S H Zell & Sons

I’ve been using Zell and Sons for about 5 years now for jewelry purchases. I am not a high roller. I buy nice things but they treat me like I’m buying high end jewelry. Good for them. In my profession I treat people the same whether they are buying for a lot of money or not and I have to say that they are one of the few service people who give good service no matter what the price point. Plus the quality is great. My Cartier watch was at the low end of the retail spectrum. My diamond earrings were so reasonable for the sparkly quality and size I got. I wouldn’t ever go anywhere else. Seriously lovely people to deal with.

It can be overwhelming to look for jewelry and diamonds on 47^th Street, so you want to go somewhere that offers quality, fair prices and provides a great customer experience. SH Zell & Sons provides just that.
I wanted to buy my niece a pair of earrings for her 16^th birthday, so I went to S H Zell & Sons, because that’s where my brother-​in-​law purchased my sister’s engagement ring 25 YEARS AGO. (A good family business stays in business).
After telling Steve what I was looking for, he showed me some nice diamond earrings. When I told him my price range, he showed me a couple great options. There was no hard sales pitch, no pressure to buy, just a desire to show me what I was looking for and I could afford.
I was having a hard time deciding and he told me I could always come back and exchange them if she didn’t like them, but I have a feeling she’ll love them.
Living in NYC, I like having the ability to go to a trusted jeweler that I can recommend to friends comfortably.

I cannot recommend Zell and Sons enough. They walked me through the process (for an engagement ring) and took an in depth approach to helping work around my budget and wants. I probably spent 4 or 5 hours with them prior to purchasing they were only too helpful. This is a tricky business, and they hold a mirror to it when helping you make a decision. Can’t imagine a better group of people to work with for such an endeavor.
I would have NEVER have thought it would come out as good as it did (since I provided a difficult sentimental setting to work with) but… it did. Rare to meet craftsmen in an industry like this.

These guys are fantastic! The whole family is amazingly friendly, knowledgeable, and patient. Went to them for a special purchase — they found the perfect stone for me and did an outstanding job creating a custom, hand-​made setting. Can’t say enough good things about them!

We came to Stanley Zell to purchase a wedding band with only a few days left before our wedding. All I can say is that the process of doing business with Stanley and his sons was an absolute pleasure. He completley took care of us by carefully explaining everything we needed to know about the types of rings we were looking for and guiding us through the process of making our choice. Throughout we had absolute confidence that we were working with professionals who were knowledgable as well as absolutely trustworthy and were advising us 100% from the perspective of looking after our needs.
We both cannot recommend SH Zell more highly as a business that one can absolutely trust. It also really needs to be said that Stanley Zell is a complete gentleman in a very old school sense. When you are in the last stages of planning a wedding there are many tasks that you want to get out of the way quickly. Working with Stanley was not one of those tasks, It was actually one of the most pleasurable experiences of getting ready for our wedding and was actually an absolute joy.

I have never written a review on Unilocal but decided to create an account to share my horrible experience with S H Zell & Sons.
I visited S H Zell & Sons in April to buy my fiancée an engagement ring.
Pros:
–The diamond I purchased is fairly priced, I had it appraised by other jewelers to make sure
Cons:
–The ring itself is very poor quality. I had it remade by another jeweler and the comparison between the two is laughable
–Steven is a sheister and will say anything to get you to buy, he doesn’t understand design or quality whatsoever
–I waited four months, sent repeated emails/​texts to receive the GIA certification and had to go there in person to finally get it so I could insure the ring
–A diamond popped out of the ring and the response was «so why didn’t you tell us it was loose?»
–As if all of this is not bad enough, when I went to calmly reason with Steven and reach a compromise he yelled at us, lied about the price he charged for the ring and used every excuse in the book to make US feel like we had made the mistake.
GO ELSEWHERE.
You will be dealing with people of no integrity who put out an inferior product and do not care about the process or the customer.

I’ve been a customer of Stanley’s for more years than I can remember. I’ll guess 1986 – 88. He’s the best and most trusting/​honest person and I feel blessed to have him as our Jewelry specialist.

