Old & New Estates

\r \r \r Terrible service complete careless greedy service. A terrible family that should be doing something else. Very rude overpriced and inconsiderate when helping customers. Diane especially you can see lines in her face! \r Diane’s overpriced & new fakes ! Get out out out ! \r \r Nothing but liars trying to sell trash !! They offer no refunds for a reason. \r Stay away you will thank me. more

Dianne's... There is no place like it. My boyfriend and I walked into Dianne's after browsing other stores in the area (without having that feeling that I loved any of the rings). We wandered over to the case with some very beautiful rings and I immediately saw a diamond and platinum ring with sapphire accents. When Natalia pulled it out of the case and I put it on, I started crying (I know, very embarrassing) and everyone got worried about why I was crying. My boyfriend asked if I was OK and all I could sob out was ""It's the one"". Dianne came over and gave me some tissues and a hug and my boyfriend said ""We'll be taking this one"". This store has the largest (and carefully/tastefully chosen) antique and estate collection I've ever seen. Their selection on their website is only a tiny fraction of what is available in the store. They have engagement rings, watches, pins, etc... Dianne is very sweet and she seemed to be as happy for us as we were to find THE ring. She even provided an amazing discount (we didn't even ask!). Go to Dianne's. more

actually want to shamelessly promote this place not so much because of the fine selection of jewelry but also because I have known the owners for many years. This has been a family run business for a very long time and the people that own it are fantastic! I did buy my mom a nice jewelry box there some years ago that is beautiful and she still loves it! Even though I haven't spoken to him in a long time I still consider Alex a good friend and I am happy to see family run businesses that have been around for generations in this town that has changed so much in the last decade. more

This is a great little boutique shop of estate jewelry with owners that really care about the pieces they sell. I found one here I liked in a rose gold setting - an usual color for an art deco piece. The only downside of Dianne's: there are hardly any engagement rings here under $4,000. more

I just (today!) got my engagement ring from Dianne's. The store *is* small. But the rings are oh-so-beautiful, and chosen with an eye towards every taste -- from the flamboyant to the classically restrained. Dianne, her son Alex, and Natalya (the charming Russian woman Arwen O. met) were all helpful, thoughtful, and extremely tactful. Unlike lots of other places, no one made us feel uncomfortable about a less-than-luxurious budget or tried a hard sell. This is the good stuff, and the nice people more

VERY nice estate (original and reproduction) pieces with a wide selection for any budget. Service was very friendly and the salesman let me try on multiple rings as he could see I was just learning what my style was. Although we didn't end up purchasing my ring here I heartily recommend Dianne's for those looking for any Edwardian, Art Deco, etc jewelry item... I'm also considering a ring for my right hand. :) more

I know very little about jewelry. I don't know what's good. I don't wear any (no watch, nothing). I don't buy any either. So this all made the hurdle of finding an engagement ring all the more difficult. My (now) fiance likes the antique look, and this place got good reviews on the yelp, so I checked it out. A look at the cases revealed much in her style, but the service here is what really shone. Alexander answered all of my dumb questions and maybe a few good ones. He really knows his stuff and can explain it like you're just having a conversation about the weather. The prices were better than i had expected for Cow Hollow and for Alexandrite, though I guess a bit of haggling is expected and I wasn't ready for that. They let me think on the purchase, and despite the ring taking a short trip to the Disneyland branch everything worked out great. Be sure to mention if the ring you buy is for an engagement, because I got a bottle of champagne, jewelry cleaner, and a polishing cloth as a bonus. more

If you are looking for the perfect engagement ring that is chic, elegant, drop dead gorgeous, timeless, and your best bang for your buck this is the place to go. My boyfriend - now my fiance got engaged over New Years 2008! My fiance knowing that my artist and fashionista eye would want to be invovled in selecting my engagement ring took me to Dianne's January 2nd (I mean come on now it is going to be on MY finger for the rest of my life; I better LOVE it). It was like walking back in time to a place full of beauty and diamonds! This place is truly magical. Let me explain: Before we headed over to Dianne's we had looked at their website and saw a ring we both liked. I had never tried on engagment rings so I didn't know what it would look on my finger, but I knew I really liked it. We went to Dianne's and when we told the man behind the counter (Rod - he is fabulous!) we were looking for engagement rings he said, ""We'll this may be your first and last stop."" We told him our budget and then reached into a case and pulled out the exact ring we had looked at online!!!!! I put it on my finger and almost cried; it was the ring. The people that run this place are absolutely FABULOUS; there is no pressue and they really love and know what they are doing!!! It is a family run business and they even have an in house jewler that can size your ring within 1-2 hrs the same day!!! Ok ladies that is unheard of. Even though my breath was taken away by the first ring Rod told me to try on every style since it was my first time. He starting pulling out ring after ring. I must have tried on 30 rings; it was such a fun and awesome experince. As for the prices - I found they had every price range and a good selection for every range. Most people think we spent 10K on our ring when we actually spent half that - I love that even more! My fiance and I went to Perry's to go think about it and have lunch. We wrote down lots of questions we had and went back. As soon as we walked in Rod pulled out the ring; he just knew. We bought. Got it sized in 1 hour. Went back to Perry's and celebrated!!!!! Even my fiance said it was such a fun experience that he wants to go back to find his band there. My ring is beyond beautiful. EVERYWHERE I go I get comletments. I love that my ring is eco friendly and a unqiue piece that won't be reproduced like a cookie like they do at other stores. I have never seen such beautiful craftmanship! It has been 2 months and I still can't stop staring at my ring; I am beyond in love with it. This is a magical place so venture carefully - you may come out engaged! more

