J. Yontef Diamonds & Custom Jewelry

I went to Jay after searching for quite some time for a very specialized ring: Black wedding bands and a black engagement ring. I'd spoken to quite a few jewelers who basically said: ""not gonna happen."" After reading the 150+ good reviews here, I contacted Jay. He was very attentive when we explained what we wanted and even offered his own insight (not pushy, mind you) about the aesthetic we were pursuing. The rings he produced (after much foot work on his part for the correct alloy and treatment process) are absolutely gorgeous! We left a little artistic license with him regarding some engraving to be done to the engagement ring and he, quite randomly, produced an engraving which is eerily similar to my finacee's back piece. My fiancee' is utterly enamored with the rings and they are perfectly suited to our personalities. (she actually spent the first day, very uncharacteristically, giggling like a school- girl and staring at the engagement ring like a mockingbird.) All in all he was very professional, helpful, and even friendly throughout the entire process (in spite of a few instances of late- notice scheduling conflicts and financial cat- herding on my part.) He managed to incorporate all the design elements we wanted and filled the few points we were undecided on with very well- chosen elements. I highly recommend his work to anyone looking for something beyond the commercial standard in aesthetic, craftsmanship, or just all around experience. Pros: excellent artistic insight, information, and final product more

We shopped around to find a wedding ring that would match my unique engagement ring. After visiting several local jewelers, we decided to visit Jay Yontef after a co- worker of Shane's recommended him to us. We showed him my engagement ring and described what I was looking for. Jay was able to create a custom ring to match mine perfectly. He did a great job with the details. I highly recommend him. more

When I was looking for an engagement ring in Nashville, I found Jay online and read all his reviews. Yes, ALL of them! I wanted to make sure I wasn't hassled, lied to, over charged, and most importantly, my fianc?e was getting a beautiful ring she deserved. All and all, Jay's one-on-one consultations discussing everything I wanted to know about a diamond, and the ability to understand my ideas and put them into an elegant ring, made my experience fun, educating, and worry free. Yes gentlemen, WORRY FREE! I'm excited to know I will be seeing him again with my fianc?e to design our wedding bands. Pros: Family Business, Knowledgeable, One-on-One Consultations Cons: Cons? I'm the 173rd review getting them 5 STARS!! There are more

I heard about Jay through two of my co-workers, and decided to give him a call. I'm very happy that I did, and now my fiance has a beautiful ring to show for it! After visiting a few retail jewelers around Nashville, I was turned off by the noticeable forced salesmanship and their lack of truly unique rings. So after talking to Jay, I decided to start working with him on something original. Because Jay doesn't have a showroom, he can't sell you something that isn't exactly what you want. My fiance decided that she really liked the idea of an engraved band, and she had pointed out some rings with engraving that she liked. She also went with me to my first visit with Jay, but didn't know anything about my other meetings. There is one thing that you need to account for when working with Jay--because everything is custom and you are starting from scratch, it will be a longer process than if you bought a ring from a retail jeweler. This is no fault of Jays, just the nature of custom jewelry. From the beginning, we had talked about a time frame that I needed the ring, and he came through. On my second visit with Jay, he went through all the specific details and numbers that make a good diamond, and based on this knowledge, I'd say I could probably buy a diamond on my own if I wanted to. From there, he brought in three stones for me to choose from, and then we started working on the band. The engraving that we decided on was to go all the way around the band and have a ""leafed"" feel to it. Basing in on one of the rings my fiance had pointed out, we gave it to Jay's person who does engraving with a little creative license, and even though I wasn't sure what to think until I saw it, the band turned out perfectly! The people he works with are truly professional artists and do amazing work. Overall, Jay did a wonderful job making a completely unique ring for my fiance. We didn't want anything that someone else out there might have, and Jay came through. His pricing was very reasonable, and I'm confident that I could not have gotten anywhere near the same ring from a retail store. Pros: Unique, Extremely Knowledgeable, Competitive Pricing more

