The Classic Gem

This review is so long overdue! My fiancé (now husband) and I walked into the Jewelry Center on Wabash and were greeted by the smiling faces of Jenny and Lollie! We had no experience shopping for jewelry, let alone diamond rings. Jenny and Lollie were patient in explaining to us the various cuts and ring settings. Never once did we feel pressured to make a selection or buy a ring. We were clueless about GIA numbers and the fact that the number is laser enscribed on the stone. Jenny and Lollie (and Dara) walked us through this process, showing us where the numbers were, on the stone and the GIA report, and cautioning us to always look for the number to prevent jewelry fraud.
Once we selected a design, Jenny and Lollie worked on a custom design with us (and we had the already purchased the center stone from elsewhere). They made recommendations that would enhance the look the center stone (even if it meant getting smaller diamonds on the band) and provided us a mold of the final design pretty quickly.
When it came time to actually setting the stone in the ring, we were invited to watch the process in the workroom upstairs — you could tell the skill of the person who was setting the stone into the ring! And they even appraised my ring for free at the end (for insurance purposes).
Overall, an excellent experience and I highly recommend the Classic Gem for any jewelry purchases or other jewelry-​related services!

Just got engaged during the Holidays (Christmas, Specifically!) and Lollie, Jenny, and the entire Classic Gem team made the entire process a wonderful and easy experience. I came in early December, started looking at diamonds and bands, and told them I needed it by Christmas (Two weeks). Not only did they succeed in hitting my deadline, but they kept me in constant communication with updates, 3d renderings, and specific questions for me regarding the details on the ring via email throughout the whole thing. I created a beautiful, simple, classic solitaire with diamonds around the band, but they can create any ring you want. Just bring in a photo. I also felt very comfortable that I was being given a great final price on the ring. If you’re in the market for any jewelry, I highly recommend you coming here. I was referred by a friend, and I will definitely refer anyone I know who needs to buy an engagement ring.

It is my sincere pleasure to provide the foregoing review on The Classic Gem. Recently, my daughter became engaged. My daughters dream was to have a Morganite engagement ring. Due to the limited number of jewelers which specialize in rare stones, I found The Classic Gem after researching Chicago jewelers. After discussing the possible options with Jenny over the phone, my daughter and I made an appointment to continue the discussion in person. We found Jenny and her sisters to be extremely qualified and enthusiastic during our initial meeting, and it was clear they would e able to customize the exact ring my daughter wanted.
After several email exchanges and further discussion, Jenny created a prototype of the ring my daughter specified. Throughout the process, they welcomed my daughter’s input to ensure the final product was perfect in her eyes.
Not only did The Classic Gem deliver the engagement ring my daughter dreamed of, they also did everything in their power to make the experience truly memorable. It is my privilege and pleasure to recommend The Classic Gem to anyone seeking a special piece of jewelry.

Forget 5 stars, The Classic Gem deserves every star in the galaxy!
First off, I want to say Jenny is one of the most amazing sales reps I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and doing business with. In fact everyone at The Classic Gem is freaking AMAZING! Customer service is wonderful.
Jenny and her sister made my experience so fun and they explained everything in a way that was crystal clear for someone like me who didn’t really know too much about jewelry, especially engagement rings. It was such a personal experience for me shopping there for my engagement ring. I felt like they were coming along with me for the journey of me getting engaged.
I knew I wanted a morganite engagement ring that looked unique yet also elegant and not too much like a fashion ring. We went through several possibilities of color and size for stones. What I loved about doing business with them was they never settled to just give me what they had. They looked and tracked down stones for me that they thought I’d love even without me asking and they always called or emailed me to let me know. They made me feel valued and like I belonged and that my ring was as beautiful and unique as my own personality. Thanks Classic Gem!

My fiancé got my engagement ring from The Classic Gem, and we’ve been very happy with it. They’re a family operation, but they use 3D modelling and printing to provide selection and flexibility to match any big name operation. They went from my fiancé’s general design requests to a finished completely custom ring in under two weeks. It looks very beautiful and elegant. Their service after the fact has been great too. I had the ring slightly resized, and it looks and feels perfect. Thanks, Jenny, Dara, Lollie, and Kara!

I cannot emphasize enough how excellent the customer service is at The Classic Gem. I wish I could give them 10 stars. My fiancé and I ended up going with a different jeweler, but I simply must write this review because from the moment I met Jenny and her sisters, they were nothing but friendly, professional, and extremely accommodating and helpful, even after telling them I was going with someone else!
I was looking to custom design a yellow diamond engagement ring for myself (FH is not much of a shopper) and went to The Classic Gem perhaps 20 minutes or so before they were closing. Jenny immediately showed me a bunch of settings for ideas and a yellow diamond they had in their stock. She was patient and informative and stayed with me long after closing and promptly emailed me pictures of my favorite settings the very next day. Throughout the discovery process, Jenny and her sister were willing to negotiate and match prices, which were already quite reasonable, they answered emails quickly, and were just very easy to talk to. I felt 100% comfortable, safe, and taken care of with them. Although my engagement ring was designed by someone else, I recommend these ladies 10 000%! I can’t wait until I need something else custom designed. I’d be very excited to work with them.

