Wempe Reviews: High Prices

Overall Score:2.17
Wempe
Price:1		Selection:2		Customer Service:3.5
Pros	Nice Atmosphere Decent Customer Service
Cons	Underwhelming Products High Prices
Other Recommended Retailers	Blue Nile

The History

Wempe comes from humble beginnings a long time ago. Gerhard Diedrich Wilhelm Wempe opened a small watch workshop in 1878 with his 12 year old son, Herbert. By 1914, Wempe had four locations scattered around Hamburg. In 1980, Wempe made the international jump, choosing New York City for its first store outside of Germany. On the company’s 125th anniversary, Kim-Eva Wempe took over control of the day to day operations. She grew the business from 167 million euros annually, to over 400 million euros.

Wempe currently has locations all over Germany, as well as locations in New York, London, Paris, Madrid and Vienna.

The Experience

Wempe is pretty much a generic luxury place. There was nothing particularly fantastic there, but the place was nice and inviting enough. The saleswoman was very friendly and tried to be helpful, but it was clear that her knowledge of diamonds was minimal.

The Product

Their product was surprisingly disappointing. Not only did they use a weaker laboratory for certification, but the quality was very disappointing. We were shown a 1.01 G SI1 Very Good cut round diamond in a simple solitaire setting for € 11,775. The cut was very poor (far too deep) and the color was weak (they definitely got the expected upgrade from H to G color that you expect from HRD certificates). The clarity was probably an SI1, but the inclusion black and noticeable. Overall, this was a diamond that I wouldn’t recommend at any price. While we weren’t impressed with the value at a place like Bucherer, at least you are getting a nice (albeit overpriced) diamond. Here you are getting a substandard diamond that no higher end jeweler should be offering.

The Value:

As bad as the diamond quality was, when you look at the value you are in for a rude awakening. Let’s first compare apples to apples (a poorly cut round H SI1 to a poorly cut round H SI1). Here you have a comparable 1.00ct GIA certified, H SI1 diamond from Blue Nile. If you add it to a similar solitaire setting, the price comes out € 5,157. You are getting a ring that is practically identical for less than half the price (57% less to be precise).

Additionally, you can get a far superior ring and still come in at a much lower budget. Here is a stunning 1.00 G VS2 GIA Excellent cut round diamond  from Blue Nile. This diamond is superior in every single aspect (cut, color and clarity) and you are still saving almost 40%.

Bottom Line:

There is absolutely no justification for wasting money at Wempe. There prices are incredibly high and, most importantly, there quality is sup-bar. That is an unacceptable combination. The basic bedrock of luxury branding must be quality. You don’t have the right to gauge people on prices if you don’t even provide average quality.

James Allen James Allen is the leader in online diamond sales. Their imaging technology is the same as inspecting a diamond with a jeweler's loupe. They have the largest exclusive loose diamond inventory online and fantastic prices. They also have the nicest collection of lab created diamonds online. For a limited time Save 25% during James Allen Holiday Sale!

Click to Visit

What we love about them:

• No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. James Allen will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
• Lifetime Warranty
• Free International Shipping
• Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
• Provide insurance appraisals
• One free resizing within 60 days of purchase
• Free ring inscriptions
• Best-in-class high quality imagery of all diamonds in stock
• 24/7 Customer Service
• Best-in-class packaging

Blue Nile Blue Nile is the largest and most well known internet jewelry seller. They have a very large exclusive online inventory. Their high quality images are catching up to James Allens' and their prices are amazing. Blue Nile have generously offered our readers an exclusive one-time use coupon. (Click Here to save $100 off $1000 purchase)

Please enter your email address to receive your personal one-time use unique coupon code:

Click to Visit

What we love about them:

• No questions asked returns within 30 days of shipment. Blue Nile will send you a paid shipping label to return the ring.
• Lifetime Warranty
• Free Shipping
• Free prong tightening, repolishing, rhodium plating and cleaning every 6 months
• Provide insurance appraisal
• One free resizing within the first year of purchase
• High quality images of about half of their diamonds
• 24/7 Customer Service
• 100% credit towards future upgrades (must be at least double in value)
• Best in class fulfillment

About the author

Michael Fried Mike Fried has over 25 years experience in the diamond industry working with Leo Schachter Diamonds, Moshe Namdar Diamonds, and joining The Diamond Pro in 2007. He is recognized as an industry expert and has been quoted in publications such as Us, People, Page Six, The Next Web and more.