If you want superior quality, excellent pricing, and a friendship that will last forever, J. Yontef Diamonds & Custom Jewelry is your choice - there is no substitute!!My husband and I have worked with Jay and Adriane over the past 8 years on multiple pieces of unique jewelry, beginning with our wedding bands. What we also found was a true friendship and unmistakable quality & elegance in their jewelry design. This Christmas, my husband petitioned them for a one-of-a-kind ring to represent our three daughters. What they created was absolutely beautiful with 3 pink sapphires set in platinum in the shape of a princess crown from the side view. Extremely unique and personal! What is more important is that they created the ring out of a true friendship and love for our family. I screamed and then started immediately to cry, because without me collaborating with them, Jay and Adriane had managed to create a piece of jewelry that is even more beautiful and special than I could have ever imagined!!! I will never be able to express to them how much the ring means to me and how much they, as a couple, mean to our family. Thank you Jay & Adriane!! Pros: Superior Service, Excellent Craftsmanship more

I called up Jay three days before christmas on a small budget looking for a diamond necklace. He not only took the time to educate me (I didn't know anything) on diamonds, but I got to create a custom diamond necklace in my price range and have it by christmas eve. I was sketched out by all the reviews but they are all legit. (I made sure to ask them) I went to every diamond jeweler in Green HIlls and NONE of them compared to J. Yontef. Pros: AMAZING Service, custom jewelry, able to work last-minute more

My fiance knew I wasn't too into diamonds so he researched different stones online to decide what he wanted to get me as an engagement ring. He decided on Alexandrite and Saphire then went to Jay. It has been a wonderful experience for us both. They designed the ring together and it is truly a beautiful ring. After much deliberation at trying to guess my ring size before proposing I still needed to get it sized down. The turn around time was so quick for both designing the ring (2 weeks start to finish) and sizing (less than a week)! We'll be going back for our wedding bands and all future investments! Pros: Will work with you more

Anyone can find diamonds online but it's not clear why they are different prices. J.Yontef explains every aspect of what makes a diamond great and uses his expertise to help make sure that you don't receive a turkey. At the end of the day diamonds are made by the earth quite by accident so there are good ones, and there are bad ones. There is a visible difference. Unless you're a certified gemologist (which J is, with over 3 decades of experience) I would recommend dealing with J. He's kind of like your guardian angel for diamonds and jewellery. Or your independent wedding planner for the engagement/wedding ring. He stays in business without a fancy retail store front. That kind of says it all. If you go see him you must ask him about where he's worked in the past and who he's worked with - you'll be SERIOUSLY impressed and you'll get a warm fuzzy from knowing that you went to THE MAN in Nashville for diamonds and jewellery. Pros: Extremely knowledgeable - he REALLY knows his jewellery more

When I finally decided that it was time to pop the question, I arrived at the reality of, ""I have no idea how to shop for or buy a ring!"" I immediately consulted my sister, and she agreed to help me pick out the perfect engagement ring. After having been to several jewelry stores trying to hone in on exactly what we were looking for, I found that I still had a multitude of questions regarding diamonds. What is the difference between G.I.A. and E.G.L.? What is the importance of the proportions of the stone? Do these things even matter? During our first appointment with Jay, he gave us a 30 minute crash course in diamonds (tailored to the princess cut which we had decided upon), and we learned more than we had in the previous weeks of jewelry store searching and internet researching combined. Not only was Jay extremely knowledgeable and passionate about his profession, but he was also incredibly patient. I wanted to give my fianc?e a ring that would make her smile for many years to come, but still maintain a reasonable budget. I knew I wanted a large stone but also a stone of high quality. Most jewelers would have been frustrated with my high demands and strict budget, but Jay never pressured me and he searched tirelessly until he found the perfect stone. Once we got into the design of the ring, Jay was great about keeping us abreast of the progress and sent us several pictures of the mold. Again, Jay's patience prevailed as we came in several times to make minor tweaks to the mold before the final product was produced. Oh and that final product... BEAUTIFUL. Despite all the pictures and molds that we had seen, my sister and I still gasped the first time that Jay showed us the ring. The weeks (maybe even months) of hard work had truly paid off, and we owe no bigger thank you than to Jay Yontef. Another asset that Jay provides is reliability and assurance. Throughout the design process, Jay was always more than happy to answer the phone, listen to my questions, and put my worries to ease while not dismissing my concerns at the same time. I remember one specific occasion when I called Jay, forgetting that he was out of the country on vacation. He didn't answer the phone at the moment, but he returned my call within 5 minutes. This was just another testament to Jay?s passion for jewelry and his dedication to his clients. All in all, Jay Yontef has the ability to take a potentially nagging process of designing a ring, and turn it into a memorable experience that you can't wait to repeat! Pros: Friendly, Patient, Knowledgeable, and Trustworthy Cons: None! more

