Chances are high you have already heard of Helzberg, one of the oldest jewelry chains in America. In 1915, Morris Helzberg opened the very first Helzberg Jewelry store on Minnesota Avenue in Kansas City. In a relatively short period of time, by 1958, Helzberg had its stores in 15 locations. Today, the jewelry store is present in 210 locations around the United States. Popularity is one thing, but what about quality? We put their services to the test and here’s what the results showed.
Our First Impression
Walking into a Helzberg diamonds store evokes the same feeling as you would get in any other typical mall store; bright, sterile interior without ambiance or luxurious vibe you’d expect from a helzberg jewelry store.
Since the first salesperson we encountered didn’t know much, the colleague took over. Whenever you’re in the store and express interest in something, you expect a salesperson to be a little bit pushy because that’s how they sell things. But this gentleman should probably change the definition of pushiness. Not only he used cliché phrases, but he also made comments about diamond cutting that were utterly incorrect. It’s always difficult to ignore false statements.
Helzberg Jewelry Overview
Helzberg has a two-tiered system and it was somewhat difficult to determine what type of diamonds they favor. We were shown different types of diamonds, such as:
- 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 either
- Helzberg Masterpiece options; two AGS certified diamonds. Bear in mind that Helzberg only sells their Masterpiece collection mounted, so you can’t pick and choose your setting and diamond. These AGS certified diamonds were a 0.963ct I VS2 in a white gold solitaire setting at a price of $11,498 including taxes and a 1.034ct G SI1 set in an 18kt white gold channel setting with the 1ctw worth of side stones. The price of this ring is $16,425 with taxes.
To give credit where credit is due, diamonds were stunning, simply beautiful. But, should you buy them?
Their Value
The 1.00 I I1 is a terrible choice, and quite expensive as well. It is not difficult to conclude this particular line has no real value and Helzberg probably released it to have something to compete with other stores.
What about other options? Yes, they are stunning and look fantastic but even though salesperson tried to convince us otherwise, there was nothing unique about them.
Although their Helzberg masterpiece diamonds are beautiful, or more precisely, they mesmerize you it is frustrating you can’t pick and choose your setting and diamond. Being limited to mounted pieces can be such a drag, particularly if you like the diamond, but not a fan of setting and vice versa.
TIP: Helzberg is “OK”, but we prefer James Allen over them. Find out why here.
Conclusion
Helzberg jewellery is one of the oldest chains in the United States. They have a long history and survived so many things, including economic lows and financial crises that rocked the world on numerous occasions.
Of course, these things should always be respected. However, it seems like Helzberg isn’t doing so well in keeping up with other players on the market today. Their brightest point is the Masterpiece collection with fantastic choices, but only mounted pieces are available at an incredibly expensive price. It is needless to mention sterile interior and frustrating salesmanship.
The decision whether you should purchase jewelry there depends on you only, but it is safe to say you can find better pieces at lower prices elsewhere. All this means it is time for Helzberg to make necessary changes to shine bright again.