This review is for the response provided by Ted, the owner. First, I did not want full value for the ring. I was expecting to lose 20-30% and would have been satisfied with an offer within that range. Would you be comfortable with purchasing a $10,000 diamond ring that is only worth $4,000 in 6 years, knowing that in 6 years the value of gold and diamonds has gone UP? Would you feel comfortable buying a setting that was $1,500.00 and then told it is only good for scrap? The setting is 14K gold with 36 diamonds weighing .52 carats, and it is only good for scrap? How does a ring wear out? Does it get damaged? No. It is in perfect condition, meticulously maintained. Does the value of diamonds go down? Shouldn't. What Ted told me is he would have to give me less than what he was buying diamonds out of Israel right now. My diamond is a 1.2 carat diamond, H color VS2 clarity round very good cut. Shop around see what that costs. With an EGL certification, which I now find out is a discredited certifier. Do not buy EGL certified diamonds. What he is doing is buying EGL certified diamonds and selling them at GIA certified prices. I am not saying he is lying about the certification - he says its EGL but he told me "it's gust as good as GIA". NO ITS NOT. The same grade diamond with an EGL certificate is worth thousands less. The reason being EGL does not have very high standards, and like I said,EGL Europe has been DISCREDITED. Next, as to the "trade" in, sure I could get any of the exorbitantly marked up jewelry in his store. Great. So if I tried to sell that, what would I get? You got it, $4,000.00. Consignment? Right, he has every incentive to sell my jewelry when he has a store full of inventory he can make bundles on. Come on. If you are comfortable knowing that you will lose $6,000.00 on a $10,000.00 purchase by all means go shop there. But if you want to get a FAIR deal, go for a wholesaler that marks up their inventory in the 20 to 30% range, there are plenty out there. I thought Ted was one of them since he advertises himself as a "friend in the business". P.S. when I questioned him about the $6,000.00 markup he said, and I kid you not, "THAT IS THE BUSINESS". Well, he will not get MY business. read more

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE. EVER. Long time Yelp reader, first time reviewer. I just had to take the time out post my terrible experience with Pacific Diamond & Swiss Watch Exchange. I would give it zero stars if I could. I decided to switch insurance companies and needed appraisals of my wife's wedding ring and a few other items that I wanted to insure. I called Pacific Diamond & Swiss Watch Exchange on a Wednesday and spoke with Amber. Apparently Amber was the only certified appraiser in the entire store available to do the appraisal. Amber was very friendly and noted that she was due to have a baby any day, and that I would need to come in very soon if she were to do the appraisal. Not having the ring and items on me and the fact that I work during the week, I told her that I would try to swing by on Saturday. I asked if I needed to make an appointment, and she stated that I did not need one. On Saturday, I decided to call ahead to make sure that Amber was working and available to do the appraisal. According to their website, Pacific Diamond & Swiss Watch Exchange opens at 11 am on Saturday. At 10:45, I began to call the store, hoping to catch someone if they could let me know if Amber was coming in. No one bothered to answer the phone. I called again at 10:55, and virtually every 10 minutes thereafter. Again, no one bothered to answer the phone. After what seemed like 45 minutes of failed calls, at 11:30 I decided to take a chance and go down to the store. I reached the store only to find that there were customers in there! After a few minutes of standing around, a fellow (the owner?) asks me if I need anything and I told him that I was there to see Amber for an appraisal. One of the young women working there looked up and I assumed that was Amber. The fellow stated that Amber was busy the entire day and that she wouldn't be able to assist me. I relayed to him that I needed an appraisal and was told that I didn't need an appointment. He kept insisting that Amber would not be able to help me. I was dumbfounded. It was barely the opening of the business day and somehow he knew that she would be occupied the entire day! WTF! Furthermore, if any of the lazy employees would have picked up the phone, it would have saved me a wasted a trip down to the store. I can only assume that since I wasn't "buying" anything that day, my business wasn't worth it to the owner. Well, I will never be setting foot in the store ever again and will be telling anyone that ever asks me for an appraisal referral to steer clear of this place. What a serious waste of time. Very bad customer service and experience. Absolutely pissed, I began calling various appraisers from the Pacific Diamond & Swiss Watch Exchange parking lot. Check my other review if you want to know where I ended up going. As for Pacific Diamond & Swiss Watch Exchange, don't bother. read more

