Gone are the days when husbands could woo their wives with a shiny rock and promising a lifetime of bliss. Nowadays, they need to come correct and dazzle her with something like a diamond engagement ring (still technically a shiny rock) from James Allen or Zales. But how can you decide on which store offers more bang for your buck? In this detailed comparison, we’ll uncover all the differences between James Allen vs Zales to help you make an informed decision when purchasing your engagement ring!
| Bottom Line Recommendation |
|---|
| While Zales is the more well-known jewelry store, James Allen is the superior choice. They offer better quality, more diamond selection, a better online and in-store shopping experience, better customer service, and way better prices. Not to mention that James Allen‘s state-of-the-art diamond imaging technology lets you view diamonds in high-definition 360-degrees, so you can view any flaws and blemishes in your diamond. Plus, take it a step further and use their VR Try On feature to see how it’ll look on your hand before you click buy. |
Read also: Why Are James Allen Diamonds So Cheap?
Editor’s Choice
Why We Love James Allen
- Affordable prices
- Large selection of diamonds
- High range of customizability
- Diamond Display Technology
- 40x magnification on images
- 24/7 customer support
- Free shipping worldwide
- 1 year free resizing
- Lifetime upgrade
Read also: When Does James Allen Have Sales?
Pricing
For a detailed pricing comparison, we’ll take a look at two similar diamond rings from James Allen and Zales to see which one offers the more affordable option.
The loose diamonds will have the following properties:
Color: I
Cut: Ideal/Best
Clarity: VS2
Carat weight: 1.00
Shape: Round
Style: Solitaire
Metal: 18K Yellow Gold
Here is the result from Zales which comes out to $9,101.64.
And the exact same ring from James Allen comes out to $3,700.
That’s a whopping $5,401.64 difference!
It’s no surprise that James Allen is the more affordable option here.
By having online stores, James Allen is able to save money from not having many brick and mortar stores.
This means they’re able to pass over those savings to customers in the form of more affordable diamond jewelry.
Read also: Kay Jewelers vs Zales: Which Is The Better Store?
Selection
When it comes to which retailer has more loose diamonds to choose from, James Allen takes the lead here.
With over 250,000 natural and lab created diamonds, James Allen makes it easier than ever to build out your own custom dream ring.
If you choose to go down the ready-made James Allen diamond route, there’s currently 240 ready-to-ship diamond engagement rings available for purchase, although we don’t recommend ready-made rings since every diamond ring should be unique.
Read also: James Allen vs Kay Jewelers: Here’s Which One We Recommend
On the flip side, Zales currently has 6,118 engagement rings available on their website.
Keep in mind that the selection of Zales diamonds can often vary from store to store.
This is yet another reason why we recommend James Allen — you’ll always be able to access the same wide range of diamonds online no matter where you are in the world.
Read also: Brilliant Earth vs James Allen: What’s The Better Diamond Retailer?
Quality
There can often be a lot of variance when it comes to determining a diamond ring’s quality.
As a result, we recommend taking a look at our post on the 4 C’s and how you can use them to identify high quality diamonds.
A quality loose diamond from Zales can have a better cut versus a better colored diamond from James Allen with better a clarity grade.
As you can already tell, this can get pretty confusing quick. So we’ll give it to you straight:
James Allen’s diamond quality is substantially better overall compared to Zales.
Their diamonds have been reported by long-time customers to be less prone to blemishes and flaws, which make the diamond look brighter for longer.
Read also: Everything You Need to Know About The James Allen Warranty
Zales comes with their own Zales Diamond Certification which are often certified in-house.
This isn’t the best for quality since these in-house diamond inspectors can lie and no real reason to be unbiased.
On the other hand, James Allen sells GIA and IGI certified diamonds which are inspected and certified by the gold standard of the diamond industry.
These institutions make sure diamonds in the jewelry industry are graded and inspected fairly.
Editor’s Choice
Why We Love James Allen
- Affordable prices
- Large selection of diamonds
- High range of customizability
- Diamond Display Technology
- 40x magnification on images
- 24/7 customer support
- Free shipping worldwide
- 1 year free resizing
- Lifetime upgrade
Customer Service
Customer service is a crucial part when it comes to buying an engagement ring from a diamond store.
You want to make sure that you’re being taken care of during every step of the purchasing process, even long after you’ve bought your engagement ring.
