Kay jewelers Review : Is Legit or Scam? 2024

Kay.com is the e-commerce place of Kay Jewelers. Kay Jewelers run with the tagline: “Every kiss begins with Kay”. That will mean that for those special articles that are symbol of your love and appreciation (such as diamonds, engagement rings, wedding bands, jewelry gifts, etc) of that special someone, Kay Jewelers is the place to go.

The big question is whether Kay Jewelers provide high-quality jewellery to qualify as the go-to diamond and jewellery store. If they do have the product, what about their prices; do the prices offered by Kay Jewelers represent good value for money? Also, does the jewellery store offer the service that we’ll want of an ideal jewellery store (such as easy ordering and payment processes, fast delivery, hassle free returns, effective customer service, etc)? In the first place, is Kay Jewelers genuine?

Yes, Kay jewelers is legit. It is not a scam because they will never steal your money or credit card details. And will receive anything you buy from the store without a problem.

This Kay Jewelers review will examine Kay Jewelers in order to provide the information that will help you answer these questions and more.

Kay Jewelers review at a glance

• Website and e-commerce store is www.kay.com
• The brand was established in 1916
• Is currently owned by Sterling Jewelers (which is owned by Signet Jewelers)
• Operates over 900 stores and retail outlets
• The e-commerce store ships merchandise to locations within the US
• Return are allowed: 60 days from purchase for refund; 90 days from purchase for exchange
• Support service is available via postal mail, email, telephone, and live chat

What is Kay Jewelers? – Background

The history of Kay Jewelers can be traced to 1916 when the Edmund and Sol Kaufman opened the first store using one corner of their dad’s furniture store, in Reading Pennsylvania. That first store offered much more than jewellery, as it also sold items like eyeglasses and electric razors. However, over the years Kay Jewelers has evolved to be a jewellery destination, and their product offering includes engagement, non-engagement jewellery and watches.

Kay Jewelers is currently a division of Sterling Jewelers, which itself is owned by Signet Jewelers Inc. This corporation has a lot of top brands in the industry under its wings which include Zales, Jared, The Galleria of Jewelry, Piercing Pagoda, Ernst Jones, Peoples. In fact, Signet Jewelers Inc is the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewellery.

Kay Jewelers has the second largest store network in the jewellery industry (the first being Zales). So by that parameter (brick and mortar stores), Kay Jeweler is the second largest jeweler at least in the US. With their over 900 stores and retail outlet, you’ll find Kay Jewelers in most shopping malls in the country.

Thus, Kay Jewelers is essentially a brick and mortar (offline) jeweler. However, given that it is inconceivable for a modern company not to have an official website, the company launched its website (www.kay.com) which is not only informational but also for e-commerce. However, unlike “true” online retailers that have all or the large part of their business coming from their e-commerce site, only a minute part of Kay’s business comes from their website. Thus, though Kay processes orders placed in its website, the company does not come out as an online jewellery retailer.

Lastly, Kay Jewelers says that you can be confident that any piece you buy from them is conflict free. Why? The company complies with the Kimberly process and also requires its suppliers to provide a warranty that the stones supplied are conflict-free.

Products

Product Range

You want a diamond and jewellery store that’s able to provide a variety of products. That way you’ll be able to shop all your jewellery needs in one place. This offers convenience, as a lot of time and effort goes into getting the right place for such special articles as diamonds and jewellery. Also, there are cost savings that come from getting products in one place. Discounts from large order purchases is one; while another is paying to ship one order instead of paying for shipping of multiple orders from multiple stores. That said, the ideal diamond and jewellery store will offer a wide product range.

Kay Jewelers does just that. Whether in their physical retail stores or in the e-commerce store (Kay.com), you can get engagement rings, wedding, bands, etc. The menu in Kay.com lists the following product categories:

• Ring – Kay Jewelers hold the full gamut. You’ll find engagement rings, wedding and anniversary rings, bridal sets, personalized rings, and even toe rings.

The store provides rings in all the different metals, which include Tungsten (Black, grey, white, and brown), Palladium, Platinum, Rose Gold, Titanium, White Gold, Yellow Gold, sterling silver, stainless steel, and more. Also, Kay Jewelers provides different styles of rings that’ll satisfy the majority of ring shoppers (Bexel, Halo, Pave, Solitaire, Vintage, 2 stones, 3 stones, etc).