Went into this shop one day purely to check out diamonds and get information on diamonds. I was shopping for diamonds for a custom ring I was working on in my mind and needed to get some questions answered. Ted the owner asked me if I needed help and I said that I was just looking at that point (which is what I was doing first to see what sort of designs I that might inspire me.) Ted was very aloof and rude to me the second time around. It was almost like he expected me to just walk in off the street and buy something. I even asked him about his diamond cutting room and he seemed very impatient and unwilling to answer. My experience there was really horrible and I decided at that point to not only never buy anything there ever, but also to make sure that I recommend to all my friends to stay away from them. I did go down the street to another shop on the corner of Keeaumoku and Rycroft called J.E.S. Jewelry Wholesaler (but they sell to the general public) and the service there was much like that at Pacific Diamond Exchange. An owner who acted like I was supposed to just step off the street and drop my money. What is up with these owners? Arrogance is the only thing I can think of. Maybe they judge people by what they are wearing (because I dress very casual) but I ask very intelligent questions since I know a bit about jewelry. Maybe they think I am a spy for other stores or something? Who knows and who cares these two stores will never see a single dollar of mine nor my friends. Customer service is lacking as a whole in Hawaii in many places and these people who sell high priced items need a serious attitude adjustment and should learn from the Japanese that the customer is god. (Okyakusama is the term they use which translates as the customer is god.) That's because without the customer they go out of business. When will these people learn that customer service is the most basic thing in selling. Interestingly enough, Ted's wife is Japanese and yet he still doesn't get it. What ever happened to the good old days when the House Of Adler in the Pan Am Building was there. They used to provide the penultimate of customer service. I once bought a diamond there and decided that I wanted two smaller ones as earrings instead of one big one and they were more than willing to take it back and give me credit for the original price. Kathy Dineen there was the best sales woman on the planet. She is originally from Japan and she understands that the customer is god. read more

Went here for a simple fix, a pin fell out of the watch. They said they couldn't do it and didnt have a pin for it, which I find strange that a business that promotes itself as having a"watch repair" service cannot do as basic a fix as this. Went to Macy's and it was fixed within 10 minutes. I received a reply to this review that stated 1) they offered to have the watch repairman look at it and provide an estimate, but 2) I was looking for same day service. Neither of these statements are true. In fact nothing close to either of these statements was discussed with me at all. It was my husband's watch that he loves and he is gone for a few months so I didn't need it for awhile, which they could have found out if they said more than 5 words to me :) The woman who helped me took the watch, brought it to the back room for a few minutes, then came back and said they couldn't do it. I was not offered any other options, I was just told it couldn't be done and turned away. It sounds like the person replying either doesn't remember me as a customer or is lying about the situation to make the review sound less negative, but I appreciate any effort at a follow up. I just wish I could have been offered this information before I drove all the way out there. I chose this place because it sounded like a nice reputable company but maybe my request was not worth it to them. So yes, I was happy I went to Macy's because I'm sure the cost was much cheaper, although I don't know because I was never given that estimate :) read more

They actually insulted me in front of my gf. Wtf. The big guy is very rude. The girl behind the counter does not care about customers. I got an email notice from another user about their multiple lawsuits. Read through some previous one star comments. read more

Ted Gonzales was arrogant, rude, and unapologetic regarding multiple mistakes that were made by both him and his staff that cost me and my wife time and money. These mistakes could have easily been avoided by having some attention to detail and caution before claiming that you can definitely provide a service. Such a lack of basic customer service is astounding coming from a family owned business in this competitive market that heavily relies on repeat customers. Ted Gonzales should understand that quickly disregarding a customer's complaint could cost him thousands in lost revenue. read more