I had a fantastic experience working with Stephen and his crew when I proposed to my now wife (woohoo!) last year.
After not exactly liking a couple previous experiences at other places nearby (buy! buy! buy!) I found the Zell crew to be very patient, calm, no pressure, educational, friendly, funny, excellent!
Thanks guys for all your help, and advice!

I went to SH Zell with a broken diamond that I needed to get an estimate for a repair /​replacement on for my insurance company. After I spent an hour there with the father (who I actually really liked) waiting for the son to get in so he could give his opinion on my broken stone as well, the father wrote up an estimate for me. With the paperwork in his hand, he then tells me that it is $ 75 for the estimate. I was confused why I was being told I had to pay for an estimate, at which time he told me it was a «formal document» that I needed to give to my insurance company and that any other jeweler would do the same. I told him that I didn’t feel he had been up front with me since I had spoken with him on the phone before I came in, and after waiting for an hour and discussing my situation with him, he never once mentioned there would be a charge to do an estimate (and I had told him from the beginning on the phone that I was going through my insurance). It wasn’t until the end when he was about to hand me the document that he told me I had to pay for it. I was not only annoyed about having to pay for an estimate (I compare this to repairing a car — if I take a dented car in to get repaired and need an estimate, the garage doesn’t charge for giving me an estimate whether or not I need to present it to an insurance company), but also that he didn’t tell me up front. He said that if I needed the estimate for personal repair/​replacement, it wouldn’t cost — just because it was for insurance. He said «if I don’t charge you, there is no guarantee you will come back» — well guess what, this is business, and there is never any guarantee. You could have had a shot at replacing my $ 10,000 diamond, and now you have zero chance and a bad Unilocal review.
I’m happy to have found THREE different jewelers all of whom wrote me estimates (and whom I told I was using insurance to replace the stone) at no charge. He told me that any other place would also charge me, but I think he is the one who is mistaken, as he was the only place who tried to charge me.

Honest, trustworthy and reliable are the first words that come to mind. I’ve been using SH Zell as my jeweler for almost 9 years. I recently stopped by to have a piece of jewelry appraised/​cleaned and my watch fixed. Rather than simply take my watch and charge me to fix it, they took the time to tell me what should be covered by the manufacturer and probably saved me quite a bit of money. I’ve had a necklace designed and made from them in the past and the work they do is wonderful. I would highly recommend SH Zell to anyone needing a jeweler.

Got a beautiful emerald stackable ring as a wedding present from my husband– so delicate and perfect! A few stones did come loose in the choas that was our wedding and these guys replaced them within a day of dropping it off. They are always so nice and very quick!

Stanley, Joe & Stephen are the absolute best. As mentioned in other reviews, I knew nothing about diamonds or engagements rings. They spent countless hours with me explaining diamonds and the different attributes. They were absolutely amazing. I would go back to them anytime again. These are guys are the best.
They also make sure to look in your prise range and don’t try to up sell you. They are so good and connected. Again, the best.

Love them! My engagement ring, wedding band, and husbands wedding band are all beautiful! They are so nice there and give a great education on choosing diamonds and what to look for. I have 4 other friends who went to buy engagement rings from them and were extremely happy with the service and the quality of their work. If you want the best, go to them. You wont be disappointed!

Stanley and his sons are class acts. I live in Miami Beach, and was visiting a friend in NYC not long after my engagement when I decided that I wanted to get my ring sized. She suggested the Zells, as one of her friends had just received an engagement ring from them and everyone was raving about the quality of the diamond, setting, and service. I’m so glad she did! These are the most trustworthy, meticulous, personable jewelers you’ll ever meet. They added two little stabilizing balls (I need to find a better way to say that) to my ring, polished it to perfection, and gave my friend and me bottles of jewelry cleaner and polishing cloths to take with us — all free of charge! I couldn’t believe how well we were treated, and can only chalk it up to the kind of professionalism exhibited by those who choose to be the best. These guys are it!

