I had an amazing experience here. I used to office next door to them several years ago. When it was time for me to look for engagement rings, I felt like I had an inside track to getting what I wanted. I never had to be "sold" on working with them. K told me years ago how he ran his business and it always stuck with me. Facing a very sizable investment, he was the first person I reached out to. As I went through the process, he was very open and honest. He even offered for me to find my own stone and work with him on the design and setting only if I wanted. Although this is not what I ended up doing, it offered a lot of transparency and trust during the entire process.
Many of the stones that I found were available online from many different sources. I could easily tell that many of the online merchants were simply posting other people's inventory and marketing them on their own websites. I found this to be a very good thing as you could compare many different stones on just a few websites and learn a great deal about the market. What you find online is a MUCH better deal than options offered in retail locations. Don't fall for what retailers say about online purchases. They want your money too. All of the stones can be verified quite easily and K helped me know how to make sure what I was interested in was verifiable and quality. He was also able to tell me about ones that were priced well compared to others that were not. Ultimately, K tracked one down for me that was offered on one or more of the sites. When the stone came in, I received the original certification that was available to view online through other sources. I have absolute confidence that I got what I paid for.
Before working with Verad & Co, I felt like the industry was pretty much hit-or-miss with a lot of shady characters. I can assure you that K is very straightforward and open about his business...one of the good ones. His initial estimate for what I was looking for was very much in line with (actually less than) what I ended up paying. When I priced it in a retail establishment, I would have paid nearly double what I paid with Verad & Co.
I think when people are buying engagement rings, most are so nervous and uninformed that they are a prime target for getting taken advantage of. K will take the mystery out of the process and allow you to make a clear and informed decision. People who try to get you to make a quick decision usually won't offer you the best value. Many people pay thousands more than they have to because they make a hasty decision. If someone wants a deposit to show you "certain stones" or a deposit for anything, proceed with caution. Once you put a deposit on anything, you are invested in that process and they have no incentive to getting you a good deal.
If you want a great deal, work with Verad & Co. Their design work is amazing. My custom setting turned out EXACTLY as I had envisioned. Overall working with them was how I would want to be treated. It was fair and transparent, and the quality is as good as it gets. If I had to do this all over again, I would absolutely work with K at Verad & Co. read more