As far as I'm concerned this is the only place to buy your engagement and/or wedding ring(s) in SF. At this terrific little shop on Union Street you get to avoid sifting through all of the ubiquitous, boring, ugly, gaudy, tacky and/or yellow gold junk that every other jewelry shop seems to think women want, like or desire?!?...and instead go straight to the good stuff. They have a huge selection of mostly vintage & estate jewelry, with a smaller selection of new stuff. Almost everything is either set in platinum or white gold (a huge plus for folks who are not into yellow gold). The rings themselves are sort of divided by price (size & quality of the diamonds), but they seem to have something for every budget. Their service is impeccable...not only to they make you feel important as a potential buyer, but they let you take all the time in the world, trying on everything in the shop if need be. To top it off, they gave us a very good trade-in value on a petite vintage ring that we used as credit towards the purchase of my dream engagement ring. We wound up spending more than we'd originally intended, but my hubby-to-be said, ""If you can't splurge on love, then what can you splurge on?"" (Yes, there's a reason why I married this man!). They set us up with a 6 month layaway plan, so we left with the ring that very same day. When I got outside, I couldn't believe how beautiful it was...it almost appeared sky blue in the bright sunshine. That was over 2 yrs ago...and I love the ring just as much to this day. I love the fact that it is a vintage piece from the 1950's (no ""new blood"" has been shed of it), that it is a one of a kind piece of art, that the artist who created it managed to make a round diamond look square in it's fishtail setting (they did not have square diamond cuts back then), and best of all that the ring has a history all of it's own which is being recreated in the here and now. I'm looking forward to going back to Old & New Estates someday in the future... probably to buy a nicer wedding band (the one I got wound up being a $20 plain white gold band off ebay, b/c by that time we'd already run through the wedding budget). I highly recommend this place...as do quite a few of our friends who've had a similar shopping experience here. Save yourself the stress and headache, and just go here... more

I always drooled over Dianne's when I used to work in the neighborhood and just in general, because the jewelry in the window is so enticing! Originally, like a couple of years ago, I told BF that my ring absolutely had to come from here, straight up. So finally, we went to look together a few weeks ago. Natalia and Dianne are SO nice, it's adorable actually. They let me try on lots of rings, listened to what my preferences were, and were very respectful of our budget. I ended up quite enamored with one particular ring, though it was a little on the petite side. The cost was awesome, under $2K. I would rate it an 8 out of 10. BF was ready to buy it on the spot! I was like, whoa boy, this is only the first place we've looked! So we went on our way and decided to shop around. We went back two weeks later after having a few more in mind and needed to compare, but sadly the ring had been sold already. I couldn't find anything else that got my attention. So, 4 stars for being an amazingly warm and charming business, for great prices, for being green. Just too bad the moderate selection did not yield a w more

I'm not really a big jewelry kinda girl. I like funky earrings, subtle pendants and uniquely petite rings. All of which I prefer to be 'eco' and socially conscious...meaning estate, recycled gold, conflict-free diamonds, etc. I came into Dianne's randomly a few years ago and always stop back by when I'm in the neighborhood. I may not be in the market to buy myself a right-handed diamond ring (just yet), but one of these days... The staff in here is INCREDIBLE. Super knowledgeable, incredibly generous and friendly. They offer unbeatable prices on estate jewels. Perfect engagement rings for those who prefer tasteful and small and also for those that are into the bigger baubles (think 3 carat cushion cuts...wowza)!! I'm a huge fan of supporting local as I always say and hope that one day I'll have the chance to actually purchase something at this store. It's one-of-a-kind, just like the merchandise. And P.S. they offer super great payment plans, layaway, etc. Don't forget to ask about it when buying your new gems more

