Anjolee Is A “Fine” Online Jewelry Store!
By Alison Blackman
Remember the name: “Anjolee” because the next time you want to add some serious gemstone jewelry to your collection, you might find yourself clicking to buy it online.
Internet shopping for anything can be risky, but Anjolee has been making jewelry since 1977 featuring gold, diamonds, and gemstones.
However, when you are contemplating that once-in-a-lifetime engagement ring purchase, or you want to acquire a seriously large diamond or precious gemstone, can you really buy it online?
Why Buy Online?
But there are many compelling reasons to buy gemstones sight-unseen, online instead of in a bricks and mortar store in your neighborhood. Here are just a few of them:
Convenience: You want something specific that your local stores don’t carry (e.g. unique designs, specific stones). If you live in an area where the fine jewelry selections are limited, shopping online gives you nearly limitless possibilities.
If you live in an area where the fine jewelry selections are limited, shopping online gives you nearly limitless possibilities.
Cost: You want to comparison shop for the size, shape and quality of the stone you want and you can’t shop the entire world on foot.
No Pressure: When you shop for diamonds or gemstones overly aggressive salespeople may try to push you into purchasing a stone you really don’t like, can’t afford, or aren’t ready to buy.
Customization: Anjolee has a lot more options than most stores in terms of customizing your jewelry, including engraving. No need to make all the decisions in a snap!
Being able to select the stones, the quality, the shapes, the colors, and specfic settings and take all the time you need to think about them is a plus.
Surprise: You want to surprise someone with a special piece of jewelry you don’t want anyone else to know what you’re doing.
Shopping online lets you order what you want quickly and privately. For the over-worked busy person, shopping online is no longer a novelty, it’s what we do!
Sales Tax: Anjolee says that sales tax is only collected on orders delivered to addresses within the state of California. If your package is shipped to another state no sales tax applies.
My Replica Ring:
I was approached by Anjolee about reviewing their service but I knew they weren’t going to send a diamond ring. They’re generous, but that would be crazy!
this is the version of the replica ring
I received a replica of a 3 Stone Diamond and Gem Ring (see photo above) which can be customized with a different gemstone (or all diamonds).
Mine was custom made in sterling silver and “Sapphire” and “diamond” CZ stones.
You can purchase the replica (not all of Anjolee’s pieces have this option) only if you purchase the genuine item. But it’s a near-exact copy for approximately $236. If you travel and want to wear your jewelry but risk loss or theft, it’s a nice bonus feature.
If you travel and want to wear your jewelry but risk loss or theft, it’s a nice bonus feature.
I’m not commenting on the quality of the diamonds and gemstones because I didn’t see them, I’m just reporting on Anjolee’s customer service and workmanship.
But the diamonds are IGI certified. The prices seem reasonable (for what you are buying). There is also a 30 Day Return Policy with a 100% Money Back Guarantee so if you’re not satisfied you can send it back.
As with any purchase, you must be a savvy consumer and draw your own conclusions, especially when you are buying diamonds you’re not seeing in person.
Buying Jewelry Online With Anjolee
e!Choose Options & Personalize
When it comes to the diamond jewelry, you can also select the stones individually and have them set, which gives you even more, options for selecting cut, color, clarity, size.
There are so many options on the anjolee.com website for rings, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces that it could become overwhelming.
But the site is well organized by type of product. You can also narrow your choices by total carat weight, stone shape and even setting type.
The first thing for consumers to realize when looking at customizable jewelry online, is that after you’ve chosen the design is that the price rises as the size and quality of the stones increases and every option you add costs more. On Anjolee’s site, you can see this immediately reflected in the bottom line price (see the graphic above)
In my sample, the stones are cubic zirconia so there wasn’t a quality rating of stone to choose.
Based on the price of real sapphire and diamonds of the same size as in my replica ring. my ring MS271-A-Gem (sapphire) in genuine stones would have been about $$1,532.12.
You can decide what your budget is with no pressure from salespeople, then adjust up and down, accordingly.
Creating with CAD
One of the interesting (and fun) things you can do on the Anjolee site is to change your jewelry and see those changes instantly on CAD (Computer Aided Design).
This lets you rotate your peice and see it from a number of angles. Change the color of the metal, the gemstone, etc.
The rotating CAD didn’t seem to work well on my Chrome Browser but it did work well on others.
this is how my ring looked on the cad
this is a closeup of the actual ring I received
However, your design is magnified so you can see the details. Anjolee does a good job of showing you the approximate size of stones, but your jewelry is going to look larger on the CAD, than the ring you will receive.
Make your final selections, and you’ll get an Item Configuration Summary so you can check and see that everything you wanted, is noted in your order.
Delivery & Presentation
The photos above are of my replica ring as packaged in the boxes.
It takes less time than you might think to get your ring. The Anjolee website says it takes 4 business days for products, and they ship overnight free UPS or FedEx and it’s all insured.
Communication throughout the shipping process is good. you will get tracking information and regular communications throughout the process.
When the package arrived, it was in an impressive, hard-sided large blue box.
Inside was a foam insert. Nestled into the foam was a beautiful lacquer-type jewelry box.
My ring was inside, lit by a small LED light to showcase its sparkle. If this had been a real and sapphire and diamond ring or an engagement ring, it would have made a spectacular presentation.
The ring base is nicely finished without any dings, bumps, or rough spots. My design is not an intricate one, but it looks like fine jewelry even though it’s not gold. Even the CZ stones are of good quality.
I really like the ring. I would have chosen a larger center stone. My “sapphire” was only about .97 carats (the smallest size you can order). But I can tell it’s beautifully made and looks so real, I wonder if they made a mistake!
The Bottom Line:
Diamonds and gemstones are expensive, even if you get them at a fair price. Anjolee includes a free Anjolee Certificate of Authenticity and if you wish you can add a third party IGI appraisal certificate to your diamond jewelry order. This adds 10 business days to the delivery estimate.
I thought the presentation and workmanship of my replica ring were excellent.
I like that fact that Anjolee’s policy is to return for any reason within 30 days.for a refund, replacement, or an exchange. Even customized orders can be returned for full refund (within 30 days of receipt).
Based on my experience, I’d be happy to purchase “the real thing” from Anjolee jewelry.
