedding bands. My fiance had an idea of what she wanted which was helpful, but still left the challenge of making that come to life and that is where Lollie was above and beyond the perfect person for the job. She was so thoughtful and collaborative and worked with me to make my fiance's engagement ring come to life. She exceeded any and all expectations that I might have had and am so thankful that I got to work with her. She was so great that we had to pick her and Classic Gem to do our wedding bands as well and yet again they exceeded all expectations. They were even kind enough to clean my wife's engagement ring before the big day and to clean our bands before our wedding so that they showed how amazing they were. We cannot recommend The Classic Gem enough. Thank you so much for absolutely everything read more

Very knowledgeable and friendly staff. Masterful artistry in their pieces as well highly recommend. read more

The Classic Gem - Wifey is super happy. - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Thank you Lollie and The Classic Gem Team ! She loves the gold rose color of her necklace! Great Selection of jewelry, lollie took her time and explained each item. I also had a budget in mind and she worked with it ! I'm very satisfied and will come back that's for sure. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this place. read more

The Classic Gem - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Kara from The Classic Gem was extremely helpful in assisting me with securing the perfect engagement ring for my fiancée. Even with me being out of state, the communication was succinct over email and verbal. I felt as though the store had my best interest in mind with this big decision, I would not hesitate in reverting back to the team for my next purchase. read more

The Classic Gem - Ring on finger - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I was looking for a custom jeweler and stumbled upon the Classic Gem because of their great reviews. I wanted to replicate a costume ring I have had for years with real diamonds. Lollie did not disappoint. She executed the ring perfectly and was awesome to work with. I will be recommending Lollie and the Classic Gen to everyone!! They are five stars for a reason. read more

I can't recommend the Classic Gem enough! Lollie and her team were truly amazing and made the entire process feel so magical. On top of that the craftsmanship of their jewelry is on another level. I am over the moon delighted with my engagement ring (I have never seen a ring with more sparkle!!) and I can't wait to return for my wedding band. Thank you, Lollie!! read more

Classic Gem is simply the best!  I was referred to Classic Gem by a college friend back in 2016 when I was ready to propose to my GF at the time.  They were able to take my vision and create it into a nice sparkling piece of art that my now wife wears daily. It was such a pleasant experience working with the team. Each of them are very professional and personable, but they have this aura that makes me feel like I'm family. This was very important to me because it allowed me to give them my trust, specially with such a large purchase. They weren't just trying to sell me piece of jewelry, they gave me the opportunity to maximize my purchase/investment. In simple words, I was able to purchase the best diamond I can for my wife.  While everyone at CG are awesome and great, we can't say enough about how wonderful Kara is! We worked mainly with her throughout the entire process. From searching for my desired diamonds, to choosing the perfect diamonds, and finally creating the most unique ring for my wife. Kara was terrific in making sure that we were educated about the diamonds we were purchasing and sharing her knowledge on diamonds and jewelry making. She was very patient with us and treated us very well! She's simply awesome!  To this day (since 2017), we've sent 5 of our good friends to Classic Gem. All of them have had a very pleasant experience with their purchases. Their fiances have all loved their engagement rings! My wife and I also love both of our rings very much! I look at it daily and I'm still  always surprised with how shiny and beautiful it is!  Lastly, I want to comment on their follow up service. Basically, they've gone above and beyond for us. They've cleaned our rings for free and expedited the entire process every time! Dara is awesome with making sure that client requests are fulfilled. My wife and I live out of town and we have limited time in Chicago. So we usually just have a window of time where we can drop off and get our rings inspected and cleaned- Classic Gem ALWAYS makes this happen.  After our experience with CG, I can't go to other jewelers anymore. They are simply the best.  Thank you to everyone at ClassicGem. You guys make the experience for your clients truly memorable. Thank you for treating us like family and making sure we get the best of what the diamond world can offer!! read more

The Classic Gem - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The team at The Classic Gem is the best! They were so patient while my fiancé and I were making decisions and are truly the experts. They are flexible and truly made us feel at ease through the entire process of getting all our rings. I could not recommend them enough! read more