I have one word to describe J. Yontef Diamonds and that word is ""SEQUEL."" My husband and I have commissioned Jay several times over the past few years to create different pieces of jewelry for one another...Jay, you do not disappoint! ""Girls eat your hearts out!"" This last piece is just fabulous! I am oozing with gratitude, big kisses to you and my husband on another fantastic collaboration. more

When I finally made the decision to show my true feelings for the wonderful woman in my life, I went onto City Search to read reviews of local jewelers in the Nashville area so that I could get the best engagement ring possible. My eye was drawn to J. Yontef Diamonds and Custom Jewelry. I took the time to read each of the many reviews regarding this business. I was very favorably impressed by not only the number of reviews, but also the incredible number of the reviews that extol Mr. Yontef's honesty and professionalism. I called his office and spoke to Mr. Yontef who made an appointment to have me come in to see him. He was ready at the appointed time and at once put me at ease. I knew that I had found a consumate professional who would provide me with exactly the special ring that I wanted. He did not rush me or try to upsell me. He listened intently, making copious notes of what I wanted. Mr. Yontef kept me apprised of the progress of my ring so that I was always at ease that I would have the ring on time and it would be the special ring that I wanted. The ring was ready on time and was exactly what we had discussed. Keeping my special lady happy meant that she would keep me happy. I am so glad that I went to Jay Yontef Diamonds & Custom Jewelry and would recommend him to any of my friends and business associates who need a unique piece of jewelery . Pros: Cares, listens and provides a superior product more

- My fiancee's rings that we designed with Jay came back from ""his people in New York"" a 3/4 size too small. Also, it wasn't exactly what he said it would be but said that he took some creative license. -Jay sent us to Tiffany's to have them measure her finger before he sent it off to be re-sized. I'm still not sure why but it didn't feel right wasting their time to do his job. - When the rings came back from being re-sized, one sapphire was cracked from heat, there was yellow gold on the palladium ring where they patched it, and the diamond setting was loose on the ring shaft. - I showed Jay the cracked sapphire while still sitting in his office. His response was ""shit happens"" and that he guessed they heated it by accident while re-sizing the ring but he would fix it. - My fiancee found the yellow gold patch and loose diamond. When she showed them to Jay he said the diamond was just bent and that they forgot to dip the ring in palladium after patching it. - He told us it was fine and that he would fix it after our honeymoon because he was going on vacation. - A few days later the diamond fell off the ring shaft and we were lucky in that my fiancee just happen to notice it laying in a chair next to where she was sitting. - I e-mailed Jay to tell him I had no ring to get married with the next week because he was out of the country. -He e-mails back and tells me to mail it to an address in New York and hopefully it would be back for our wedding. -Also, during this time ""his people in New York"" forgot to do our engraving that we paid for so we had to run around and get that done. - We were so disgusted and the ring looked like such a piece of junk by this point that we asked for our money back and he obliged. But not until after our honeymoon and his vacation. - As things went bad he was not apologetic and seemed to have an air of arrogance when he was shown the poor quality of his work. - Even though he returned our money we feel really taken advantage of. We wasted so much of our time because of his poor service and poor quality of product and then we still didn't have a real ring for our wedding day. -Also, don't let him talk you into palladium. We took the broken ring into another established jeweler's in Nashville to have the poor quality documented and the palladium just looked and felt cheap compared to platinum or white gold. -This is the worst consumer experience I have ever had. -When we went to his office to return the rings he wouldn't even speak to us and had his wife refund our money. She did apologize. Cons: quality and service more

