Pretty Sparkly Things (Ernest Jones)

Member Name: suz1584

Product:	Ernest Jones
Date:	02/11/09 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Quality

Disadvantages: More expensive than other stores

2 weeks until the wedding and the hubby to be still hasn't bought a ring. A couple of weeks ago we went up to Inverness and looked around the shops. He ordered a couple in his size so he could try them on when they came in to see which one he was comfortable wearing. He has actually taken longer than me to choose a wedding ring but as he says you shouldn't rush things as he will be wearing it for a long time. Well that comment got him out of hot water quickly!!

At the time we were in Inverness the Ernest Jones store in the Eastgate Centre was closed and we had thought it had closed down for good as it was all boarded up and with a small range of their products online we had ruled them out even though I loved the quality of their jewellery and had actually bought mine from them online which is was absolutely perfect even though it was a bit more expensive that what we expected to pay.

On Saturday just passed we went back in to Inverness to look at the rings James (Hubby to be) ordered in. Walking up the stairs I looked up and noticed that Ernest Jones was re-opened and had had a makeover. Very impressed by the shiny new look we decided to go in and have a look.

The shop although small seemed to look so much bigger now they had taken down some walls and replaced the glass wall cabinets with a large waist height cabinet which looked so much better. The lighting had all been replaced so all the jewellery had an extra sparkle which made you more willing to buy things.

Ok so enough looking at pretty necklaces for me we moved over to the wedding bands. There was a great collection of plain wedding rings compared to other shops we had been to and also compared to their website.

I was under strict instructions to choose a plain white gold wedding band, nothing with diamonds, two toned colours or inscriptions. He wanted a plain ring (why has it taken him so long to find one then?)

There was rows of rings to choose from and we really did take a while staring at them. Finally a sales assistant came up and asked if we needed any help. We chose a couple of rings for James to look at more closely.

We were offered a seat at a desk and she took the rings out and over to the desk for James to have a look at. I was actually surprised at how shiny the seemed to be even now they were away from the spotlights.

I have to admit that the ring did seem much better quality than what we'd seen in other shops and that impressed me. But as always the price tag seemed so much higher than other shops. Now it was time for James to decide whether the ring really was worth the extra cost. Something which he simply couldn't decide in one day.

We decided to order yet another ring in, so speaking to the sales assistant again she checked how long this would take to come in and advised it would only take 6 days. Again I was impressed by this as it was the quickest delivery time we had been told from the shops.

They would also give you a call once the item was in as it may be a couple of days early or late. Saves you a trip if they don't have it in. They did stress that you have to keep your receipt for when you come back in as it has your order number. I don't know what would happen if you didn't have it but James made sure it was secure in his wallet

The only bad point about this shop is you have to pay a deposit for each ring you order in. Thankfully James had only needed to order one in to see if he liked it as much as the ones in other shops. Ok the deposit isn't a huge amount and we only had to pay £10 for a ring which was worth £115 so I don't know if the price goes up depending on the value of the jewellery.

We asked why there was a charge as no other shops charged us for this and they advised us it was because they didn't have enough insurance to have other items in store. Confused? I was. I still didn't understand why you only had to pay a deposit because surely the item would still be under their insurance as it was being delivered to their store. I'm sure there was a completely valid reason and I don't know if we were given the correct information as the girl serving had only started a couple of days before.

Overall Opinion

I had such a pleasant experience in the new look store in Inverness. I could spend hours looking at all their items. They have made the shop look more up to date and welcoming with the new layout and it's definitely somewhere I would go again for my jewellery.

The products are always off high quality and better than I've managed to find anywhere else. (Well on my budget!)

website www.ernestjones.co.uk

Summary: I'll definitely buy more from here