For the engagement rings, as it should be with any serious jeweler, you have the option to buy a pre-set engagement ring or to create your own engagement ring. One issue with pre-set rings is that the retailer chooses both the stone and the setting and will not allow any customizations. So you have little or no say in the quality of the diamond. Therefore, it’s good that you can get a unique engagement ring that is all about you by using the “design a ring” feature to choose your own diamond for your engagement ring.

• Necklaces – Styles include Chains, Lockets, Personalized and more. It doesn’t matter in what metal you want your necklace; Kay Jewelers have it all.
• Bracelets – you can shop different styles that include Anklets, Bangles, Cuffs, Chains, Tennis Bracelets, Personalized Bracelets and more. They are also available in the different metals which range from diamond to sterling silver.
• Earrings – A variety of Earrings styles are available which range from climbers, Studs, Hoops, Personalized and more. You can get them in all metals types – diamonds, sterling silver, platinum, etc
• Watches – You can shop top designer watches from Bulova, Alpina, Calvein Klein, Citizen, Edifice, Fossil, G-Shock, Hamilton and more
• Collection – Kay Jewelry also holds some exclusive jewellery collections which include Beautiful Life, Chains, Floral, Love + Be Loved, Signature Heart, Three stone, and more

Inventory Size

The ideal diamond and jewellery store should not only have a variety of products but also have a large inventory of each product type. That is, if you get to a particular product section of a jewellery store, instead of finding only a few items to choose from, you’ll want to find a large collection to choose from. With a large selection, you’re more likely to find a piece that appeals to you and that fits your budget.

In this regards, Kay Jewelers does so-so. Their inventory is sizeable enough to satisfy the selection needs of many a jewellery shopper; but at the same time, it does not compare to what is held by the inventory leaders in the industry (such as James Allen or the Blue Nile).

For example, at the time of writing this review, pre-set engagement rings (diamond mounted) were just over 1,500 in Kay.com. Given the different combination of quality grading, ring styles, metal types that are possible; you’ll find that 1,500 does not even scratch it.

To build your own ring, you’ll need to choose a loose diamond from their collection; so that brings us to the inventory size of the loose diamonds. At the time of writing, there were just over 6,000 loose diamonds listed in Kay.com. This number might seem large, but if you consider that the industry leaders (in terms of inventory) hold about 200,000 loose diamonds, you’ll realize just how limited the selection of Kay Jewelers is.

Product Quality

For articles like diamonds that symbolizes love, one thing you won’t want to compromise is quality. Thus, you’ll want to shop in a diamonds and jewellery store that holds only high-quality articles.

In this regards Kay Jewelers does so-so. Let us start with their pre-set engagement rings. It’s been mentioned earlier that not having a say in the quality of the mounted diamond is a general issue with pre-set rings (no matter the retailer). However, this problem is more profound in Kay.com largely because the majority of the pre-set rings in Kay Jewelers use I1 clarity diamonds, which will feature ugly inclusions (flaws) even to the casual observer. As a result, when shopping pre-set rings from Kay Jewelers, you won’t find too many rings with eye clean diamonds. To get an engagement ring with better quality diamonds, you’ll have to create your own ring; and if you don’t want to go through the process, you’ll simply have to go to another diamond and jewellery store.

Now to their diamond certifications; Kay.com list IGI certified diamonds. While many of the top jewelers in the industry use the better regarded (and standard) GIA or AGS certificates. It is generally held that IGI is loose with their grading; thus, an IGI graded diamond will be found to be bumped up one or two grades than it would have been graded by GIA or AGS. That is, when two equally graded diamonds from the two labs are examined, the GIA diamonds will almost always be found to be of higher quality than the IGI graded diamond. Thus, an S2 diamond from IGI will not compare to an S2 diamond from GIA or AGS. In fact, the S2 graded diamond from IGI will only receive I1 or I2 grading from GIA.