The two most important things to know before starting this review: 1. She said yes. 2. She loved the ring. I started looking for engagement rings back in July. ""Plenty of time,"" I thought, ""before I plan to propose in November."" I started looking at some other local jewelry stores while I gathered information on my girlfriend's ring wishes through friends. The more I learned, the more confused I became. The descriptions I was getting were vague, daunting, and sometimes contradictory. The list of adjectives describing her perfect ring didn't even belong in the same dictionary, much less on the same ring. Suddenly, the large chunk of time I left myself was evaporating as I scoured local galleries for a ring that embodied everything she wanted. To be fair, everyone I spoke with was nice and trying to be helpful, but they were listening to what I was saying through the filter of trying to sell me something out of the case in front of them. Then I found reviews for Jay online describing his methods, his attention to detail, and the quality of his work. ""This has to be worth a try,"" I thought. Jay's office is just one white door in hallway filled with identical white doors, the definition of nondescript. When you enter, you won't find glass display cases or other conspicuous examples of his work. Just a desk. Jay pulled out a notepad and began asking questions. He listened, not with the intent to sell but the intent to create. We looked at pictures of my girlfriend on my laptop, and he correctly guessed her ring size from the photos. He taught me more about diamonds in 30 minutes than I'd learned online or in other shops over the previous three months. And when I left, we had a ring design that perfectly fit the bill. Even with a (by that point) tight deadline, Jay had the ring ready on time, the work was impeccable, and the price was better than I had a right to hope. His enthusiasm for gemology and jewelry is infectious. And his instincts were right on; despite the hodge podge of descriptors I had to go on, the first thing my girlfriend, ahem, fiance, said (after ""yes""), was ""It's perfect."" In hindsight, it seems ridiculous to consider any other way to shop for jewelry. Next time, I'm saving myself the trouble and making one call to Jay. Pros: Excellent, knowledgeable, custom work Cons: I only have the one occasion to use his services more

My experience with Mr. Yontef was fantastic. I wanted a gem stone engagement ring for my girlfreind, and had decided on Alexandrite. I met with Mr. Yontef and 1 day later he had a number of stones from various sizes and color changes for me to look at. We picked a stone and from there went forward on design. I even changed my mind on the design, adding white sapphires on the sides after I had ordered and Mr. Yontef was very accomodating. Finally, I needed the ring in a short time and Mr. Yontef was able to help me go from our first discussion to having the ring in my hands within 2 weeks. The ring came out beautifully and my fiance loves it. I would recommend Mr. Yontef to anyone interested in having a personalized experience in picking a ring. Pros: Great stones in a quick time more

When all other jewelers said it could not be done, Jay worked with me and made my request happen in a timely manner. I needed a Canadian mined diamond and he was able to find the perfect one for both my likes and budget. He also customized the band for me, which added the extra special touch for the occasion. Jay was a pleasure to work with and his attention to detail made the experience very pleasant and enjoyable. Jay has earned my respect and all my future jewelry business. Yes, she loved it! Pros: Attention to detail, great to work with & attentive to needs more

Having visited the majority of well repudiated stores in the area I came across the Yontef's while browsing Citysearch. Like all the glowing reviews before, he delivers the total package when shopping for jewelry. The process is exactly as others have indicated: first a consultation where he gets to learn your tastes, budget and wishes (even asking me to bring in a picture of my now fiance) at which you select a stone; second another visit to view the stone as he walks you through its characteristics one by one, ensuring you are fully satisfied; next choosing the perfect setting; and finally picking it up, the custom made piece you worked to design from start to finish. Jay and Adrienne were a pleasure to work with and will be getting my business from now on whenever I am buying jewelry! Pros: Hassle free, excellent prices, extremely knowledgable more

