Choosing Your Jewelry Store: Different Types of Jewelers 

You probably own several pieces of jewelry. They could have been given to you as gifts from your loved ones or handed down from your ancestors. But have you ever wondered where your diamond ring or gold necklace came from? There are many jewelry stores in and around Chula Vista. And although you might think that they are all alike, there are numerous variances between different types of jewelry stores. If you are contemplating purchasing jewelry for your loved ones, it’s important that you know the different kinds of jewelers you are likely to do business with.


Jewelry Brand Boutiques

The boutique style jewelers carry specific jewelry lines (jewelry pieces made by the same renowned brand). If you favor a particular brand, you may enjoy shopping at one of their boutiques. However, you don’t have the opportunity to compare among many different jewelry pieces unless you shop at a store that carries more than one brand.


Jewelry Designers

Independent jewelry designers fashion one-of-a-kind exquisite jewelry pieces and often target only the high-end customer. Frequently their shops are situated in fashion-conscious areas like La Jolla or Beverly Hills, and their latest designs are seen adorning the hippest celebrities.

Jewelry items created by designers are sometimes crafted from rare stones that are hard to acquire, such as exotically colored diamonds or gemstones of unusual quality. This ensures that the finished pieces are unique and exclusive. Buying jewelry from a designer may be an affordable luxury to some shoppers.


Chain Jewelry Stores

These are the most common type of jewelry store, with multiple shops spreading across the state or country known as chains because they’re all linked by the same corporate ownership, store name, policies, etc.

A chain store typically carries mass-produced and budget-conscious jewelry lines. They will have the same selection of jewelry in most of their outlets. These corporations buy their products in bulk, usually manufactured overseas, and distribute to their many different chain stores. Chain stores typically do not make custom design jewelry or do in-house repairs. Some chains can send out repairs to local shops to have done for you.


Online Stores

Online jewelers can be either jewelers who only sell online, or jewelers that have a physical location and also maintain a website store. Doing online shopping is convenient and a good way to get some idea of what you might like to purchase. Buying online without ever seeing the item can be problematic however. Jewelry always looks different in person than in a photograph. You aren’t able to try it on and see how it looks on your hand. And it can appear larger or smaller in a photo than it actually is.

Returns or exchanges might also be questionable with online jewelers. And in our experience, you generally don’t get a better deal online than you can get in a brick-and-mortar jewelry store. Online stores don’t sell at less than market value, even if they could. Sometimes their prices will be even higher, because they’re supposing that you won’t shop around.


Estate or Vintage Jewelers

Estate or vintage jewelry is simply previously owned pieces of jewelry. The pieces could have been originally manufactured recently or decades ago. But vintage jewelry is generally a great value for the money, and if carefully refurbished, it looks and wears just like jewelry that was purchased new. At Leo Hamel’s, we are experts in reconditioning vintage jewelry, and our selection changes daily. If you are shopping for a vintage or even genuinely antique piece of jewelry, then try Leo Hamel’s, where we sell both new and vintage jewelry, as well as new and pre-owned watches.


The Tourist Vendor

These leverage on the spur of the moment purchases by folks who are vacationing and want a souvenir of their trip. The dealers can be pushy and target gullible tourists with the notion that they will never meet again. In most cases, these shops sell mediocre jewelry pieces at substantially higher prices than the value warrants. Watch out for these jewelry stores, especially if you are in an unfamiliar city.