Also, it doesn’t help that Kay Jewelers does not provide exact colour and clarity grading for their rings; it’s always provided as a range (diamond of colour G – H, and clarity of SI2 – I1).

The implication of this is that you do not know exactly what you are getting. For example, for diamond graded as above, will you be getting an H I1 diamond or a G SI2 diamond? Savvy shoppers know that the former does not compare to the latter in quality.

That said; this combination of having “low quality” diamonds on their pre-set rings, using the lowly regarded IGI certification, and not stating the exact quality specs of the diamond, does not make Kay Jewelers come out as a store that provides quality.

Features

In-store Service

Kay Jewelers has a robust store network. While this has some negatives to it (as we’ll find in the pricing section), there are some positives to it; and the Company strongly leverages on these positives.

For example, they offer a lot of in-store services that the purely online jewellers cannot offer. Some of these include:

• Repair – You can simply walk into any Kay Jewelers store to have your piece repaired irrespective of whether it was bought in the store or online. This offers convenience that having to return your piece by mail cannot offer.
• Custom Design – If you need a jewellery piece that is not among what Kay Jewelers provides, you can get it via the “custom design” feature. It allows you to create custom jewellery. You just have to go to Kay’s store with a sketch, snapshot, family heirloom or even a description; and their professionals will produce a replica of the unique design. After that, it’ll be cast, handset, and polished, and you’ll have your unique piece. The only customization that many of the online retailers offer end at engraving and create-you-own engagement ring
• Progressive Leasing – This is a financing plan that allows you to get your diamond jewellery now and pay later. However, unlike another financing plan, you won’t own the jewelry until you have made all the scheduled payments or exercised a buyout option (which allows you to save money and pay off the lease within 90 days). Though you may apply online to get a decision on the lease (how much you can get approved for), you’ll have to go to Kay’s store to get the merchandise
• Kay Jewelers Gold Exchange – you can take your unwanted gold and platinum jewellery to a Kay’s store, and you’ll get a fair price for it

Build Your Ring Feature

The design your ring process in Kay.com was very well laid out and easy to follow. It must be said that we’ve reviewed a lot of diamond and jewellery stores, and Kay’s process is one of the simplest and most straightforward we’ve met so far.

From the “Create your own Engagement Ring” page, click “create now” and the ring customizer page will open a 7 step process.

• Get started – the first page of the 7-step process is where you will choose to either “create your own” from scratch or to “select from popular designs”. To be in control and get a very unique ring, you can click “create your own”, and it’ll open the second step
• Diamond – the 2 step is where you’ll choose your diamond. You’ll start with the diamond shape, then carat weight, and then the quality. The quality grading is: Good, Better, and Best.
• Ring Head – You can choose from a number of styles that include 4 Prongs, Halo, Bezel, Peg Head, 3 stones and more. Where the chosen styles require accent stones, you’ll also select what metal these stones should be in this 3 step.
• Mounting – It’s in this 4th step that you’ll select the mounting style, side setting, mounting type, carving, and engraving (if desired).

Different mounting styles are available that include: single, single with peekaboo (round or princess), Double, Double with Peekaboo (Round or Princess), Triple, Double Twist, Knife Edge and more. Where the selected style requires peekaboo, you’ll also select the Peekaboo stone.

From the mounting style, you’ll proceed to select the side setting. For simplicity you may choose none; if you choose a side setting (styles include Channel Round, Channel Princess, U-Pave, and more), you’ll also select its length (whether half, three-quarter or full), and the stones.

If you choose a carving style (which include plain, leaf, scroll, etc), you’ll also select its length

• Metal – This is where you’ll select your metal type, and colour (ring head colour, and mounting metal colour)
• Band – In this step, you’re given the choice to make it a set by adding a wedding band.
• If you click “yes” to add a band, you’ll proceed to select the band style, side setting, carving, metal, and engraving (if any).
• Review – the final step is where you can review your ring design. You’ll be able to view all your selections from the second stage, and you can go back for any modification. If satisfied with your ring, you can add it to your bag; then continue shopping or proceed to checkout.