Forget 5 stars, The Classic Gem deserves every star in the galaxy! First off, I want to say Jenny is one of the most amazing sales reps I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and doing business with. In fact everyone at The Classic Gem is freaking AMAZING! Customer service is wonderful. Jenny and her sister made my experience so fun and they explained everything in a way that was crystal clear for someone like me who didn't really know too much about jewelry, especially engagement rings. It was such a personal experience for me shopping there for my engagement ring. I felt like they were coming along with me for the journey of me getting engaged. I knew I wanted a morganite engagement ring that looked unique yet also elegant and not too much like a fashion ring. We went through several possibilities of color and size for stones. What I loved about doing business with them was they never settled to just give me what they had. They looked and tracked down stones for me that they thought I'd love even without me asking and they always called or emailed me to let me know. They made me feel valued and like I belonged and that my ring was as beautiful and unique as my own personality. Thanks Classic Gem! read more

Our experience with classic gem was fantastic. We just picked up our wedding bands and they turned out perfectly. Kara and the classic gem team were an absolute pleasure to work with and worked hard to ensure that we would find the perfect ring. We can't thank them enough and would highly recommend ! read more

So glad my Fiancé and I found this "Gem" of a business! Kara was very kind and helpful. I enjoyed trying on different ring styles and really appreciated how smooth the entire process went. Thank you and I look forward to choosing wedding bands soon! read more

I am so glad I found The Classic Gem! I came here to have a custom engagement ring made and it is absolutely perfect. My fiance proposed with his mom's old wedding ring, and I initially had been thinking of just having the stone re-set. It's a beautiful ring, but after looking through some of the styles at TCG, I decided I wanted a completely different shape of stone and stone itself. I initially was going to have a ring made with a peach sapphire, but then changed my mind to a moissanite instead. I worked with Kara through the entire process, and she was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. We worked together for about 2 months going over designs, ordering in the stones, and making sure the ring mock-ups were just what I wanted. I'm so glad that i decided to work with the team at TCG because now I have my dream ring! read more

The Classic Gem - My moissanite ring! - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The Classic Gem was the perfect place for me to get a ring for my fiancé. The store is so beautiful and the ring I picked out is unique and exactly what my fiancé wanted!! I would definitely recommend this jeweler to anyone! read more

The Classic Gem - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I had to have my wedding band resized (two sizes too big, whoops!), and went to the Classic Gem. They impressed me with their warmth upon my arrival at their store and I appreciated their honesty with how much they could realistically do to preserve the stones on the band. They did an amazing job with my wedding band and it fits great now (I even did a vigorous shake test in the store and had no issues). I recommend them for a family-owned business for your jewelry needs. read more

My boyfriend and I designed my tourmaline halo engagement ring in 18k yellow gold with Jenny at The Classic Gem. Jenny is so patient and helpful with the ring design process. First, we picked the gem. She had her gem supplier send her pictures of a ton of different stones and had me pick which colors I liked best. Then, she got us two sets of 4 or 5 tourmalines to look at, with varying colors. Her turnaround time was ridiculously fast, and she was able to keep the stones longer for me to come look at them twice. The stone we ended up getting is a really interesting orange-y tourmaline. Jenny's brother (who is a gemologist, I think?) talked us through some of the details of the stone, and he's just the kind of gem nerd I'd want picking out my stone! He knew a lot of details, and it was fun to talk to him! Then, we needed to pick the design of the ring. She placed the gem inside a ton of different halo settings to give an idea of what it would look like. They didn't have many yellow gold settings, so it was somewhat difficult to envision our ring. We ended up liking how it looked in a simple oval in the white gold, so we figured it'd look great in the yellow gold! Then, we got the CAD design images and the wax mold. The wax mold shrunk a bit from when they got it and when I tried it on, so it was tight and the halo looked much smaller than what actually came out. That part bothered me at first, because I felt like the halo on the ring turned out larger than I would have liked. That said, it's a beautiful ring that has grown on me the more I look at it! Finally, her father set the stones in the design, and we got the ring! It's a beautiful ring. We were almost to the point where we were going to give up and just buy something pre-made, because all of the quotes we had gotten for custom rings were so absurdly high (given that a tourmaline is an inexpensive gem). Jenny was able to almost meet our budget and get us a beautiful ring. The appraisal they gave us for the ring said it was worth 2x what we paid, and the independent second appraisal we got (to confirm the materials and value) was 1.5x what was paid. All in all, this was a great process. Ask for Jenny when you get there, and you won't be disappointed! Just FYI - the price they quote you is for cash payment. If you pay by card, they ask you to pay a 2-3% fee. You basically lose the cashback from the purchase, which is totally fair, since we have purchase protection through our card that we really wanted to use. read more

