 | |||||
Overall Score:1.33 | | ||||
Price:1 | | Selection:2 | | Customer Service: 1 | |
| Pros |
| ||||
| Cons |
| ||||
| Other Recommended Retailers |
Are you purchasing an engagement ring and debating whether to buy it from Helzberg Diamonds? They are one of the oldest jewelers in the United States, with more than 100 years of history. Helzberg is one of the most reputable jewelers in America. History and reputation matter, but what matters most is the quality and value of the diamond rings from Helzberg. As we discuss at length in this review, Helzberg does not have the strictest quality standards, and you are capable of finding better value elsewhere.
You will get the best bang for your buck by purchasing a diamond ring from one of the online retailers we recommend instead of Helzberg. Even if you are skeptical of purchasing online or think we are biased because we have relationships with some retailers, you should still read ahead. I have secret shopped hundreds of retailers around America (even more internationally). There are several retailers that we had better experiences at compared to Helzberg. We have no relationship whatsoever with many of those retailers.
At the end of the day, I did not love the quality or value Helzberg Diamonds had to offer. Nor did the in-store experience impress me enough to sway my decision. In this review, we dive deep into the quality of the diamonds, the selection of styles, and the customer experience at a Helzberg location. This is based on my research, feedback from readers, and multiple secret shopping experiences.
I just secret shopped Helzberg Diamonds in St Louis in May of 2023. There wasn’t any change in my opinion, but you can take a look at my instant reaction video below.
Why you should trust us
To help you with the diamond buying process we lean on our expertise and experience. The author of this article, our CEO, Mike Fried has over 20 years of experience in the diamond industry. Mike started from the bottom, sorting and evaluating hundreds of thousands of diamonds to learn every facet (pun intended) of diamond quality and value. Mike followed that up by spending years buying and selling diamonds on the wholesale market as well as selling tens of millions of dollars worth of diamonds to diamond retailers.
What we cover in this article:
Should you purchase an engagement ring from Helzberg Diamonds?
History of Helzberg Diamonds
Is Helzberg a reputable jeweler?
Secret shopping Helzberg
Helzberg Diamond prices
Deal Alert: Get 25% off sitewide at James Allen
Is Helzberg the Right Place to Buy Your Diamond Engagement Ring?
The short answer is no. We have now secret shopped Helzberg 3 times. The first two times we looked at their natural diamonds. The most recent visit (May 2022) we looked at their Lab Grown Diamonds.
We saw this lab grown 1.55ct pear shape for $6,999 (with a white gold solitaire setting). Check out this comparable diamond from James Allen. It is only $3,320. If you add this setting, you are only spending half of what you would at Helzberg.
Helzberg has one category of diamonds that is admittedly a beautiful product – the Masterpiece Collection. The only problem is that you can get the same quality diamond from one of several online diamond vendors (ie, Brian Gavin Diamonds, Blue Nile, or James Allen) for much much less.
History of Helzberg
Helzberg is one of the oldest jewelry chains in America. They recently celebrated their hundredth anniversary, having opened their first store in Kansas in 1915. They steadily grew into a mid-Western force with 15 locations by 1958.
From there, they grew steadily, and by the end of the 1990s, Helzberg had more than 200 locations around the United States. In 1995 Berkshire Hathaway purchased Helzberg, which at the time, according to the New York Times, had 148 stores in 23 states.
Is Helzberg Diamonds Reputable
Helzberg Diamonds has a long-standing reputation. They are definitely a reputable company. That doesn’t necessarily mean that their diamonds are a good option for you. As we mention below, they have different diamond lines that use different certificates. If you are going with Helzberg, make sure you are sticking with an AGS certified diamond (to the best of my knowledge, they don’t have GIA certified diamonds).
Most Recent Secret Shopping at Helzberg (2023)
Secret Shopping Helzberg
Helzberg has all the markings of a mall store. Bright, sterile interior with no luxurious ambiance (or any ambiance for that matter).
Three days after our secret shopping of Helzberg, I ran into a LensCrafters to pick up my niece’s glasses. I was struck by the similarities in experience that I had walking into a Helzberg to look at $15,000 diamonds. It just seemed off.
The first salesperson we spoke to clearly didn’t know anything. But they immediately rectified the situation and a slick-talking salesperson in a suit took over.
I’ve met pushy salespeople and salespeople that didn’t know what they were talking about. But honestly, this was the first time that I ever felt the clichéd “used car salesman pushing the rustproofing package.”
Not only did he make some comments about diamond cutting that were just plain wrong (we didn’t bother correcting him and there is no point in listing it here as it has no impact on the final product), but he made flat out false statements about the uniqueness of their diamonds.
Specifically, he went on and on about how they have the only super ideal cut diamond out there. Not only are they not the only ones, they are nowhere near the leading the brand in the field.
We’ve discussed super ideals in many places, but the best place to look would be our Brian Gavin Diamonds review (they are our favorite supplier for super ideal cuts, and you will see why below).
What is Ringo?
Does Helzberg use GIA Certification?
To the best of our knowledge, Helzberg does not use GIA to certify their diamonds. During our secret shoppings there, we have unfortunately seen some diamonds with certificates we would not recommend (see below).
However, some of their branded diamonds have AGS certification. While we will get into the question of their value below, the fact that they are AGS certified is no issue (you can read more here).
“A lab diamond doesn’t say I love you any less than a mined diamond says I love you.” Beryl Raff, Former CEO Helzberg Diamonds
The Quality: Are Helzberg Diamonds Good
Helzberg has a two-tiered system and it was hard to figure out what type of diamonds they push the hardest. On the one hand, they have your run of the mill mall junk.