Simply put, the attention to detail was very impressive. And the process was super easy; it was simply about knowing what you want and selecting it one step at a time. One bump to report here is that the “ring review” after building the ring sounds more of viewing mockups (what your final design looks like), but it is essentially a list of all your selections. We’ll like to see Kay.com come up with more images of what the final ring will be like. However, the most serious bump is that there was no way to select the clarity and colour of the diamond.

We built a Round cut 1 ct diamond (quality grading good) engagement ring. It is a 10K White Gold classic ring – 4 prongs, single mounting, no side settings, and plain carvings. The ring came at a cost of $6,131.53.

Price, Promotions and Related Policies

Price

Even with high-end articles such as diamonds and jewellery no one will want to pay beyond what’s perceived as reasonable. Thus, the ideal diamond and jewellery store should offer prices that are reasonable. In this industry, the reasonableness of prices is largely measured by comparing prices.

In this regards, Kay does so-so. You won’t even have to search long or hard online before you find that the price of an item in Kay Jewelers will be significantly more than the price of a similar (equal quality) piece in some other stores. Sometimes the price difference could be as much as 50% – 100%.

For example, the diamond engagement ring we created at Kay.com came in at $6,131.53. However, we could get an even better diamond (1ct, Good Cut, I Color, SI2 Clarity) at Blue Nile priced at £3,515. Mount that diamond on a classic setting that matches the one we got from Kay.com, and you’ll have your ring at just $4,115. Thus, you’ll be saving $2,016.53. What is more, you’ll be getting a better diamond.

That said; you’ll find a lot of online reviews where Kay Jewelers is written off as expensive and not providing value for money. Given that one of the promises of the parent company of Kay Jewelers (Signet Jewelers Limited) is “to provide competitively priced jewellery and watches”. You may begin to wonder where the competitiveness in Kay’s pricing is.

Thus, it should be said that Kay Jewelers come out as expensive but only when placed side by side with online retailers. A whole article can be written to explain why the brick and mortar jewellery retailers just cannot offer the prices of their online counterparts. Without going into the details, suffice it to say that holding diamond inventory and maintaining physical retail outlets is expensive, and the brick and mortar pass these costs to their customers via higher prices. The “true” online stores do not have to worry about holding inventory or maintaining stores, and so are able to offer lower prices.

That said, if you compare apples to oranges (traditional brick and mortar retailer to online retailers), Kay Jewelers will comes out as super expensive. However, if you compare apples to apples, the competitiveness in pricing that is promised can then be seen.

Promotions

It’s no secret that customers seek out promotions. With promotions, you can get articles for free or for less than their regular prices. Thus, to many customers, the ideal retailer will have a lot of promotion.

In this regard, Kay advertises that the Company “always has a jewellery sale going on”. We took this with a pinch of salt because while huge cost saving offers are regular sightings amongst apparel retailers, they are rare amongst diamond and jewellery retailers.

Thus, we love the pleasant surprise of finding that Kay Jewelers run a lot of promotions, with many of them really huge. For example, at the time of writing this review, there were a “clearance sales” running that knocked off up to 50% from the regular prices of selected items.

Some of the promos that were running at the time of writing this review are:

• Write a review about Kay for a chance to win $100 Kay gift card
• Get 15% off first purchase if placed on June 1
• Get 20% off select Gold Jewelry
• Get 40% off all open Hearts by Jane Seymour
• Get 25% off all personalized jewellery
• Get 20% on select Rembrandt charms
• Save 10% on your next Jewelry repair of $10 or more

Like all promos run by every store, promotions in Kay Jewelers are time specific, so you’ll have to check from time to time to know what is being offered at any particular time. Alternatively, you may register for text alert and you’ll get exclusive offers.

Financing

With the Kay Jewelers Credit card, you don’t have to worry about not being able to cover the cost of an item, because it allows you to buy a Kay’s jewellery today and pay later. There are two plans that can be accessed:

• 12 months plan – you’ll have to complete payment in 12 months. However, you’re required to make a down payment of 20% of the purchase price; and the purchase has to be at least $500.
• 36 months plan – you’ll have to complete payment in 36 months. Down payments are not required, but the minimum purchase requirement is $3,000.

