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Overall Score:3.17 | | ||||
Price:2 | | Selection:4 | | Customer Service: 3.5 | |
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Bottom Line Recommendation
Jenny and I secret shopped Canturi in December of 2019. We visited their locations in Brisbane and Melbourne. I would not recommend buying a diamond ring from Canturi. Comparing their diamonds to ones we can find from reputable online dealers, you can save roughly 40% going that route. Here is our list of favorite online retailers for purchasing an engagement ring. And if you are concerned about purchasing a diamond online, I suggest you read our article comparing purchasing a diamond from a local retailer vs online.
That said, even if you were adamant about buying at a physical retailer, Canturi would not be our choice. The diamond quality was inconsistent, and there are other retailers that, while still more expensive than buying online, are more competitively priced. Based on our secret shopping trip, I would recommend considering Cerrone Jewellers. We found them to have the best balance of quality and value as well as excellent customer service in Australia.
While its true that we have affiliate marketing relationships with many of the online retailers (we explain how we operate here), we have no affiliation whatsoever with Cerrone or any of the other physical retailers that we rate highly.
The History
Born in 1966 in Sydney, Australia Stefano Canturi is a classically trained craftsman and visionary jewellery designer. His interest in miniature sculpture began at the age of nine in Florence, Italy where his instant admiration of hand carved sculptures was born.
In the years that followed, the drive to sculpt became irrepressible, and at the age of 17 he pursued an opportunity to learn the craft of jewellery creation under an Italian Master..
In 1986, he began designing and crafting jewellery under his own name and quickly attracted a following of women who were drawn to the unique talent of the visionary artist. Over the years, jewelry designed by Canturi has been worn by Oprah Winfrey, Kylie Minogue, Linda Evangelista and other well-known stars.
His Creation Department is in Sydney, Australia and much like the original craftspeople of an era past, his works are only available through his three exclusive jewellery salons in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Why you should trust us
To help you with the diamond buying process we lean on our expertise and experience. The author of this article, our CEO, Mike Fried has over 20 years of experience in the diamond industry. Mike started from the bottom, sorting and evaluating hundreds of thousands of diamonds to learn every facet (pun intended) of diamond quality and value. Mike followed that up by spending years buying and selling diamonds on the wholesale market as well as selling tens of millions of dollars worth of diamonds to diamond retailers.
Brisbane
The Experience
Deal Alert: Get 25% off engagement ring settings at Blue Nile! (valid until May 6th)
Canturi was one of the last stops we made while wandering around Brisbane. I genuinely liked the layout of the store. It was bright, airy, and had a nice modern vibe. The one weird thing was that we sat on couches to look at the rings. I get that they are trying to make you comfortable, but it was weird to me. Many people want to take notes or pictures. They may want to walk around to see how the diamond looks in different light. I don’t think sitting on deep cushioned sofas is conducive to buying a diamond. But maybe that’s just me.
The salesperson was incredibly nice and helpful. It’s one of the rare occasions where the salesperson asked to show us a variety to help us get a better understanding of our options. She picked an excellent variety of engagement rings to show us.
The Product
The first diamond we looked at was a 1.08ct E color, SI2 clarity round diamond set in an 18kt white gold solitaire setting. The diamond was very nice. The cut was fine and the SI2 was eye-clean. The price for the ring was AU$15,500.
The second engagement ring we looked at was a three-stone round diamond setting. The center diamond was a 0.86ct E color, SI1 clarity diamond that was graded by GSL. We recommend only purchasing diamonds with a GIA certificate. GSL is a local certificate, and I’m a bit skeptical. To be fair, the grades did seem spot on so we’ll let it slide.
What I won’t let slide was the cut. The diamond was horrifically cut. It was deep and had a huge table. The diamond just looked terrible. The side-stone diamonds were 0.70ctw and were supposedly E color, SI1 clarity and the total price was AU$11,700.
Melbourne
The Experience
We found Canturi on Little Collins St. The experience in Melbourne was very similar to the experience in Brisbane. That is the way it should be (that a store has uniform standards and style), but is not always the case. The store wasn’t as bright as the one in Brisbane, but had a nice vibe. Once again, they did the whole “show diamond rings while sitting in comfy couches” thing. The salesperson was also very nice and helpful.
The Product
The first diamond we saw was a 1.03ct G color, VS2 clarity in an 18kt white gold solitaire setting for AU$13,900. This was a fantastic diamond. The cut was superb, and the diamond was bright and eye-clean.
The second diamond was a 0.80ct F color, SI1 clarity round diamond. This diamond was nowhere near as nice as the previous one. It was very poorly cut, making it look dark and lacking brilliance. It also had inclusions that were noticeable to the naked eye. This diamond was set in a 0.19ctw halo setting and cost AU$8,700.
Summary
While you may be able to find a nice diamond at Canturi, our personal opinion is that you will be able to purchase a diamond of equal quality (or better) for a lower price online. If you prefer to stick with a physical retailer, Canturi would not be our first choice, but they are a fine option.
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
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
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