My fiancé designed my engagement ring with the ladies at The Classic Gem and didn’t have anything but wonderful things to say about the experience. For my part, I LOVE the ring and it’s everything I imagined! I went in with him to get it sized, which they did same day, within a few hours. The ring was sparkly and wonderful when I went back to pick it up. My fiancé is planning on getting me wedding-​day earrings from here as well as our wedding bands. We’ll be back for all our jewelry needs. Thank you to everyone at The Classic Gem! I love that all of my jewelry is coming from a great place which is local to the city we live in. So much more personable and affordable than name brand places who are rude and overcharge. Can’t recommend Classic Gem enough.

I designed a custom engagement ring at The Classic Gem for my wife, and the entire experience was as good as it gets.
TL:DR, going to The Classic Gem will be one of the best decisions you ever make to get a perfect engagement ring.
— Long Version —
Back before my wife and I were engaged, she was very clear about what type of engagment ring she wanted; a sapphire center stone, and a ring similar to a Tiffany setting that she showed me (which cost about triple what she said I should spend).
At first, I visited two well-​known, well-​advertised jewelers and found both their knowledge about and selection of sapphires to be inadequate. Additionally, they both told me if I want something that looked like this Tiffany ring, then I would need to go to Tiffany’s.
After leaving those places disappointed, I decided to focus on the sapphire and learn more about them. From there, I wanted to find someone in Chicago that had a large selection of high quality stones and understood their differences very well. I made appointments at three different jewelers that specialize in gems, and now feel lucky that I went to The Classic Gem first (and decided to skip my other appointments after spending an hour there).
Lollie, Kara, and Jennie showed me a huge collection of sapphires that their family has been collecting over decades. We spent a bunch of time looking at stones of varying characteristics, and I could tell they were experts. After some time, we found a stone that I couldn’t stop looking at or put down and we all knew it was perfect. We then worked out a price we both could live with.
From there, we started talking about the ring, I showed them the picture of the Tiffany ring I had as a design clue, and we started custom designing the perfect ring for this perfect stone.
The whole process was amazing. When I finally took my wife there to get the engagement ring cleaned and pick out our wedding bands, Lollie, Kara, and Jennie recounted the entire story of me searching for the perfect gem and designing the ring for her and made her even more proud of it than she already was.
I’m so happy I found The Classic Gem.

Having an engagement ring sit in a drawer seemed wasteful. My ex hubs couldn’t use it for his current wife, fiancé at the time. Well he could have, but that would result in a new and unnecessary fight about the past, jealousy, feelings or whatever else we make a big deal out of blah blah blah. No girl wants jewelry that an ex wore. Understandable. I was not going to wear it for obvious reasons. What to do, what to do?
Working hard watching the Real Housewives of Beverley Hills, one of the wives gave a gift using the stones from an old piece. Lo and behold my new earrings were born. I emailed Lollie and visited her at the store. We went over options and ideas and I settled on solitaire for two of the stones. From dropoff to finish I had my finished product is less than a week. I checked out two jewelry stores by my house before I went to Lollie. I got the best deal from her and couldn’t ask for a better experience. Next time I am going straight to her and not wasting my time anywhere else.

On behalf of my friend Senada she has asked me to write an review for her because she doesn’t have a Unilocal account… She took her bought engagement ring from Kay jeweler she the classic Gem because she has met her client Jenny that works there and talked a little bit about her ring… She wasn’t very happy with Kay’s and he price they charge her for everything even tho she has warranty on her ring… They made her ring look amazingly better than when she even got it! They added balls in the inside of her ring so it wouldn’t rotate around her finger and they polished it and cleaned it is sparkly amazing and looks like I said better than ever!!! Lollie helped her out because Jenny was out of town but kindly told her that she would be out and will still be taken care of … And nothing but positive things about this place! It s the classic GEM!!! And if she would have found them along time ago would of gladly told her fiancé to get her ring from them!!!

