INTA GEMS, DIAMONDS & JEWELRY

12/09/09

Great place to buy the ring of your dreams!

by Laserlemon at Citysearch

I'm the maid of honor for my sister who just recently got engaged. I went with her fiance to buy her engagement ring at Inta Gems and it was magnificent! Not only were the staff friendly, but they gave us a step by step educational breakdown of the four Cs (cut, color, clarity, and carat weight). The staff was super friendly. They even gave out tasty candy treats and water! And my sister's fiance had a set budget, so they were able to work within his budget. Here's how the process works:

1. They started off showing us the various loose certified diamonds. All of their loose stones were high-quality. We just told them the shape, carat weight, and budget. They pulled out a few diamonds and gave us a one by one breakdown of each one. We also got to see firsthand what a diamond looks like under magnification to view the clarity and color. One of the gemologists, Steve, explained that it was extremely important to make sure you get a certified diamond because it lists all the imformation of the diamond.

2. Next, after we chose the perfect diamond, we looked through the settings. There was an enormous selection of engagement settings! They had traditional solitaires, three stone rings, and other antique-looking rings.

3. Last, after choosing the proper diamond and ring setting, the process to make a complete ring only took an hour and a half! They also resized the ring.

All in all, the experience was very educational. They taught me and my sister's fiance the fundamentals of diamonds, metal types for rings, etc. My sister's ring was a GIA certified, D color, and SI2 clarity round brilliant cut diamond weighing 1.25 ct. She had it set in a platinum setting with small round and princess diamonds on the sides. Accompanied with the ring and GIA certificate was an appraisal signed by their company's gemologist, Steve. He explained that the appraisal should be used for insurance purposes. The end result was terrific! I love her ring! It sparkles at every angle! And she is extremely ecstatic about it. Inta Gems is a great find within Los Angeles' Jewelry District. Not only did they have high quality jewelry, but their prices were a lot lower than jewelry stores at the mall. My sister's fiance and I looked at jewelry retail stores like Robbins Brothers, Zales, and Kay Jewelers, but I felt the diamonds and engagment rings at Inta Gems were of better quality. It didn't look mass-produced.

I'm sure everyone else who goes to Inta Gems will have a great experience too. Even if you don't buy anything right away, you'll leave with a head full of knowledge.

• Pros: High quality jewelry products for much less.

12/06/09

Great place for jewelry at a price you can't beat

by DJ Cool Guy at Citysearch

I was looking to buy an engagement ring for my fiance and I had no idea where to start. INTA GEMS is the best place to buy an engagement ring, or any fine piece of jewelery for you or your loved one. They have the highest quality of jewelry for the best price around. A friend of mine had bought his engagement ring there and he told me I had to go there and I will definitely get the best ring for the best price. Steve helped me with all my needs. He was great, so accommodating and knowledgeable. I told him what little I knew, he asked me what my budget was, what my fiance to be was like, and how big her hand was. Steve spent over an hour and half explaining everything there was to know about rings. When all was said and done, I picked out the perfect engagement ring. Steve was a total expert and showed real concern for me.

Steve and INTA GEMS were extremely accommodating and helpful. When it was time to give my fiance the ring, it happened to be the wrong size, but at no fault of INTA GEMS. My fiance told me the wrong size. This was not even a problem. Steve worked with me and was very helpful giving me many options. He even set my mind at ease giving me a guarantee on the ring, that if the ring was re-sized and anything happened he would take care of it. That is a guarantee that you will not get from all jewelers.

To this day we receive so many compliments about the ring on it's beauty and style. The first thing people say when they see it is, "wow, that is a really beautiful ring, it really sparkles".

I highly recommend everyone to go to INTA GEMS, you will get 1) the highest quality, 2) professional, friendly, and accommodating service, 3) guarantee on merchandise, and 4) the best price. I feel safe and can trust INTA GEMS with all my needs knowing everything I get will be quality. They are willing to work with you and your budget. We now have to pick out our wedding bands and you can bet that we will be returning to INTA GEMS for the bands and for everything in the future.

