Editorial Policy

Affiliate Relationships

Some links on this site are affiliate links. A click-through purchase earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate relationships don't determine which stores get covered or what the review says about them. A jeweler with return-policy language written to protect the store rather than the buyer gets described that way regardless of commission structure.

How I Research

For physical stores, I go in. I ask about the return window, the warranty terms, and the grading documentation before the salesperson has a chance to redirect. If a store has a habit of taking your stone to "check something in the back" before quoting a price, I note that. Each in-person visit gets followed up with at least one phone or email check to see whether the written policy matches what was said in the showroom. Discrepancies come up more often than they should.

Online-only retailers get reviewed differently. I go through the actual order flow rather than relying on marketing copy. I read the certification documentation for specific stones rather than the summary on the product page. I check third-party review platforms for complaints about the return process specifically. That's where the gap between stated policy and actual practice tends to show up.

These reviews don't include professional-grade gemological analysis. What I can tell you is what a GIA grading report says and what a stone looked like when I examined it. If you need technical interpretation of those grades, that's work for a gemologist. What this site tracks is whether the store's terms are fair, whether the documentation is present and credible, and whether the buying experience matches the pitch.

How to Use These Reviews

The reviews reflect visits and interactions at specific stores during specific time periods, primarily in the Charleston market and through online retailers that ship nationally. Prices change, inventory turns over, and store policies get revised. Use these reviews as a starting point for your own visit, not as the final word. Before putting a card down, verify the return terms and warranty conditions directly with the jeweler.

Contact

If a policy has changed since a review was published, or there's an error in something I've written, the contact page has my email.