Talk about service. When it comes to buying something as significant as an engagement ring pacific diamond and watch exchange does it right. They work within your budget and try to give you the best for your money. Amber was super helpful as i was choosing a setting to go with the perfect diamond. Even though she said don't worry so much about the price will work with you being curious I couldn't help but look. At the end I purchased a' awesome round diamond ring with a the 3 diamond setting which came out beautiful and at a very reasonable price. They never wanna sell you something you don't want. I'm definitely gonna buy me and my fiancées bands from there as we already looked when we got quoted for insurance for the ring and once again amber was of a great assistance. To further add to the pot they offer free cleaning whenever you need it plus and free resizing. Awesome, once again thank you amber as pacific watch and diamond exchange for making this experience a lot less stressful then I thought it would be. read more

Wow...I have to say this place was just awesome....I had gone to the Big Box stores searching for an engagement ring for my son and although the prices were good, the quality of diamond was not...went to at least 3 other stores in the Malls and ended up calling Pacific Diamond & Swiss Watch Exchange just to get a feel. Aly answered the phone and was extremely helpful from the get go. My son's budget was small and we made an appointment with Aly. When we went in, Aly was very informative and explained everything to my son about buying diamonds and brought out many for my son to choose from. She went from the low end to the high end of his budget and my son ended up getting a quality diamond at the low end of his budget. The entire staff at PD&SWE were extremely helpful and made this process for my son as painless as possible. They are such a family oriented place and it wasn't a high pressure sale jewelry store....I will definitely recommend PD&SWE to anyone! read more

Went with a friend who ALWAYS buys her diamonds from here. They weren't open yet, we were 15 minutes early but I they remembered my friend so they let us in early anyways while they were setting it up. They have tons of beautfiul and nicely priced jewelry. They are not pushy salespeople and they really know their stuff. read more

Ted and the gang are the best in Honolulu ! I have been doing business with them for the past 8 years and will continue to do so, he always makes sure I'm extremely happy with my purchase and is very knowledgeable in every aspect of fine jewelry! read more

I have gone to PD&WE for years and always get the best service and prices. We had our wedding rings made here and come for free cleaning and shine . The crew is so nice and can appraise for insurance. While we do shop at other stores we always come back to seeTed. If you look t his wall you will see hundreds of happy couples be it weddings, holidays ,or just for fun. Get your watches or gifts there. read more

A dear friend of mine recommended me to this store. I was skeptical about going anywhere to get my ring setting replaced but they made me feel really comfortable right off the bat. Ali was the lovely lady who helped me and I gave her all my trust. She was warm, friendly, knowledgable and did whatever she could to help me achieve the perfect setting for my ring. This company really works with you and does not rip you off like most corporate companies do. You pay for what you get and they provide quality service and products! I am very pleased with my new setting and I highly recommend anyone who is looking for a jeweler to come to Pacific Diamond :) read more

Alysn helped me pick out an engagement ring - all via email! I could not possibly have imagined a more perfect ring. Their prices are incredible and their service is superior. I will never recommend anyone else. Thanks so much! read more

I had such a great experience at PDSWE. I had a chance to meet Ted Gonzales and he was nothing but courteous and polite while helping with a diamond deal. They really do go over and beyond to meet your needs. Didn't feel pressured o rippled down upon at all, for not knowing about jewelry. I'd definitely make this place your first and last stop when it comes to jewelry. Mahalo again Ted for taking the time to help me. read more

I walked in to look for a replacement watch pin. The staff was friendly and even offered coffee or water while the owner tried to match my pin. He wasn't able to find a perfect match but gave me two that were close and refused any payment. He just asked to be considered when next buying something of more value. read more

i had purchased a diamond ring about 2 years ago and since my girlfriend had died in a traffic accident i never had the ring sized for her ted gonsales himself sold me the ring for $600 i paid him cash for it so when i came back a few days ago he would only give me $100 for it also when i bought the ring he gave me a appraisal paper with the ring at$1200 but my only choice was a $600 store credit toward a purchase in his store again i only wanted $300 half of what i paid for it the ring has been never worn and was in pristine condition as when ted sold it to me i have done business with his shop before as i have done business with wedding ring shop they tried the same thing with me 9 years ago anyway i rather deal with a small business owner who would be more honest and down to earth than someone who is just like the other jewelry shops claiming to be the best and has better prices the better prices is what ted gonsales will sell you and give you a over rated appraisal making you think that you have a good deal he and his shop is no better than the wedding ring shop i am a business man myself and i would never rip off or mislead my customers now when i hear his commercials about giving the best price and not being in the mall i just have to shake my head and wonder why he knocks down other shops when he and his shop is no better anyway im no stranger to diamonds i have a rare flawless 1.13 carot diamond bought in 1983 with certification papers and a 1990 gold diamond presidential rolex at any rate i will never do business with ted and his shop ever again i can forgive him for his dishonesty but i will never forget the take it or leave it attitude he gave me if ted was smart he should have just given me the $300 i asked for because he would have had the other $300 he took from me when i bought the ring anyway im truly saddened by this especially when you trust somebody and find out they are a wolf in sheeps clothing read more