• Pros: Great price and high quality

10/14/09

Diamond in the rough!!!

by sonni11 at Citysearch

I searched everywhere but couldn't find the perfect place to buy a ring. Places were either too pricey, or made me feel uncomfortable.

So I called a trusted colleague who got engaged a year before me and he raved about how he was in the same predicament as me until he found INTA Gems.

This place is amazing. It's a diamond district wholesaler, so you know you're getting an unbeatable price. But the real value is the staff. As soon as you walk into INTA Gems, you'll know it's head and shoulders above the rest of the shops in the diamond district. The family has been in the business for years. They are helpful and genuinely friendly from the minute you walk in. And most importantly, you will trust them.

Once you step into INTA Gems, you'll be relieved that you did. The whole family is great. We happened to work with Steve Pheng and I give him an A++!

• Pros: Price and service

10/02/09

for amazing jewelry

by ajantunez at Citysearch

I live in Santa Clarita, CA and called INTA Gems to make an appointment the day before I actually drove out there. I told them what I was looking for in a loose diamond. When I got there the next day, they already had a selection of diamonds set aside for me to look at. My now fiancee and I fell in love a beautiful diamond and paid thousands less (about half price) for it than if we would have purchased it at our local mall. We already had the setting so INTA Gems set the diamond while we waited, it looked perfect. They also included an appraisal of the total ring. Everyone at INTA Gems was extremely nice and helpful, they gave my fiancee a print out of different ideas on how to propose to me. They also helped us find insurance for the ring. They went way above and beyond my expectations. My experience at INTA Gems was more than I could have hoped for. I would recommend them to anyone who wants a diamond they could really show off.

• Pros: best quality and price on diamonds

07/14/09

Definitely a place to go!

by crysmunk at Citysearch

INTA Gems is awesome! The staff is great, friendly, knowledgeable and most importantly, have AMAZING integrity! My fiancee and I stumbled upon them while we were wandering aimlessly around the jewelry district looking at all the glittering objects, and they were the first ones who didn't try to pressure us into getting something we didn't want. We told them we wanted a ring that incorporated both of our birthstones and they helped us design something completely unique. After the hour or so we spent with them, we told them we'd think about it and we wanted to keep shopping. They completely let us walk out the door after spending that much effort with us and didn't try to guilt trip or pressure us into buying the ring! Obviously we went back to them after checking out some of the other vendors since I found myself comparing all other rings to the ring INTA helped create for us. (and wait, it gets better!)

Steve gave us a great deal on the ring and called me in the middle of making it to let me know that he wasn't happy with the way some of the smaller stones were turning out (for those of you that don't know, gemstones get lighter in color the smaller they're cut). He showed me what the ring looked like with the lighter stones and, because I didn't like the way it looked, he recut a bunch more stones, just to find the 3 that would match the rest of my ring (at no charge!). It turned out absolutely beautiful and I love it!

We just went back to the jewelry district to get our wedding bands. We had an idea for a custom band for my fiancee, and again, INTA spent a bunch of time working with us and had no problem when we walked away to think about the ideas they presented to us. We priced around at some of the other jewelers to see how much they would charge to make what we had in mind, and found that INTA was a little bit more expensive, but we went with them anyways because we trust them to do a great job and take care of us.

Also, the quality of INTA jewelry is a lot better than other jewelers downtown. I've seen rings that my friends have had made at other vendors, and I've noticed that when it comes to details and finishing touches, INTA is exponentially better! The INTA family is definitely a place for everyone to check out if you're looking for anything made with exquisite attention to detail by people who care about making sure you get what you want!

• Pros: Great integrity and quality
• Cons: not the cheapest in the jewelry district, but def the best!