Other services

Lifetime Diamond and Gemstone Guarantee

The true retailer should stand by its product, and Kay Jewelers does that by offering a lifetime warranty for their diamonds and coloured gemstone. The lifetime guarantee covers:

• Lifetime cleaning and inspection – You can take your item to a Kay’s store for inspection at any time. However, you’ll need to have your stone inspected by the Company at least every 6 months to stay under the warranty. Such inspections ensure the integrity of the item because any problem found will be fixed; interestingly such inspections are free of charge
• Stone replacement – for any stone that is chipped, broken or lost from its setting during normal wear, Kay Jewelers will replace it at no cost to you
• Mounting – if any defect is found in your mounting, Kat Jewelers will repair or replace it; also at no cost to you, but the service has to be within 12 months from the date of your purchase of the item

Diamond Jewelry Upgrades and Trade-Ins

You can bring your diamond jewellery to Kay Jewelers and trade it with another diamond jewellery. This upgrade and trade-in program allows you to get new diamond jewellery without having to pay the full price for it. The old diamond jewellery you submit will be towards getting the new item, and the amount you’ll pay will be the difference in price. The only condition is that the price of the new diamond item you want to get must be at least twice the price of the old item you’ll be submitting.

Interestingly, the upgrade and trade-in program in Kay Jewelers does not apply to only articles bought in the store. No matter where the old diamond jewellery was bought (whether in a Kay’s store, the Kay e-commerce site, or any other jewellery store) you can take it to Kay Jeweler towards the purchase of a new diamond jewellery

Extended Service Plan

This is an optional plan that can be bought when buying your jewellery in Kay. It covers many of the things not covered by the complimentary lifetime diamond and gemstone warranty. Thus, by making this one payment for the Extended Service Plan, you can have all the repair work that the jewellery will require covered by Kay Jewelers. Such repair work includes ring sizing, refinishing and polishing, rhodium plating, resetting diamond and stones, and more. The cost of the service plan is dependent on the cost of the jewellery: $19.99 for jewellery costing $0.01 – $75.99; $29.99 for jewellery costing $76.00 – $100.99; and more.

Shipping

When you place an order online, it will have to be moved to the shipping address (provided by you) where you will receive it. The most important shipping considerations are: shipping destinations, shipping times, and shipping costs

• Shipping Destinations

You can only buy from an online store that ships to your shipping address. Therefore, you’ll want a store that ships to many worldwide locations so that your shipping address is more likely to be covered. Unfortunately, Kay.com is not one of such stores. Kay.com comes out as a store that ships to only locations within the US. Thus, international customers cannot place orders in the e-commerce store of Kay Jewelers.

• Shipping Times

You’ll want a store that offers quick delivery else you may have to wait endlessly to receive delivery of items ordered in Kay.com. First, the e-commerce store offers two delivery options – ship to store, and ship to your door.

For the former, the items will be shipped to a Kay’s store, and you’ll go there for pick up. However, Kay Jewelers does not allow another person (other than you) to pick it up. Delivery to store generally takes 2 business days.

For delivery to door, three shipping options are offered. There’s a “Ground shipping” that takes 3 – 5 business days; there’s a “Second Day shipping” which will take two business days to deliver your order, and there’s an “Overnight Shipping” that’ll take deliver as its name suggest.

However, these estimated times only apply to items that are in-stock; while items that will require some work (customized, items, personalized items, etc) will take longer.

• Shipping Cost

You’ll also want a store that offers shipping costs that are as low as possible. This is because high shipping costs can easily make the items in a store expensive to acquire even if the items themselves were deemed reasonably priced.

In this regard, Kay.com does so-so. They offer free shipping for items shipping to a Kay’s store. For items shipping to your door, you’ll find the applicable shipping costs during the checkout. However, Kay Jewelers run a lot of promotions which include free shipping.

Return

Kay Jewelers says that they are only happy when you (their customer) are happy. Thus, the store allows customers to return items if you are not totally pleased with the order. What follows is a review of their return policy.

• Items that can be returned

Though Kay Jewelers allow returns, not all Kay’s orders can be returned to the store for an exchange or refund. Items that cannot be returned include custom-designed merchandise, special-ordered watches class rings, or personalized (engraved) merchandise. However, this is on par with almost every other jewellery store in the business.