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I cannot rave about this place enough. I have participated in MANY proposals and helped a number of friends/family with their special day, including picking out and/or designing the ring. When I was approached to help for the latest proposal, I thought about going back to the last jeweler I used about a year ago but after doing a little browsing and research via instagram and facebook, I came upon The Classic Gem. The Classic Gem has so far exceeded my expectations. Located on Jewelers Row, there are an abundance of jewelers to choose from. However, it is their customer service, detail, and transparency that really make them a stand out business in a very saturated market/area. Jenny and Lollie were my points of contact and have held our hand through the whole process so far. Kara and Dara have also been on hand to answer any questions. Everyone has been extremely responsive and have been so resourceful and given us more than enough information to make the best decision when it came to designing the ring. They give their opinions which I appreciate. Their eye for diamonds is spectacular and I would use them again in a heartbeat. Extremely personable and makes you feel at ease when making such a big purchase. They are young, but do not let that throw you off, their knowledge is better than many "aged" jewelers I have dealt with. The ring has not been completed yet, but I wanted to give them a review as soon as possible hoping that my excitement translates into this review. Will update if needed after we receive the ring. read more

My fiancé and I had a wonderful experience designing an engagement ring with Jenny at The Classic Gem. After shopping around at multiple jewelers in multiple cities, we immediately felt at ease with Jenny. Jenny was incredibly responsive and patient, and took the time to educate us and answer all of our questions. She listened to our ideas with excitement, offered options, and helped us make decisions when we were feeling indecisive. She never tried to push us along or into something that was out of our budget. Our experience was more like designing a ring with a friend, than a business. I couldn't be happier with how my engagement ring turned out. It is everything I imagined it would be. I can't wait to work with Jenny on our wedding bands! I would highly recommend The Classic Gem. read more

We did a custom design with the Classic Gem and it was a seamless process! From working on the design to picking out the diamond to the final product it was everything we could have asked for. They were willing to think outside the box and come up with a completely unique design that we both loved. Highly recommend!! read more

The Classic Gem is a ... a gem? Ahem, that being said, when my boyfriend (future husband) first started looking at engagement rings, this was one of his first stops. His search ended here when he met Lollie, a woman who didn't scoff at my desire to have a slightly offbeat and old-fashioned sapphire in a gold setting. So my first experience with the product was a few months ago, and my first experience working with Lollie (one of the owners) was when we stopped by to have my ring re-sized. She was incredibly accommodating and warm, and she assured us that we weren't annoying (despite my hemming and hawing about how well the ring actually fit). If I recall correctly, Lollie's father is a goldsmith who makes many of the bands and settings The Classic Gem offers (I'm sorry if I'm remembering incorrectly, Lollie!). For me, I love that the chain of custody from gold bar to my finger is so short, although that isn't the selling point of the store. Lollie, her future husband, brother (and I'm sure all the other employees I haven't met yet) are incredibly informed and engaging, and they seem to truly love working with people. We recently purchased my wedding band from The Classic Gem for a very reasonable price, and we will return to check out the options Lollie found to suit my boyfriend's demands for his band (he has many). This is really a great store, and it's worth checking out. read more

The Classic Gem was the best place I could've chosen to get my dream ring made. My husband proposed with a family stone and I decided I wanted to add some stones to it. Lollie was so patient and worked with me to design a beautiful ring that I absolutely love. I plan to return for more jewelry in the future! read more

Don't waste your time or money at a chain jewelry store! The Classic Gem is the best jewelry shop on Jeweler's Row (trust me, I went to almost ALL of them)! Lollie is one of the most helpful sales associates and store owners I've ever had the pleasure of doing business with. We purchased my husband's wedding band and with her large selected of styles and sizes in stock we were able to get exactly what we wanted without having to wait for an order. Even after deciding to exchange for a half size larger, Lollie ordered it for us on the spot and had it for me in less than a week. I will definitely be going back for my own wedding band! read more