It wasn’t terrible, but they used lesser certificates to make you think you were getting something better without actually offering something nicer.
The first diamond we were shown was a GSI certified 1.00 I I1 round diamond for $5,500. Including tax, the net price for the diamond was $6,022. GSI is not a great lab, but they aren’t terrible. Blue Nile, one of our favorite companies to recommend, only uses GIA certified diamonds.
The I1 was a hard I1, but it was definitely not I2 clarity. The I color was at best a mediocre J. Giving credit where it’s due, the cut on the diamond was very nice.
Helzberg Masterpiece Diamond Review
Next up were the Helzberg Masterpiece options. We were shown two AGS certified diamonds. Helzberg only sells their Masterpiece collection mounted, so you can’t pick and choose your setting and diamond.
The first was a 0.963ct I VS2 in a white gold solitaire setting. This one cost $11,498 including taxes.
The second one was a 1.034ct G SI1 set in an 18kt white gold channel setting with 1ctw worth of side stones. With taxes, this one will set you back $16,425.
So how were the diamonds? Stunningly beautiful. Simply put, they were fantastic. If you’ve read many of our reviews, it’s rare for us to really love the quality of the diamonds. That was not the case here.
The tough question isn’t whether they are nice, but whether you should buy one of Helzberg’s Masterpiece diamonds. Should you? We believe you are better off going with a diamond of comparable quality elsewhere to get better bang for your buck (as we will compare below).
The Jewelry Selection
Let’s swing back to the problem we had with the Masterpiece selections. The diamonds were very nice (we’ll get into the value in a second), but the fact that you can’t mix and match on your own is a very real problem.
Let’s say you want to get a solitaire setting. Taking a look at their website, it looks like Helzberg only has 2 or 3 setting styles for you to choose from. Taking a look at Brian Gavin’s selection, they have dozens of different solitaire styles to select. You can go for anything from a simple elegant style like this, or try a truly unique tension style setting.
Helzberg Diamond Prices
Let’s get the riffraff out of the way. The 1.00 I I1 is a terrible choice (the quality wasn’t very good and the price is obscene. Take a look at this 1.06ct I I1 from James Allen; this diamond is practically a carbon copy of the one we saw at Helzberg for 54% less money.
Personally, I wouldn’t recommend either diamond, but why pay an obscene premium for a diamond that is undesirable? It seemed pretty clear that there was no value whatsoever in this line from Helzberg and they just keep diamonds like these around to compete with the other mall stores.
The two masterpiece diamonds, on the other hand, are beautiful choices that one would be proud to wear as an engagement ring. But are they decent value?
Not so much.
Despite the salesman’s heady claim, there is nothing particularly unique about a “super-ideal” cut diamond. As we linked to above, there are beautiful options elsewhere.
Engagement Ring Inspiration (Click a Ring for More Information)
Take a look at these:
Here we have a 0.962ct I VS1 from Brian Gavin for $6,579. This is a comparable setting from Brian Gavin Diamonds. The diamond and setting are every bit as stunning as anything you’d see at Helzberg (or anywhere for that matter).
Adding the $850 setting cost, and you have a grand total cost of $7,429. So you can get the same “crème de la crème” diamond engagement ring for 35% cheaper going with Brian Gavin over Helzberg.
Moving on to Helzberg’s second Masterpiece, here is a 1.003ct G SI1 from Brian Gavin for $7,779. I was really happy because Brian Gavin, despite having a larger (and beautifully crafted) selection of settings, did not have the same setting style in stock.
This would give us a chance to see what their custom design team could come up with. They did not disappoint. They designed a beautiful setting in the same spirit of the Helzberg setting with 1.10ctw of side stones in an 18kt white gold setting for $2,450.
This highlights one of my frustrations with Helzberg.
Their Masterpiece diamonds are beautiful, but it’s a real drag being limited to the currently mounted pairs. Who says the exact diamond you love will be in the exact setting you want? Why can’t they offer options?
At the very least, you’d expect to save some money when getting less service. Yet the price (even with a jaw-dropping custom ring) was 38% cheaper going with Brian Gavin.
In Summary
If you have some ulterior motive to buy from Helzberg (maybe you own stock in Berkshire Hathaway or you have a store credit), then rings from their Masterpiece collection are fantastic choices. But the prices are incredibly high.
From the sterile interior to the subpar salesmanship, I felt like there was nothing (positively) noteworthy about the buying experience with Helzberg. I would rather save 30-40% while having more options and having a better experience by shopping elsewhere.
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free International Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisals
- One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
- Free ring inscriptions
- Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
- 24/7 Customer Service
- Best-in-class packaging
What we love about them:
- No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. Blue Nile will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Free Shipping
- Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
- Provide insurance appraisal
- One free resizing within the first year of purchase
- High quality images of about half of their diamonds
- 24/7 Customer Service
- 100% credit towards future upgrades (must be at least double in value)
- Best in class fulfillment
Still afraid of getting ripped off?
Before you buy a diamond, get personal buying advice from industry veterans. We'll help you get the best diamond for the money.
Ask your diamond purchase question here
DISCLAIMER: We don't use your email for marketing. Period.
You Might Like
Diamond Prices: A Complete Guide
A diamonds’ price is determined primarily by the 4 Cs of the diamond. On the wholesale level, diamond prices are first based on a diamond shape and
The Best Places to Buy Engagement Rings
When purchasing a diamond engagement ring, it’s important to find the right retailer to purchase it from. Some retailers excel at niche products li
1 Carat Diamond Price & Buying Guide
A wide range of 1 carat diamonds exist both in online markets and local diamond jewelry stores. Not only are there significant differences in beauty