I don’t even know where to begin. I don’t think I can say enough amazing things about Lollie, Jenny, and the entire team at Classic Gem. My fiancé and I just got engaged on Saturday and the ring Lollie helped us design is the most beautiful ring I have ever seen. In just the three short days that we have been engaged, I have gotten stopped more times than I can count with people complimenting me on my ring. Lollie helped my fiancé (whoa) gain so much knowledge about all the different type of diamonds, settings, and all the different styles there are, and she did it in such a warm way. They are more than willing to work with any and all budgets, but more than anything, they just really want to see you happy with the ring they are helping you design. My fiancé never raves about anything, but as soon as he proposed, he said «I would recommend them to ANYONE and EVERYONE!» We are already looking forward to getting our wedding bands from them– along with any other jewelery needs along the way. To everyone at Classic Gem, we can’t say thank you enough for such a fantastic experience and such a stunning ring!

Yup! They did it again! Long story short, give them your business! You will not regret it! I needed a gift for Valentine’s Day. I emailed Lollie and asked what they had in my price range. She emailed me back some great choice and once I decided on a gift, she wrapped it, invoice me for it, sent me pics of the finished product and shipped it FedEx second day (no charge). Painless and easy… and I never had to go into the store. I told Lollie that I was too busy at the moment to come by and it was no problem…(two jobs will do that to you!) :0) She loved the gift and so did I and all is well with the world! DO NOT GO ANY WHERE ELSE AND WASTE YOUR TIME! I will continue to use Lollie and the team over at Classic Gem for ALL of my jewelry needs. This is my second review for the Classic Gem, and the service is still A1!
Thanks Classic Gem

TL;DR: Just go here for jewelry. I got engagement and wedding rings here and they are super helpful and friendly.
I went here with my girlfriend (now wife) to look at rings before we got engaged so that she could show me what she would want. Lollie, Lalin, Kara, and Jenny were all incredibly helpful in pointing us in the right direction. I ended up coming back a few months later to order the custom ring that we had decided on previously. The ring came back a few weeks later and it was beautiful.
I’ve come back about a dozen other times to have the engagement ring resized, then to get wedding rings, and to exchange my wedding ring a couple of times to get my size right. Every time I come in, everyone is very friendly and they offer to clean our rings for us.
So again, if you’re buying jewelry, this is where you should go.

I can’t even begin to start on how lucky we got with Lollie and her team.
My husband had shopped around quite a bit for my engagement ring, and up until the very last person who he bought the ring from, he hated the entire experience. He said everyone was too aggressive, nobody actually listened to him, and he felt as though he wasn’t getting the answers he wanted, leading him farther and farther away from the perfect ring for me.
A coworker of mine had gone to Lollie for his and his wife’s wedding bands, and he had mentioned that it was a really easy going experience and that both he and his wife were really happy with their purchases. When I told my then fiancé that I wanted to check her out, he was really stressed out and said he just knew it’d be a terrible experience given his experience with all of the other stores in this area. I, too, was hesitant but hoping for the best. Despite being pushy myself, I can’t stand pushiness from others and being 6 months pregnant my patience was even shorter and less manageable.
By the end of it all, we bought both wedding bands with Lollie — his a simple white gold band and mine the perfect dainty one with diamonds half way around, complimenting my engagement ring so nicely. My pregnant fingers are too swollen to wear them right now, but I stare at my rings every night in their box — they are just so pretty together.
I should also point out that Lollie had our rings ready for us in only 3 days — we came in on a Tuesday, I believe, and it was ready for us that Friday, which was great because we were getting married the following Monday. I know, we are terrible — you should really give them more time than we gave them!
All in all, Lollie and her team are great. They are patient, thorough, and they do all that they can to make you feel comfortable. I was really conflicted when it came to what I actually wanted, but Lollie and her team took pictures of my hand with different rings on, modeled the rings on their own fingers, etc. It really could not have been a better experience, in my opinion. My husband and I kept thinking how lucky we were to find Lollie, and we will definitely be recommending her to our friends and family.

Wedding planning is the absolute pits (unless you’re trying desserts. that’s delighful). Lollie, Jenny, and Kara make your life so much easier!
We had no idea what we wanted or what we were doing. They were so friendly (without being pushy) and started pulling out different rings to try. Lollie even let me try on her wedding band. They were able to quickly figure out what types of rings we’d like and didn’t try to push you to buy anything. The other places we went to (Giovar and James and Sons) were not nearly as helpful/​friendly.
Aside from their vast knowledge of jewelry, Lollie has great wedding planning tips – she gave some suggestions for flowers (Mariano’s-go to the one on Elston and ask for Brittan) and make-​up (Angie Diem). We went with those vendors too and have not had any problems.
They quickly respond to e-​mails and our rings are spectacular!