Lollie and Lalin and the the whole team at The Classic Gem were fantastic to work with. I walked in by happenstance in October during their grand opening weekend (but before the signs were even up) and was blown away by their knowledge, selection, and approach to working with their customer (me). As I am currently an out of towner, they worked with me via email and during a few visits back to the windy city for work. They sent me high-res images of some of the rings I'd looked at via email, and helped me narrow down from afar before I finally made the trip back from Minneapolis and made the purchase in December. Lollie and her family have a lot of experience in the diamond/jewelry industry, with parents who also own a shop on Jewelers Row, and it shows! They were easily able to answer any of my questions, be they about the 4C's, price, or just about their business model as we 'shot the breeze'. The engagement ring I selected for my fiancée is gorgeous (her friends and random folks she meets tell her all the time). And as long as she's happy, I'm happy - after all, she did say yes! Any engagement ring is a significant investment, but I am very pleased with the value I received. They were great to work with and I even went ahead and purchased the engagement ring and wedding band together as a set; which has helped from a matching and over all cost perspective. I highly recommend The Classic Gem as THE place to shop for an engagement ring (or set, like me), and I won't be surprised if I'm back in there with my fiancée looking for MY band before long. read more

Amazing! Out of all the places in Jewler's Row, Lollie is by far the best person to work with. She was professional and fair in helping my fiance find the perfect engagement ring for me (which is beautiful BTW). We will definitely be going back there for our wedding bands! Additionally, I've gone back and forth with her via email a few times and she even sent me a web site for wedding seating charts since she was at the end process of planning her wedding. She is truly a great person and I appreciate her kindness. read more

I've been meaning to write a review for a long time now. Back in January '13 my now fiancee met with Lollie to design my ring. I was adamant that I wanted morganite with rose gold and a halo. He was able to pick out the most beautiful setting, change the design slightly and pick out the most gorgeous morganite stone ever. It's a beautiful champagne color that just sparkles all the time! I cannot go anywhere without someone commenting on how gorgeous my ring is. Even at a bridal dress store, the salesperson said that she "sees a lot of rings, but (mine) is by far the most unique and beautiful." Of course I went there for my wedding band and they matched the same tone of rose gold to match my band. If Lollie isn't in, her sister and brother are extremely helpful. I could not be happier that it is a family business. I love them there! read more

The Classic Gem - I absolutely love my ring. I've been afraid to post a photo because I want it to stay unique! - Jewelry Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Wedding planning is the absolute pits (unless you're trying desserts. that's delighful). Lollie, Jenny, and Kara make your life so much easier! We had no idea what we wanted or what we were doing. They were so friendly (without being pushy) and started pulling out different rings to try. Lollie even let me try on her wedding band. They were able to quickly figure out what types of rings we'd like and didn't try to push you to buy anything.The other places we went to (Giovar and James and Sons) were not nearly as helpful/friendly. Aside from their vast knowledge of jewelry, Lollie has great wedding planning tips--she gave some suggestions for flowers (Mariano's-go to the one on Elston and ask for Brittan) and make-up (Angie Diem). We went with those vendors too and have not had any problems. They quickly respond to e-mails and our rings are spectacular! read more

Let me just say that The Classic Gem saved our wedding! See, we had bought our rings at another jeweler and when we went to pick them up yesterday, they weren't what we'd ordered. Long story short, we asked for a refund and walked out with no rings and a wedding two weeks away. I was so stressed, I decided to go to bed and deal with it the next day. So today, I google "gay friendly jeweler in Chicago" and up comes Steve Quick, but I've been in SQ before and they were just "okay" and pretty overpriced IMO. Then I see The Classic Gem and I'm like, "Hmm, they sound interesting. Let me check them out." So I do and I LOVE the ring images they have. Still, I want to be absolutely sure they're nice people, so I call and explain our situation. That's when I knew they were the right jeweler for us. Not only were they professional, but they were genuinely nice on the phone. The owner asked my name and what time we would be by and I hung up feeling excited. After work, we stopped by as planned. As we walk in, the owner looks up and says, "Are you Janelle?" It was great. They already had some rings pulled out for us to look over. They were super nice and extremely knowledgeable about their profession. In fact, my partner originally wanted etching and a flatter ring, but they explained why that may not be the best choice to compliment her engagement ring. Something the other jeweler failed to do. They were right. We tried on several rings and never did they make us feel rushed, even though we came in an hour before closing. In fact, they even cleaned my fiancé's engagement ring and applied rhodium touch up while we got a bite to eat, for no additional charge. They took their time to listen to our needs and are just genuinely nice people. Oh and the best part? We spent less money than we would have at the other jeweler! Walking out with our wedding rings was great, but the smile on my partner's face was priceless. We'll be back for any and every jewelry need we have in Chicago! read more

