What The Locals Know–Shopping For Jewelry In Carmel, by Jennifer Filzen
We girls love our bling. Whether it’s low cost bling, or bling that’s the equivalent of a Ferrari, we love bright and shiny baubles. Since I’m getting married in July, we recently had to go shopping for wedding rings. I’d like to share my shopping process with you so you can take the shortcut to finding a great deal.
So, because we are internet savvy 30-somethings, we thought we’d shop for wedding rings online. A girlfriend works at a Carmel jewelry store, Jewelry Atelier, and was persistent about me visiting her shop. She, and other jewelers that I talked to, mentioned that by buying local and seeing what you’re getting, versus going online, can uncover better deals than what you’d expect.
To be quite honest, I was very resistant. I thought that a Carmel jewelry store was going to be through-the-roof expensive. I also thought that they wouldn’t have much in my price range. Lastly, I thought designing my own ring would be too costly. Well, I was wrong.
First, I checked out several jewelry stores in the area and the prices are pretty darned reasonable when you consider the high-quality jewelry mixed with recession-era pricing. We did end up settling on Jewelry Atelier–thank you Donell Pennington, Jim and Mary Genone–because they offered us unbeatable prices for beautiful workmanship.
The moral of this local’s story? Just because a jewelry shop is located in Carmel does not mean it’s only accessible to rich people.