My fiancée and I went to The Classic Gem to repurpose stones for my engagement ring and my wedding band. My fiancée had a diamond that is a 4-​generation family ring, but I wanted emeralds flanking the side of my diamond. Lollie helped him to design the ring and it came out perfect! I came back about a year later with my Grandma’s wedding band. They were able to take the diamonds out of the setting and put into a new setting, all the while keeping the integrity of the diamonds. I am so pleased with their work and they work very quickly! I couldn’t recommend highly enough!

Lollie and her family went above and beyond for my fiancé, one that is extremely skeptical about the engagement ring purchasing process. The ring is Absolutely Gorgeous!!! I cannot stop staring at it and wondering if I’m dreaming. Thank you so much for restoring his faith that this process can be memorable.
The Classic Gem did not pressure my fiancé at all. He was able to take his time with the stone selection since we were looking for an Oval stone and the clarity and cut was very important.
They were very patient during the design process and allowed for many adjustments in order to make sure that is was ideal for the soon to be bride.
I just wanted to extend my thanks to the Classic Gem, Lollie and family for making this such a wonderful experience for Richard and I. I am so happy and blessed to know you Lollie, and really appreciate the work your family did for us. Please extend our gratitude. We look forward to seeing you for anniversaries to come!!!
xoxo
~ Jacqueline & Richard

We worked with Lollie and her family to create a custom engagement ring that my fiancée designed. She is a designer and had particular things that she wanted, but Lollie and Co. helped us out every step of the way.
We went to them first and liked the service a lot. They weren’t pressuring us to make any decisions, they just told us the facts about the diamond and ring business. We went to many more jewelers after talking to them to get the best price: New York, Chicago, California, Texas, and stores online. After a few months of searching, we ended up back at The Classic Gem. They had the best prices AND the best service so… what else could we want?
We decided to go the custom route and it couldn’t have been an easier process. We chose a design and talked about the structure of the setting and they let us know what could and couldn’t be done. We were on a very compact two to three week deadline (I was going to propose over the holidays… she said yes!) and Lollie assured us that they would make the deadline. To do this, she even met my fiancée on a Sunday, when they are closed, so my fiancée could choose a center piece diamond. The rest of the process (CAD drawings, feedback, changes) went smoothly and they didn’t push back on our choices. They simply informed us of the implications of our decisions.
We ended up getting the ring in time and we are both extremely satisfied! They are great people to work with and you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you went somewhere else. Trust me… we’ve looked!

My boyfriend purchased a setting from Lollie and family. It’s gorgeous. I can’t stop looking at it.
With that out of the way… We visited a number of stores on Jeweler’s Row and around Chicago. Bigger shops like NY Jewelers. One man shops in windowless offices, 10 floors up on Wabash. Artsy custom shops up in Lincoln Park. Many were ok but according to my boyfriend Classic Gem hit it out of the park with selection, price, speed, and service.
The bigger shops had selection but upsold like used car salesman, the smaller shops were friendly but had less selection and didn’t set on location (they send your diamond somewhere), and the artsy ones were really expensive and took a while. Point being, Custom Gem found the right setting, was a reasonable price, set it on the spot in front of you, had unbelievable friendly service. I highly recommend going straight there (or at least sending your boyfriend straight there).
Good luck!

Let me just say that The Classic Gem saved our wedding! See, we had bought our rings at another jeweler and when we went to pick them up yesterday, they weren’t what we’d ordered. Long story short, we asked for a refund and walked out with no rings and a wedding two weeks away. I was so stressed, I decided to go to bed and deal with it the next day.
So today, I google «gay friendly jeweler in Chicago» and up comes Steve Quick, but I’ve been in SQ before and they were just «okay» and pretty overpriced IMO. Then I see The Classic Gem and I’m like, «Hmm, they sound interesting. Let me check them out.» So I do and I LOVE the ring images they have. Still, I want to be absolutely sure they’re nice people, so I call and explain our situation. That’s when I knew they were the right jeweler for us. Not only were they professional, but they were genuinely nice on the phone. The owner asked my name and what time we would be by and I hung up feeling excited.
After work, we stopped by as planned. As we walk in, the owner looks up and says, «Are you Janelle?» It was great. They already had some rings pulled out for us to look over. They were super nice and extremely knowledgeable about their profession. In fact, my partner originally wanted etching and a flatter ring, but they explained why that may not be the best choice to compliment her engagement ring. Something the other jeweler failed to do. They were right.
We tried on several rings and never did they make us feel rushed, even though we came in an hour before closing. In fact, they even cleaned my fiancé’s engagement ring and applied rhodium touch up while we got a bite to eat, for no additional charge. They took their time to listen to our needs and are just genuinely nice people.
Oh and the best part? We spent less money than we would have at the other jeweler! Walking out with our wedding rings was great, but the smile on my partner’s face was priceless. We’ll be back for any and every jewelry need we have in Chicago!