• Return Window

Items that are returned to Kay Jewelers will only be accepted by the store if the items are received within an allowed time frame. You’ll want an extended time frame so that the risk of your items getting to the store late will be reduced.

Thankfully, Kay Jewelers does relatively well in this regards. The store allows up to 60 days from purchase date for returns, and 90 days from purchase date for exchange. Most of the other jewelry stores allow only 30 days. That said; the generous return window of Kay Jewelers means that you’ll not race against time if you have to return an item from your order.

However, the exception to this very generous window is watches that have not been specially ordered. Such items have the standard 30 days from purchase return window.

• Return Process

If you have to return an item to a jewellery retailer, you won’t want to be faced with a difficult return process. Kay Jewelers does relatively well in this regards. They accept returns to their stores and also returns mailed to their warehouse. This is a classic example of Kay Jewelers leveraging their robust store network. In-store returns are very convenient to customers, and this convenience afforded by the return of online purchases to store is something that the pure online jewellers cannot offer.

Also, even when returning items to Kay Jewelers by mail, the process is relatively easy. You’ll have to visit the site and print the return label and return address label. Then, on the packing slip that accompanied your order, you’ll have to indicate the reason for the return. Then you’ll have to package the item appropriately (including all original documents and certificates); attach the return label to the package; then mail the package to the return shipping address.

• Refund Policy

How and when you’ll get your refund is an important consideration when returning any item to a retailer. For returns to Kay Jewelers, you’ll get the refund via the original payment method. This is better than stores that exclusively issue store credits for returns. This is because, unlike store credits that tie you to the issuing store, with refunds as cash to the payment methods you can choose to visit and use the funds in another store for your future purchases.

Most importantly, Kay Jewelers are relatively fast (or at least they say so) in issuing refunds. The store advertises that they issue refunds within three weeks of receiving returned items.

Customer Support Service

You want a store that will effectively answer the questions that customers will have and resolve any issue that customers may have.

Kay Jewelers supports a variety of methods for contacting them, which include:

• Postal mail – send your letters to Sterling Jewelers Inc., 375 Ghent Road, Akron, Ohio 44333
• Email – you may send an email using the contact form from their website
• Telephone – the number to call is:  (800) 527-8029
• Live Chat – Also accessible from the website

The service is available between 9:00 am – 10 pm ET (Mondays – Fridays), between 10:00 am – 10:00 pm ET on Saturdays and between 12:00 pm – 9:00 pm ET on Sundays

Pros:

• Has a very robust in-store operation
• Provides a wide variety of products which includes engagement rings, non-engagement jewellery and watches
• Lifetime diamond warranty is offered
• Diamond jewellery upgrade and trade-in is offered, where you can even trade jewellery not originally purchased from Kay Jewelers 
• Offers different financing plans
• Offers a generous return window of 60 days from purchase date
• In store return of online purchases are possible
• Various ways available for contacting support service and seeking help

Cons:

• Selection is relatively small
• Not many pre-set rings with eye clean diamonds are provided (most have I2 clarity grading)
• Exact clarity and color grading are not provided
• Diamonds are with “less” reputable IGI certification
• Prices are generally higher than you’ll find in most stores (especially the online retailers)
• Support service is not available 24/ 7

Summary

Kay Jewelers is one of the largest brick and mortar jewellery store in the US with over 900 stores across the country. Their operation as a brick and mortar store means that they can neither offer the selection nor the prices that the online jewellers offer. Thus, you’ll find Kay.com having relatively smaller inventory than almost every other online jewellery store. You’ll also find that items in Kay Jewelers are significantly more expensive than similar items in the online jewellery stores.

Also, Kay Jewelers came out as not offering quality. That they use IGI certification instead of the tighter and widely used GIA certification does not help their case. It is compounded by the fact that the company does not provide exact colour and clarity grading, and also largely use poor quality (I2) diamonds for their pre-set engagement rings.

However, if you can somehow ignore the quality concerns, and also do not mind spending almost double what you can get a piece for in another store, you can shop in Kay Jewelers and you’ll have one of the most generous return policy in the industry, as well as a raft of in-store services that the online jewellery stores cannot offer.