S H Zell & Sons were fantastic. I had no idea how to go about choosing an engagement ring and they made the process easy and enjoyable. My budget was limited, however I never felt that I was being treated as a second-​class customer. I gave them a general idea of what I was looking for and they created a perfect ring. They walked me through the process from beginning to end and I could not be happier that I chose them. When it comes time to choose wedding bands, this is where I’m going.

It doesn’t get better than SH Zell! Knowing virtually nothing about diamonds at the time that I decided I was ready to propose to my girlfriend, I had many conversations with jewelers from across the country and even a hand-​picked few on 47^th street. Stanley and his sons (and wife) represent the quintessential family business. They feel close to their customers, and make you feel ‘at home’.
My price range must have been much smaller than a lot of their clients, but I never for a second felt that I was 2^nd priority to this entire family. They gave me hours of their time to make sure I was comfortable with how to find a nice diamond (they trained me specifically on finding the flaws so I could look at the diamonds that they provided me with a critical eye!). Not only that, but Steven (one of the sons) spent significant time with me to make sure that the custom ring design I wanted was perfect.
Finally, they designed a wax model of the design with my selected diamond, FLIP video’d it over to me while I was on vacation so I could approve of the design, and THEN built the ring and shipped it in 1 day so that I’d have it in time to propose.
Buying a diamond when you are not in the industry is very tough. In my experience, many jewelers made me feel uncomfortable, as if they knew I had no prior knowledge and had an edge. I walked away from many of these situations, and couldn’t be happier with SH Zell. They literally showed me official industry price tables for diamonds so I knew how much the street pays for every diamond I looked at.
For anyone looking to buy jewelry, definitely stop by SH Zell (they are actually located at a small booth in the back of the store’s address, and are not one of those overwhelming sidewalk-​front stores) and tell the Zell family I say hello!

I have been going to S H Zell & Sons for a number of years and they are the most amazing family of jewelers. I have always felt like the most important client, even though I know I am far from a big ticket client. My husband bought my engagement ring there and I know he went back and forth at least 5 or 6 times to get it perfect and they had the utmost patience. I have had a number of custom pieces done that have all come out perfectly. You may find cheaper, but the Zell’s are very fair and in the end not more expensive because of the level of customer service. Cheap places will never work as hard to get you to the beautiful perfect piece of jewelery as the Zell’s.
I’ve never dealt with a business that I was more satisfied with — I would give them a higher rating if I could.

I had a great experience with the Zells. I shopped around with a lot of the different merchants and while they may not have been the absolute cheapest I have complete confidence that I got what I paid for and that they will stand behind the product. They will spend as much time as you need educating you on how to pick a diamond and will find you the stone you are looking for even if it isn’t immediately behind the counter. While it is true what some reviewers say that you need to make multiple phone calls to stay on top of them, it is a small family business with a lot going on, I had complete confidence the whole time that they could get the job done, and they did. I would definitely recommend these guys.

It can be a little intimidating in the diamond district, where it seems like everybody is out to screw you, but these guys are the real deal. For guys like me who (a) don’t know much about diamonds and (b) aren’t great hagglers they were a breath of fresh air.
I’ve worked primarily with Steven — he sold me my engagement ring — and he really spent a long time educating me on how to look at a diamond and make an educated choice. Didn’t feel pressure to buy something too big or out of my price range, and ended up with an engagement ring that people constantly rave about. They’ll mimic any style for you and will give you just the right amount of feedback.
As for price, I checked with a friend of mine who wholesales diamonds and the prices were good, if not quite wholesale-​level. I’ve always gotten good deals here.

These guys are located in the back of the Jewlery Exchange, which can be a bit unnerving if you’ve never been back there before. They’re a good family that takes pride in what they do. They spent a good deal of time explaining all the aspects of cuts and ratios, and showed me quite a few diamonds along with their GIA certs. They were also able to custom create a ring for me, and deliver it in time for a critical trip across the country. I do have to say that they seem a bit disorganized when you follow up on the phone. If they say they’ll call back in five minutes, that means they will not call back. I had to call them every two days to get the status of my ring, but in the end, it was beautiful, and a great deal. Just be prepared to make a lot of phone calls.