My boyfriend, now fiance (YAY!), is a socially conscious type. He told me that he absolutely refused to buy a blood diamond. Blood diamonds are warlord-controlled diamonds mined in some countries in Africa that use child labor. The profits from these diamonds are normally used to fund civil wars in Africa. Most NON-blood diamonds are found in Canada; the only other mass producer of diamonds next to countries in Africa. The other option for purchasing a socially conscious diamond is to purchase estate or vintage engagement rings as a way of recycling. On a personal level, I love estate or vintage jewelry because its unique. He decided to find a reputable jeweler who sold estate jewelry here in SF. He went to a couple of places, but found that Dianne's Old & New Estates was the best. He said that the person who helped him, Natalya, listened to what he was looking for and did not pressure him into buying anything he didn't want. Thank you, Natalya for your patience in helping us find the perfect ring! For more information on Blood Diamonds, please check out the following links more

Fantastic place helping me find an engagement ring. Could have been more clear that there is a cash discount. more

Recycling at its best! I found Dianne's Lost and Found after a few discouraging experiences searching for an estate engagement ring at other jewelry stores. The name and location had me worried. And my then-boyfriend was none too happy to be sent to what sounded like a housewife's vanity business in a part of town that we go out of our way to avoid. We were so wrong. This place is FULL of fantastic inventory. Not just old diamonds, old diamonds of great quality spanning lots of different eras. And the staff was just lovely. It's a family business through and through. I was able to pick three rings that I loved for my fiance to choose from, and I just adore the one I got. It's completely unique and just what I wanted. Until I went to Dianne's, I thought what I wanted didn't exist. Oh! And they threw in a bottle of champagne, too, which was a thoughtful touch. more

Everyone knows shopping for engagement and/or wedding rings can be quite stressful, emotionally and financially. Dianne's was one of the few places that made our shopping experience easier, pleasurable and memorable. We were in search of classic, timeless pieces at an affordable cost. And that's exactly what we got! The staff was quite sincere and I'd love to eventually buy another piece from there. more

In business for over 20 years, Dianne's Old & New Estates is located in San Francisco's Cow Hollow neighborhood, just off Fillmore Street. My first experience, as a young pup 15 years ago was for a beautiful men's pocketwatch. While most of the reviews about Dianne's tend to focus on engagement rings, there are many goodies for the guys here too - modern, deco, industrial age - they have all the styles of yesteryear in this little shop. The owners and staff are very cordial, kind and accomodating. Even as a youngster, when I made my first purchase here on layaway, they never made any assumptions, unlike many of the stuffier jewelery shops downtown. Dianne's is what San Francisco shopping used to be like, they appreciate your visit, even if one is only looking to admire the beautiful jewelery that they stock. more

My husband and I have been shopping at Dianne's for a few years now. When we first started looking for my engagement ring, I tried on many, many rings, on several different occasions. Every time we came in, everyone was so accommodating, we knew we had to buy my ring there. Since purchasing my engagement ring, we have purchased all of our fine jewelry at Dianne's. It's not a lot of jewelry, but every piece we have bought is amazing. I always feel like I'm part of the family when we visit. I highly recommend Dianne's to everyone I know. more

This reminds me of what Tiffany's in Breakfast at Tiffany's was like. Not nearly as big.... but stunning, timeless estate pieces of incredible art, history, and impeccable selection. I don't know if they have the sterling silver telephone dialer, but I still use a rotary phone so I am totally game. Dianne, and the entire staff, is amazing. I got my wedding band there... they were endless, enthusiastic, friendly help when we selected it. They didn't try to upsell us, in fact they gave us some incredible knowledge and insight into our options. When I got it, and it was obviously the wrong size, they took it back scuffs and all, resized it, cleaned it, and got it to me within TWO days... at no charge. They gave us some cleaning products, and told us there would be a lifetime guarantee for this ring. I haven't felt so welcomed, accepted, appreciated as a consumer in a long, long time. So thank you very much.... if you are browsing, buying, or just being cute on some weekend day..... check this place out. It is worth a visit, even worth a drive. more

Awesome customer service! Another jeweler nearby noticed that a post was worn on the engagement ring My Love has worn with pride for many years. We bought it at Dianne's. so we went there to have it repaired immediately. And immediately it was. Although they estimated a one week turnaround, we received the call that it was ready two days later. The charge for this speedy maintenance? Zero. Thank you for the gift, Dianne's! more

I was able to fine THE PERFECT engagement ring for my lady, only possible because of the great price Diane gave me. She's so friendly and helpful and patient with redneck like me who until recently thought diamonds were only useful in the coating of saw blades. more