Made an appointment to see Amber but she was just coming back from a vacation so she was super busy when we arrived. No problem though! Their whole staff is super nice and it gave us the opportunity to work with the owner Ted and the wonderful Ally! Ted helped my boyfriend and I find the perfect diamond and really took the time to show us everything we needed to know about choosing the right diamond for us! Pacific Diamond didn't have the ring setting that I wanted in store (I came in with a video to show them) but Ally got right to work researching the setting and finding the exact look that I wanted! She showed me several different options and listened to my thoughts and requests and kept looking until she was able to find the ring I had envisioned for me! Thank you so much for all of your help everyone at Pacific Diamond! You really made us feel so comfortable and didn't pressure us in any way, I would definitely recommend your services to any of my family and friends! I can't wait to see the final product!!! read more

There is a LOT to say about this family run establishment but I am going to try keeping this short. Amber spent 2 hours past closing to help us with the most absolute patience. Because everyone in the store was like family, they didn't compete with each other and even helped us patiently when Amber wasn't there. They didn't pressure us into buying anything; they only cared about what we want. They definitely have one of the largest selections. For example, at the Wedding Ring Shop the guy could only show me one baguette style setting, but at Pacific Diamond, they could show me more than a dozen different styles of it. Pacific Diamond will not try to oversell you and will try to stick closely with your budget. In end, we chose an engagement ring set and wedding band. My fiancé's finger was so small that the jeweler recommended that the wedding band be custom ordered from the manufacturer instead of resizing it. Pacific Diamond did that with no charge to us because they only care about QUALITY and CUSTOMER SATISFACTION! Ted, the owner, was very friendly and made sure that I got to try their AMAZING coffee, expresso, chai, etc. machine! Now, I have to get at least one cup whenever I visit this shop. I look forward to each ring cleaning in the future. read more

For this Christmas, I really wanted repair a ring that my mother had inherited from my grandmother. The ring was missing a small diamond and was pretty scratched up since my grandmother wore it often, but it was still beautiful and had a lot of sentimental value for my mom--I definitely wanted to find the right people to repair it. After reading several reviews, I decided to take the ring to Pacific Diamond and Swiss Watch Exchange. As other reviews have stated, I received fantastic customer service from Aly. She was professional and really seemed to know her stuff. I liked that she looked up prices for each step of the repair process in a service "menu" rather than just stating prices off the top of her head (sometimes this makes me wonder if people are just making up prices as they go). Aly then walked me through each of the charges (for cleaning/polishing, replacing the stone, rebuilding the prong that had broken, tightening the other prongs), which I also appreciated. As it was a week until Christmas, she did inform me that there was a chance that it would not be ready until after. Although I was a bit disappointed that there was a possibility of the ring not being ready until after Christmas, I knew it was mostly because I had procrastinated in taking the ring in, especially during the busy time of year. Even though I resigned myself to waiting until after Christmas, three days before Christmas, I received a call from Aly saying the ring was ready! I had my brother pick up the ring (Aly took his information to confirm who he was before handing over the ring) and upon seeing the repaired ring I was stunned to see how good it looked. As I mentioned before, the ring was previously pretty scratched up ("enjoyed a lot" as Aly said), but it looked brand new after its time a Pacific Diamond and Swiss Watch Exchange! Even my mom was shocked to see how great it looked--she is now talking about taking her wedding ring in to get cleaned and polished by the folks at Pacific Diamond and Swiss Watch Exchange! read more

