Judith Arnell Jewelers

Unconventional is my M.O., so how better to begin the engagement process by literally picking out every detail of my ring before it’s happened? Thankfully my wonderful boyfriend was perfectly content with this process, knowing it was the easiest and less tearful way of doing things. We started looking at rings seriously about 6 months ago, after cooling down from the sticker shock he asked me to go again. I’ve been to enough jewelry stores now to know what kind of treatment to expect. There happens to be a larger jewelry store right next door to here that we popped into prior to JAJ, which put a bad taste in my mouth.
Judith Arnell Jewelers was next on my list. With optimism, we opened the door to a small store with very few displays, and the friendly face of Dave greeted us from the backroom. He asked what we were looking for and how he could help us. I started with a budget first. He did not snark at it as the store just previous to JAJ did, instead he said, «I’ll go pull what I have in your price range and we’ll go from there.» He kindly led us to the backroom and began pulling trays of settings out for me to try. He let me have at them, any ring I wanted to put on was at my disposal. We talked a bit about what I’ve found that I’ve liked (split shank round halo to be exact), and he helped me find a few of those. Because they deal with some designer rings which tend to be a bit more than others, they also offer to custom make your ring in your price range, based off of the ring you may love but your budget may not. I never knew we might actually be able to custom make my ring! So I tucked that thought away in my head, as I grabbed for the last ring I ever needed to try on. A beautiful triple shank, cushion cut halo, with a round center stone. I would have never thought that this would be «THE RING», but after putting that big beautiful thing on my chunky little sausage finger and seeing how absolutely perfect it was for me, I was in awe. I just kept putting it on, taking it off, staring. Repeat. Now the setting was doable in our price range, but I worried about being able to afford a diamond nice enough for the center stone.
My mom happened to give me her wedding ring a few weeks ago to do with what I please. In all honesty it’s because I’m her baby, and I’m over 30. Unfortunately for her I’m her only chance of having a child that gets married, so she was trying to help speed the process along… thanks mom! I have since then taken it to a few jewelers, consignment stores, and pawn shops; none of which offered me what it really should be worth. Although JAJ doesn’t really buy diamonds from people for cash, they can do a little wiggle room with offering trade in-​store. I thought this might look like an okay avenue, and asked Dave to take a look. He got out his loops and immediately asked me why I wasn’t using this diamond. Long story short, my mommy told me I couldn’t! Something to do with karma and a failed 4^th marriage. On top of that reason, I told him I thought it was ugly, and didn’t sparkle like the diamonds I’ve tried on that are half the carat weight. Judith happened to be out so he couldn’t show it to her in terms of them buying it from me, but he offered an alternative that I would have never thought of and didn’t know was possible! He led us into the showroom to a display from a company called Star129. They will take your existing diamond (inclusions, scratches, dents, and all) and make them exquisite! I learned so much today, but most importantly I learned about facets, these are what make your diamond «sparkle». Facets are the points in which the light reflects off the diamond like little mirrors, and a normal ‘brilliant’ cut diamond like the one in my mom’s ring has 58 facets. What Star129 does is take your ordinary diamond and increases the facets to 129 by cutting them into the diamond. It will lose a little carat weight, but with this process I’ll be losing inclusions and actually increasing the price of my existing diamond! After lunch, a phone call to ask mom if I could use her diamond, and an hour later, we came back in. My original plan was to go to 3 more stores, but later thought, why? My ring is at Judith Arnell Jewelers!
We were welcomed back, and Dave took even more time to go over every detail with me, weigh my diamond, give me credit for my 18k gold band, and get this– he even gave us 30% off the price of our setting even though the sale didn’t start for a few more weeks! During the process Judith came by to tell me what a beautiful ring I had chosen and how great it looked on me. She offered some pictures of the Star129 work on some other diamonds, and assured me that we were making an excellent choice. Dave was kind, he was patient, he was not pushy in anyway. He understood what we had to offer, what we were trying to gain, and left me with so much more than I ever imagined was possible with our budget. I am truly getting the ring of my dreams for a third of the cost!