In this section, we’ll take a look at the various methods of communication each diamond retailer offers. The more methods of communication available for customers, the better.
James Allen has a strong focus on the digital side with a 24/7 live chat, email, toll free number, and real-time diamond inspection where you can speak to a diamond expert, you guessed it, in real-time.
The 24/7 availability is a huge bonus for plenty of shoppers, especially if you’re a busy individual or if you live in different time zones.
On the other hand, Zales offers an online chat, in-store and virtual appointments, as well as WhatsApp and text communication methods.
But when it comes to their in-store customer service and in-store appointments, these are done in-store (as the name suggests) and most of their stores close at 9pm in malls.
And as you can already tell, that’s very inconvenient if you don’t live near a physical Zales location.
Plus, the online chat and virtual appointments aren’t 24/7.
Read also: This One Simple Reason is Why Cartier Rings Are So Expensive
Shopping Experience
When it comes to the overall shopping experience, James Allen is the clear winner here despite not having as many physical stores as Zales.
The reason for this is because James Allen offers 24/7 customer support and a VR Try On Feature where you can try on engagement rings from the comfort of your own home.
Not to mention that the website is very user-friendly and easy to navigate.
If you still prefer an in-store shopping experience, James Allen has some pretty cool services in their showrooms.
Read also: Looking For a James Allen Store Location? Here’s Where to Find Them
For starters, you can expect to find one-on-one consultations, diamond prep services, an ambient coffee bar, and a neat VR headset to try on their wide variety of engagement rings.
The only downside is that James Allen only has two locations in the United States at the moment (one in NYC and the other in Washington D.C).
Read also: How To Use James Allen’s Virtual Ring Try On Feature
On the other hand, Zales has a very basic shopping experience – both online and in-store.
They rely mainly on their in-store experience to drive sales but this often means having to deal with annoying sales associates giving you a sales pitch while you’re just trying to browse some engagement rings.
That’s why we recommend shopping online.
Zales’ online shopping experience is very mediocre.
The website is often clunky and slow, with too many words everywhere.
Read also: James Allen vs Tiffany: The Answer May Surprise You
Zales offers the option to create your own engagement ring through their interactive design suite but it lacks customizability.
The only clarity grade options are SI2 or VS2. Plus there aren’t any other color grade options we were able to choose from aside from I-grade.
There also wasn’t a whole lot of rose gold options in case that’s something you might like in your engagement ring.
Overall, we’d avoid the Zales online shopping experience like the plague.
Read also: James Allen vs Blue Nile: Which One Is Right For You?
James Allen on Reddit
Read also: James Allen vs Clean Origin: Head-to-Head Comparison
Zales on Reddit
Editor’s Choice
Why We Love James Allen
- Affordable prices
- Large selection of diamonds
- High range of customizability
- Diamond Display Technology
- 40x magnification on images
- 24/7 customer support
- Free shipping worldwide
- 1 year free resizing
- Lifetime upgrade
Return Policy
James Allen offers a 30 day free return policy with free return shipping.
Zales has a 30 day return policy and a 60 day exchange policy.
Warranty Policy
James Allen offers lifetime warranty with free rhodium plating, cleaning services, prong tightening, and re-polishing.
Zales offers a Forever Cherished Lifetime Protection Plan (at an additional one time payment) to keep the metal of your ring clean and worry-free. This protection plan excludes repairs and replacement of diamonds and gemstones.
Shipping Policy
James Allen offers customers free shipping over $50.
Zales offers same day shipping if orders are placed online by 1:00 pm local time. For your safety, orders of $1,000 or more require a signature upon delivery.
Read also: How Long Does James Allen Take To Ship Your Engagement Ring?
Upgrade Policy
Both James Allen and Zales will give you the trade-in value of your engagement ring to use towards a new piece. But the new piece needs to be at least twice the value of your old engagement ring.
For example, if your ring was purchased for $1500, your new purchase must be valued at $3000.
Read also: The Truth Behind James Allen: Know This Before You Buy
Final Verdict
While Zales is the more well-known jewelry store, James Allen is the superior choice. They offer better quality, more diamond selection, a better online and in-store shopping experience, better customer service, and way better prices.
Not to mention that James Allen‘s state-of-the-art diamond imaging technology lets you view diamonds in high-definition 360-degrees, so you can view any flaws and blemishes in your diamond. Plus, take it a step further and use their VR Try On feature to see how it’ll look on your hand before you click buy.