06/24/09

Great Service, Great Product

by enriquegrant at Citysearch

I went to INTA Gems with my fiance (now wife) to look at designs and get a custom sapphire engagement ring. I needed a custom design because we were going to take out the sapphire from a family heirloom ring and put it in a new ring that she described and I designed. Steve did a great job of showing me some designs, working with me to flesh out the final design I had in my head, and negotiating the details. In one day we got the design details worked out, settled on a price, took out the sapphire from its previous setting, measured for rings, and picked out wedding bands. Two days later I realized that I had forgotten one small design detail. I called Steve, rushed down to his shop, and drew out the detail, and it was no problem for him to add it in. The ring arrived a week and a half ahead of schedule and looked great, along with its matching band and my wedding band. When I proposed, my fiance loved it and said I did a great job of designing what she wanted. The only thing that threw her off a little bit is that the ring box INTA gave me is pretty large--at first she didn't think it was a proposal because of the ring box size, hehe. At any rate, INTA did a great job on the rings and the box was not very big of an issue. Thank you Steve for making me look good! Thanks also for helping us out with a re-sizing, multiple swapouts of my band, and for generally being available and giving great service. I didn't expect the process of ring-shopping to be as quick, easy, and comfortable as Steve made it. I would recommend INTA to any of my friends and family. Thanks again!

• Pros: Great Finished Product, Great Service, Flexibility
• Cons: Huge ring boxes

06/10/09

Best Jeweler

by JTip at Citysearch

Long story short, only INTA Gems was able to supply me with an ideal diamond that fit my exact specs. I must have shopped about 2 dozen competitors and only INTA had what I was looking for.

INTA Gems always treats me great and that is why I continue to go to them year after year.

• Pros: Superior customer service, easy to talk to, wide variety
• Cons: Not applicable

05/23/09

THERE IS A REASON FOR THE 5 STAR RATING!!

by CLH1122 at Citysearch

I had the pleasure of meeting Peter and being able to get my engagement ring from him! I had purchased the diamond separately from a wholesaler before I had discovered Inta Gems. I was not having any luck finding a setting I liked, much less finding someone that would set a diamond that wasn't theirs. Peter SAVED ME! Not only did I find the EXACT setting I was looking for at Inta Gems, his setters set my diamond for me!! It was a risky set due to an extremely thin girdle so I lucked out!! I am so thankful for these people and will recommend them to EVERYONE looking for the perfect ring!! I can't wait to go back to pick out the wedding bands! Thank you Peter!!!!

• Pros: customer service and quality!!
• Cons: none

04/26/09

Wonderful Experience.

by FuntimeBarbie at Citysearch

Took a two hour drive down to LA Jewelry Mart to compare prices with that of our local community. Not only did we find there was an overwhelming selection...the prices were definitey worth the drive! We had read good referrals about Inta Gems so we wanted to make it a point to find this particular place. As we walked along we went into three other places. We found each experience to be a good one. The selection was good, the prices were EXCELLENT, the people were very nice, and not too pushy.

When we entered Inta Gems, we were greeted by the owner, Jerry Young. He introduced us to a sales associate who began searching for what we were looking for. During that time, the owner's wife, Connie, made some suggestions and offered us more than reasonable prices. What set INTA GEMS apart was their attention to what WE wanted, and we could NOT have met nicer people. When all was said and done, we had bought two rings at an excellent price, they had stayed an extra hour while our rings were sized and set after locating someone who could take care of it RIGHT THERE AND THEN. We felt like we had made new friends......and we knew it was DEFINITELY worth our time/drive and we knew we'd be back in the future for additional purchases!

• Pros: nice selection, personal attention, excellent prices
• Cons: was out of town....for us

03/30/09

Best Experience EVER!

by reggileu at Citysearch

My fiance and I went ring shopping around the San Diego area before heading to the diamond district in LA. Everywhere we went, people were just looking to make a sale. Plus they'd always try to pressure us into buying the ring! ("The sale is only until this sunday!", "I can't hold the diamond for you unless you put down a deposit of *insert ridiculous dollar amount here*", etc).

Then comes INTA Gems... I actually found this place online. Decided to check it out based on all the positive reviews and I'm so glad I did!! Steve (and family) was so helpful and never pushy. I was super picky, but Steve remained patient with me till the end. Now I have my engagement ring on as I type this, and even now (2 months after he proposed) - I still can't stop staring at it!

Great prices for GREAT quality jewelry! And great customer service! I'll be heading back there in a few months when we start shopping for our wedding rings! =D

• Pros: great customer service, great selection, great prices!
• Cons: none!