Are you looking for an experienced, quality jeweler that you can TRUST?? Someone who you would turn to in order to get that perfect engagement ring, necklace, or other special piece of jewelry? Look no further than Jay Yontef. Let me just say it, Jay is THE MAN. Don't even bother going anywhere else in Nashville or even online----trust me, I went everywhere (seriously, I went down the list of highest rated from right here on Citysearch and visited them all). I went to Jay to create an engagement ring for me after going to every jewelry store in Nashville. Jay spent plenty of time with me, discussing diamonds, what kind of stone I was looking for, the quality I wanted, everything. I even had brought a stone with me that I brought from Blue Nile after thinking that it was the best price. Jay took a look at the stone, evaluated it (he nailed the GIA cert exactly), and told me that he could get me a better stone for a better price. I was somewhat skeptical at first, but thought sure, why not? Let?s take a look. Sure enough, two days later, Jay had a better stone that was more brilliant, and for thousands less (yes, thousands). The man has access to resources and jewelry systems that are awesome. Anyway, after selecting the stone, and bringing all my design ideas with me, I trusted Jay to turn my dream into a reality. Now you have to understand something on this point. Don't be fooled by Jay's somewhat unorthodox style. The man keeps piles of yellow notepads in his office and writes your ideas down on a sheet of paper. On your first visit you might think, ""I wonder if this is how he always works?"" Trust me-- Jay has his system and it WORKS. It took about 8 weeks from my last meeting to the time I received the ring (there was some custom work done) but Jay overnighted me the ring when it was done (I actually got it this morning). Anyway, I opened the box and my jaw literally dropped. To the floor. I was stunned, awestruck, blown away, (insert your own word here)..........the ring was simply beautiful beyond my wildest expectations. MY heart actually started beating faster when I stared at it. It is UNREAL. I'll stop here so you don?t have to keep reading my long-winded review, but for all you guys out there, skip the other stores and other jewelers. Whatever your budget is, Jay can work with it. Ladies, if you want some jewelry (earrings, necklaces, whatever), you need to see Jay. Finally, to Jay-- you have earned my business for life. But more importantly than that, you've earned my trust, respect, and gratitude. Thank you for everything that you have done and will continue to do for me. Pros: Personal Service, Amazing Products, BEST PRICES, Reputation Cons: None Whatsoever more

I was referred to Jay by a good friend of mine who knew I was searching for an engagement ring. My friend had always told me that ""When the time comes, come talk to me. I have got THE best diamond guy in the country."" To this day I cannot thank him enough for referring me to Jay. The service Jay provided is unparalleled in the industry. Jay made sure I was educated on the 4 C's, discussed my budget and then went to work in NYC to find the perfect diamond. Jay did exactly what he said he would do and delivered the final product on time. The engagement ring Jay created is absolutely stunning and my fiancee gets complements all the time. I am so grateful for the referral to Jay and would recommend him to anyone. Pros: Unbeatable product and pricing more

I found Jay right here on CitySearch and he had 155 five star ratings so I though he must be good. I had a call with him, told him what I wanted for my fiance and when I came in, he had several options waiting for me which were perfect and in my price range! My fiance is VERY happy and I would recommend him to anyone! - Josh Byrd Pros: Friendly and Knowledgeable Cons: NONE! more

I cannot say enough good things about Jay and the service he provides! My fiance and I first met with Jay to discuss my engagement ring. Although we had been to several jewelry stores, we didn't know much about diamonds. Jay patiently taught us the basics of diamonds (color, cut and clarity) and showed us some examples of the jewelry he had designed. From that one encounter, we were hooked! I gave Jay the basic idea of the ring I wanted. After that, I left the details and design to Jay and my fiance. When my fiance proposed, I was shocked -- not only because I was going to marry the man of my dreams, but also because the ring was perfect! It was like Jay had read my mind. And, because Jay doesn't have the same overhead as a ""typical"" jewelry store, my fiance was able to buy a better diamond than we ever imagined. Nearly flawless! Jay did another amazing job with my wedding bad -- one meeting, a basic description, and the perfect ring! Thanks to Jay, I now have two, beautiful, custom-made, heirloom-quality rings. When my fiance and I started this process, I never expected to end-up with a jeweler. But I can't imagine ever buying our jewelry from anyone else! Thanks, Jay! We hope to see you and Adriane at the wedding! Pros: Gorgeous, custom-made jewelry; great customer service! more