I designed a custom engagement ring at The Classic Gem for my wife, and the entire experience was as good as it gets. TL:DR, going to The Classic Gem will be one of the best decisions you ever make to get a perfect engagement ring. --- Long Version --- Back before my wife and I were engaged, she was very clear about what type of engagment ring she wanted; a sapphire center stone, and a ring similar to a Tiffany setting that she showed me (which cost about triple what she said I should spend). At first, I visited two well-known, well-advertised jewelers and found both their knowledge about and selection of sapphires to be inadequate. Additionally, they both told me if I want something that looked like this Tiffany ring, then I would need to go to Tiffany's. After leaving those places disappointed, I decided to focus on the sapphire and learn more about them. From there, I wanted to find someone in Chicago that had a large selection of high quality stones and understood their differences very well. I made appointments at three different jewelers that specialize in gems, and now feel lucky that I went to The Classic Gem first (and decided to skip my other appointments after spending an hour there). Lollie, Kara, and Jennie showed me a huge collection of sapphires that their family has been collecting over decades. We spent a bunch of time looking at stones of varying characteristics, and I could tell they were experts. After some time, we found a stone that I couldn't stop looking at or put down and we all knew it was perfect. We then worked out a price we both could live with. From there, we started talking about the ring, I showed them the picture of the Tiffany ring I had as a design clue, and we started custom designing the perfect ring for this perfect stone. The whole process was amazing. When I finally took my wife there to get the engagement ring cleaned and pick out our wedding bands, Lollie, Kara, and Jennie recounted the entire story of me searching for the perfect gem and designing the ring for her and made her even more proud of it than she already was. I'm so happy I found The Classic Gem. read more

I can't even begin to start on how lucky we got with Lollie and her team. My husband had shopped around quite a bit for my engagement ring, and up until the very last person who he bought the ring from, he hated the entire experience. He said everyone was too aggressive, nobody actually listened to him, and he felt as though he wasn't getting the answers he wanted, leading him farther and farther away from the perfect ring for me. A coworker of mine had gone to Lollie for his and his wife's wedding bands, and he had mentioned that it was a really easy going experience and that both he and his wife were really happy with their purchases. When I told my then fiance that I wanted to check her out, he was really stressed out and said he just knew it'd be a terrible experience given his experience with all of the other stores in this area. I, too, was hesitant but hoping for the best. Despite being pushy myself, I can't stand pushiness from others and being 6 months pregnant my patience was even shorter and less manageable. By the end of it all, we bought both wedding bands with Lollie - his a simple white gold band and mine the perfect dainty one with diamonds half way around, complimenting my engagement ring so nicely. My pregnant fingers are too swollen to wear them right now, but I stare at my rings every night in their box - they are just so pretty together. I should also point out that Lollie had our rings ready for us in only 3 days - we came in on a Tuesday, I believe, and it was ready for us that Friday, which was great because we were getting married the following Monday. I know, we are terrible - you should really give them more time than we gave them! All in all, Lollie and her team are great. They are patient, thorough, and they do all that they can to make you feel comfortable. I was really conflicted when it came to what I actually wanted, but Lollie and her team took pictures of my hand with different rings on, modeled the rings on their own fingers, etc. It really could not have been a better experience, in my opinion. My husband and I kept thinking how lucky we were to find Lollie, and we will definitely be recommending her to our friends and family. read more

TL;DR: Just go here for jewelry. I got engagement and wedding rings here and they are super helpful and friendly. I went here with my girlfriend (now wife) to look at rings before we got engaged so that she could show me what she would want. Lollie, Lalin, Kara, and Jenny were all incredibly helpful in pointing us in the right direction. I ended up coming back a few months later to order the custom ring that we had decided on previously. The ring came back a few weeks later and it was beautiful. I've come back about a dozen other times to have the engagement ring resized, then to get wedding rings, and to exchange my wedding ring a couple of times to get my size right. Every time I come in, everyone is very friendly and they offer to clean our rings for us. So again, if you're buying jewelry, this is where you should go. read more

