Diamonds with Integrity: The Ritani Way

One’s engagement ring is the most important piece of finery one will receive in their lifetime, and it is an investment that needs to be taken seriously. Engagement ring shopping can be an especially daunting task for those with no previous experience with diamonds and jewels. Every prospective buyer of fine jewelry needs to make decisions regarding who to turn to for advice and what recommendations they should follow. Allow us at VUE to help direct you to Ritani, headquartered in White Plains, New York. Named one of “America’s Most Promising Companies” in 2014, Ritani was founded in 1991 by a family of jewelers. Joel Klein, its current owner since 2009, has been in the jewelry and diamond business his entire life.

With over 200,000 diamonds on their website, their diamonds are ethically-sourced from all over the world. Ritani upholds strict standards in ethically sourcing diamonds, ensuring their customers understand exactly where their diamonds came from. They can also create customized, lab-grown diamonds based on tailored customer requests. Ritani can make or customize any setting found on their website, or even recreate a design the customer viewed elsewhere. All their settings are made from scratch, which provides a great deal of flexibility in customization. 

Their user-friendly website allows the customer to explore different options with ease. Particularly, Ritani prides itself on its online customer service because they understand just how hard shopping online for a diamond can be. Online, customers are teamed up with certified gemologists, who will go over what the customer is looking for and what the best diamonds are for the best price: including the largest, most colorless, and clean stones.  “We provide great customer service because it is hard to shop for gems online. Our customer service representatives provide the same service clients would find at a local jeweler online,” states Juliet Gomez, Client Success Manager and Ritani expert. “We provide renderings of the design, walk customers through the process and provide them with photos each step of the way.”

Ritani representatives are accessible through live chat on the website, email, phone, or one-on-one free consultations. A respective gemologist will go over diamond options in depth with the customer to educate them on what to look for. Once they find the best diamond and setting for the customer, they help them place the order and track it, guaranteeing a 30-day return period for engagement rings.

In-house, Ritani is one of the only online jewelers to offer free in-store previews where customers can build a ring with a certified gemologist and subsequently have it made and shipped to a location near them. From there, one of the partnered jewelers or Ritani representatives who are based all over the country will meet with the client and make sure the ring is tailored to customer satisfaction. “The option to have it seen in person before payment is a game-changer for our customers,” Gomez states. If the customer decides that they are not in love with their engagement ring, they have 30 days for free return.

Ritani’s process embodies transparency and honesty: two of the most important factors when choosing a jeweler. “Here at Ritani, we are very transparent about pricing. We provide super low markups on our diamonds so customers can get the best pricing they can find on the market,” Gomez shares. Ritani also guarantees price matching; if an online competitor prices a certain diamond for less, Ritani will attempt to find a similar diamond at a lower cost.

Ritani provides a cost breakdown and pricing for every item on its website. “Because most of the time customers are shopping for important items and huge milestones, we build trust with clients by letting them know that there is minimal markup and that we are not charging extra for items,” Gomez tells us. 

Ritani stands out with low pricing and its dedication to honesty with its customers. “When it comes to diamonds, we want to be better. We want to be perfect,” Gomez states. “We are not afraid to tell customers if something is not going to work or if something could be better.” Customers appreciate Ritani’s candor, as they ultimately understand that these gemologists know what is best in terms of quality and appearance.

Ritani wants its customers to be educated and informed so that they can truly choose what ring is best for their budget. Online, they have an education hub with easily-accessible and detailed information on how to buy diamonds, engagement rings, and jewelry. They post blog articles on how to choose the perfect shape and setting for one’s hand, what to look out for, and a glossary of terms that the regular customer may not already be acquainted with. 

As a company, Ritani is committed to philanthropy. As patrons of the arts, the company awards students with scholarships who demonstrate environmental sustainability in their crafts. Ritani also regularly gives back to human rights groups including orphanages and donates to primary schools.

With Ritani’s value-driven company culture, customers should expect the diamond-buying process to feel seamless and they should allow themselves to feel taken care of. That is Ritani’s mission, and what they work endlessly to achieve.

Interested in learning more about diamond buying? Check out VUE NJ’s blog on how to pick the perfect diamond.