This is a long over due review. My husband and I was visiting Oahu few months ago. We were there only for a day. When I called I spoke to Alysn she was so helpful and took our appointment on last minute notice to get our wedding ring for its yearly maintenence. When we got to the store I was concerned that we may have to leave our rings overnight as we are scheduled to fly back to Maui that evening. She immediately put a rush on getting our rings back within 1 hour. While waiting at their store Ted, Alysn and the rest of their staff kept us company talking about the old Hawaii days. They made the whole hour go by so fast and even got all my diamonds secured tightly and shinny. My husband was also very happy how nicely cleaned and redipped in gold his ring turns out. This is the kind of Aloha spirit I miss sometimes living here in Hawaii. As the islands grows sometimes locals forget to give that aloha spirit to everyone. We will definitely come back to Pacific Diamonds for our next wedding ring upgrade and for our jewelry maintenance. Thank you Ted & Alysn! read more

Awesome experience. Personable, knowledgable and helpful. They really helped me to get the most out of my budget.

Married 8 years and been a customer for 10!! Many purchases through the years and appreciate their GREAT advice to my husband!! Their prices are so reasonable and they have the best customer service!! Free cleaning and inspections... Had to re-size and was also reasonable (a lot happens in 10 years!)... They remember your name even if I only stop by twice a year!! Thank you Bev and staff for always taking care of my family! read more

I was looking for the right place to sell a couple rings and this was it! I went to 8 places and they gave me the best offer and the best service. Their first offer was not the highest I had found but they were willing to increase their offer to beat it. Their offer was actually twice as much as one of the other places. Alysn and Ted were great to work with too. I enjoyed talking with them. read more

Amazing service and great selection! Everyone here is so nice and they make you feel very comfortable! Not to mention their hot chocolate/coffee machine is super good too!!! I am so happy we got my ring here! Love this place!!!!! read more

best jewelry place on island. sophia is what customer service is all about. she went above and beyond what normal people do... i cant say enough about the excellent customer service read more

I would never recommend anyone go here. True the staff is friendly, until you get a poorly crafted engagement ring and want your money back. My husband's ring was not engraved and we only got a faxed copy of my diamond's EGL cert, they kept saying it was in the mail. When I picked up my ring there was still solder marks and the emerald-cut diamond was crooked. They attempted to fix it but it looked like all they did was remove the solder marks. We wanted to trade it in for a different item but a sales rep begged us to give them another chance, stating they would have Ben Bridges do the mounting. It was ready the next day so it never made it out of the store for the 2nd fix. Ted Gonzalez demanded his rings back and told us to get our money back from the credit card company because he would never refund it. So now, we're still trying to dispute $4500. I did a search online and two other couples had a horrible experience. Read their story here: http://www.theknot.com/co_profileview.htm?profilename=kekai read more

Avoid this place! My mother bought a diamond here to send to me in another country. The person there told her that if we didn't like it we could exchange it since we were not there to see it in person. My mother sent us the diamond and my wife and I didn't like it. We called PD&SWE overseas and asked to make sure we can exchanged it since my mother and her friend both said we could exchange it. When we finally got back to hawaii, we went to the store picked out a diamond that was cheaper than ours and then asked to exchange it with the one we had. The owner said that they don't do exchanges but in our case will give an exception. But, he said he can't give us the diamond we picked out because it wasn't theirs, and he will call us when he gets in a diamond that is theirs. WE called him for a couple months once a week and he said to stop calling him and he will call us to tell us when he will have that diamond we were looking for. He didn't call us for 10 more months. We finally came back into the store and he told us he isn't going to do anything for use and swore at us saying too bad get out of his store. Please don't do business here! This is the only store that has all sales are final. Go to a real diamond store like Ben Bridge, Zales, The Wedding Ring Shop, anything but this place. Rude owner, fake sales pitch, and just plain terrible. Also, we never got a real Diamond Certificate just a photocopy of one! And he gave us an insurance replacement appraisal that is more than twice the real price of the engagement ring. All, fishy practices. read more

i just dropped off my watches. last time i did they took perfect care of me. i hope this next exsperience is the same.