It was that time in my life to buy a ring for my very special woman. I had no clue what I was doing or what I was looking for. My sister recommended I speak with Judith before wasting my time looking else where. I gave Judith a call and she went above and beyond my expectation. She was constantly emailing me sending me picture giving me lessons in Diamonds, It was amazing the amount of time she spent on the phone with me. I was able to customize the ring for my special woman. Judith shipped the ring to California. Yes I was nervous about not being able to see the ring in person. Judith guaranteed me that if I did not like the ring I would ship it back and we would look for another stone or style. Well I loved it and when the time came my fiancé loved it. We are always getting compliments on the ring. Multiple times co workers have grabbed her hand to look at the ring. It doesn’t end there because of this great experience I had to get the wedding band from her. Running out of time with little more than a week till the big day I gave Judith a call. She was able to meet my needs and expectations of the style of the band.
Judith you are an amazing woman I truly am thank you for all the work you have done for me. I one day hope to visit portland and when that days comes I will be stopping by the shop. I’m sure she will want a push present when that time comes :). I will be call you again!
If you don’t stop by her store or if you live in another state like myself you would be a fool not to give her a call.

For years I’ve been looking at rings at various stores for an upgrade from my engagement ring. I found many rings that I liked, but nothing that really blew me away.
I asked a few friends where they’ve gone and kept hearing Judith’s name. It feels great to support a local designer who uses the most beautiful jewels. Judith is incredibly charming, knowledgeable, and delightful. I took my time looking at designs, would go home, think about it, and then came back with more thoughts. In the end, Judith set me up with a beautiful setting and a beautiful stone. She was so patient as I kept changing my mind. I now have an incredible ring. The stone is so beautiful! I was getting my hair done the other day and the stylist noticed my ring when the light kept catching the stone. Her stones are just that beautiful.

I don’t take time to do this often, so I am serious as a heart attack when I say Judith is first class; the real deal!
If you stop in to her shop, and by some miracle her inventory doesn’t provide the exact desire of your heart, she will sit down, listen to what you have visualized, and design it on the spot!
When she didn’t have the exact size, color and shape of diamond I wanted in her store, she surprised me a few days later by calling me to say, «I just bought a few diamonds that meet your criteria. Why don’t you come in and take a look? I think you’ll see one you love!»
Indeed, she made the exact ring I have always wanted with the perfect pear-​shaped pink diamond… just exquisite design style and the best service I have ever received! She is the only jeweler I will ever do business with!
Traci Marie Allen

My future husband and I were in a jam when we could not find a SINGLE wedding band to match my antique style engagement ring. With less than 4 weeks to go we realized we were going to have to have something custom made. I was worried it might be too pricey. A friend suggested Judith and I am very grateful she did! Judith gave me an appointment right away to discuss my dilemma. I am not very creative, so I thought it was going to be difficult to describe what I was looking for. I was COMPLETELY WRONG. Judith understood exactly what I was trying to say and assured me they could do it and even in my price range! NOT ONCE did she try to «up-​sell» me and even though my ring was a simple one I felt like she was going to treat it like the HOPE diamond, lol. Imagine my surprise when a get a call saying its ready, a week EARLY! I went to pick up the ring and my hand was shaking when I tried it on. It was more beautiful than I expected and matched my engagement ring perfectly.
PS Lance, they don’t open till 10am and the door is always open when they are. If the door was locked like you stated it was, they were CLOSED. Flannel or no, you would have to be pretty damn important to get a jewelry store to open up early just for you. This isn’t hollywood and you are not Ben Affleck.

My mom and I were pulled into the store with the help of Urban Studio stationed outside, promoting their catering offerings. Filled with comlimentary champagne, chocolate covered strawberries and lox wrapped asparagus, we decided to peruse the store to see what fantasy bling they had. I agree with Angela B. — complete Cinderella store! Dave spent over 30 minutes with us, quickly learning my style preferences, and showing the latest designs that made my heart skip a beat. It was pretty obvious that I was not going to buy anything, but he never made us feel less important than any other customer.
While engagement is far away in my future, I would seriously consider returning to Judith Arnell to do more than window shop. Exquisite selection, varied range of prices ($ 1,500−15,000), and wonderful customer service.

A girl can dream can’t she! This is my Cinderella store where I go to daydream about all of those fabulous rings that would look oh so pretty on my size 4 finger… hint, hint… except for those days when my fingers are closer to a 5 due to that darn water weight!
I’ve only owned the fake stuff, so imagine the sticker shock of those real diamonds that can cut glass, as opposed to those crackerjack rings I’m used to that offer the lovely benefit of turning my finger green.
The selection of jewelry is amazing and features everything from antique estate jewelry to contemporary bracelets and rings. The shopping experience is quite lovely, even if you’re just a browser like me.