I recently was in the market for an engagement ring and had shopped the entire stretch of "Jeweler's Row" before coming to the Classic Gem and meeting Lollie. While some shops on the Row had decent selection, many had very limited variety and were a bit above my budget range. I even shopped at chains like Kay's and Jared, but left disappointed by how outwardly cheap their merchandise appeared and how expensive they ultimately cost. Then I went to The Classic Gem. Lollie had fairly wide selection of stones and setting available, most within my price range. She was very helpful, taking the time to go over all the different options for settings with my girlfriend and even introducing me to other attractive options like morganites. I ended up having a gorgeous morganite in a mill grain setting made up at a price below what was being offered by other shops on the row. Lollie and her associates were very expedient in crafting the piece once I placed the order. I was prepared to wait about 4 to 5 weeks to give her enough time to put everything together (a fairly reasonable amount of time, especially if she is crafting something individually "from scratch") and was elated when she was able to complete in the order in less than two weeks! Lollie is an amazing artisan who really takes the time to help you design and craft a piece that's unique to your specifications rather than immediately hounding you to buy whatever's in her counter. Overall I would highly recommend The Classic Gem for anyone in the market for fine crafted jewelry. Skip the rest of the 'Row'. Just go to straight to 'The Gem.' read more

The Classic Gem has both top quality jewelry and supreme customer service. I went to them and didn't have to look anywhere else. They were very responsive via email and had everything prepared when I visited. I met with Jenny and she explained the 4's in detail and showed me what was most important. They were able to customize the perfect engagement ring and it was everything my fiancé wanted. I'll be going to them for our future wedding rings and anything else going forward. Truly a wonderful experience. read more

I had a good time looking at ring settings with Jenny and Kara, but it's been bizarrely difficult to get any follow up information from anyone at The Classic Gem. I emailed TCG twice (3 different people!) to confirm pricing to purchase one of the settings I looked at, but after a couple of courteous "We'll get back to you" emails, I never heard back. I guess they are better at in-person transactions. Sadly I don't live in the area, so I can't go back to their booth. I guess I could always try to contact them again (The setting was beautiful!), but given the lack of communication so far, I'm now a bit weary to do business with them long distance. read more

We worked with Lollie and her family to create a custom engagement ring that my fiancée designed. She is a designer and had particular things that she wanted, but Lollie and Co. helped us out every step of the way. We went to them first and liked the service a lot. They weren't pressuring us to make any decisions, they just told us the facts about the diamond and ring business. We went to many more jewelers after talking to them to get the best price: New York, Chicago, California, Texas, and stores online. After a few months of searching, we ended up back at The Classic Gem. They had the best prices AND the best service so...what else could we want? We decided to go the custom route and it couldn't have been an easier process. We chose a design and talked about the structure of the setting and they let us know what could and couldn't be done. We were on a very compact two to three week deadline (I was going to propose over the holidays...she said yes!) and Lollie assured us that they would make the deadline. To do this, she even met my fiancée on a Sunday, when they are closed, so my fiancée could choose a center piece diamond. The rest of the process (CAD drawings, feedback, changes) went smoothly and they didn't push back on our choices. They simply informed us of the implications of our decisions. We ended up getting the ring in time and we are both extremely satisfied! They are great people to work with and you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you went somewhere else. Trust me...we've looked! read more

My boyfriend purchased a setting from Lollie and family. It's gorgeous. I can't stop looking at it. With that out of the way... We visited a number of stores on Jeweler's Row and around Chicago. Bigger shops like NY Jewelers. One man shops in windowless offices, 10 floors up on Wabash. Artsy custom shops up in Lincoln Park. Many were ok but according to my boyfriend Classic Gem hit it out of the park with selection, price, speed, and service. The bigger shops had selection but upsold like used car salesman, the smaller shops were friendly but had less selection and didn't set on location (they send your diamond somewhere), and the artsy ones were really expensive and took a while. Point being, Custom Gem found the right setting, was a reasonable price, set it on the spot in front of you, had unbelievable friendly service. I highly recommend going straight there (or at least sending your boyfriend straight there). Good luck! read more

I needed my wedding ring repaired and stumbled upon this wonderful, family owned jewery shop. My ring looks brand new. They are professional, friendly, and trustworthy. Looking forward to giving them more business and referring all of my friends. read more