I-Primo Diamonds Jewelry – A Review

Our Rating 3.9 out of 5.

Compare I-Primo Diamonds Jewelry with James Allen.

There are some positives to I-Primo Diamonds; the diamonds are of good quality, the selection is decent, and the sales assistants are friendly and helpful.

On the flip side, the prices of I-Primo are incredibly high and by no means justify the service or experience you get in any one of the stores. The wait time to receive a ring you have chosen is also overdone, taking nearly six weeks for a purchased ring to be delivered.

Though I-Primo might be a popular jewelry store to visit, we recommend that customers consider looking online at James Allen or Blue Nile. They are only online retailers and provide stunning diamond engagement rings at an incredible price with amazing customer service.

A Brief History

I-Primo was created as a sub-brand of Primo Japan, one of the largest bridal specialty jewelry stores in Japan. It opened in 1999 as an independent retailer, located first in the Ginza district in Tokyo. Afterward, I-Primo expanded to Hong Kong and Taiwan and now has locations in mainland China as well.

What I-Primo Offer

When visiting the I-Primo store in Hong Kong, you will notice that it is a smaller store and does not stand out among the other popular jewelry stores. This mainly has to do with its being a Japanese company, although some effort could have had better results.

The fact that the store displays diamonds and engagement rings in gold-obsessed Hong Kong makes it stand out. This is a blessing for those wanting to go out of their way.

I-Primo has a slightly different approach to engagement ring buying, which is probably not the best business model. Like some other store, you cannot walk into an I-Primo store and purchase an engagement ring. Diamonds have been set out in the store to choose from, along with settings for them. While this is still common in many stores, the difference is that it takes I-Primo five to six weeks to ship the finished ring to you. This is an unprecedented amount of time and does create setbacks for many who wish to purchase a ring and have it ready in a couple of days.

What Makes I-Primo Stand Out?

Diamonds: The diamonds sold at I-Primo are beautiful, although the store does focus on smaller diamonds. The diamonds are bright and eye-clean and do offer a great amount of brilliance to an engagement ring.

Certification: Most jewelers in Hong Kong sell their diamonds with either GIA or AGS certifications. I-Primo offers GIA certifications only for their XXX diamonds. While it does amount to an achievement, lesser-quality diamonds do not come with this same certification.

Staff: The staff at the I-Primo stores are helpful and attend to customers quickly. They possess knowledge about diamonds and do their best to help customers match their preferred diamonds with the perfect settings.

I-Primo Pricing

Unfortunately, I-Primo sells its diamonds at an incredibly high premium. The overheads and other costs that go into running a physical retail store are much higher than what it would cost to run an online store, but many jewelers manage to keep this pricing down in their stores.

I-Primo does not manage to do this. If you were to take a certain quality ring from I-Primo and then compare it to a similar ring at James Allen or Blue Nile, you will notice that the ring from I-Primo comes in at nearly three times more. No added service or experience makes up for such a price hike, and hence it is better to stick to an online store.

Custom Orders

The whole concept of I-Primo is around custom orders. Customers can only purchase a ring by pairing a diamond found in-store or online to a setting found in the collections offered. For a personal touch, each I-Primo engagement ring is named after a zodiac sign or a star. This allows a customer to choose a ring with special design concepts and a story to go with it.

Website Ease of Use

The I-Primo website is clean, modern, and uses star charts and star sign imagery to push the concept of their collections for engagement rings and wedding rings.

There are a decent number of options available to search through the site. The rings are labeled and separated by the star constellations, giving a luxurious feel to the page.

The rings are displayed nicely with enough imagery and a whimsical description for each ring. You will notice that some of the rings fall into the Flowery category, which is a collection of delicate rings that have been inspired by nature.

Overall, the site has a good amount of information and displays the diamond engagement rings well.

Customer Service

I-Primo, despite the other faults, does provide incredible customer service. However, the fact that it takes nearly six weeks for a ring to be delivered is alarming. Both in-store and online, customers are in good hands when shopping at I-Primo.

Professional Cleaning: I-Primo offers professional cleaning free of charge to customers.

Repair Service: There is a one-year repair service offered for engagement rings, wedding rings, and manufacturing defaults.

Engraving: I-Primo welcomes customers to have their initials or anniversary dates engraved on the inside of their engagement or wedding rings purchased from the store.

I-Primo Financing Options

There is no financing offered on the I-Primo site. It would need to be discussed in-store. Besides, customers will need to use a third-party financing service.

Why You Should Choose I-Primo

• A beautiful collection of engagement rings
• Some diamonds are sold with GIA certification
• Stunning diamonds available

I-Primo – High Prices and a Long Wait

There is no doubt that I-Primo does sell some stunning engagement rings and radiant diamonds to match. But the price of these engagement rings and diamonds and the long wait customers have to undergo until their ring is ready are off-putting. Some diamonds and engagement rings can cost nearly three times more than what you could find at James Allen or Blue Nile, which is a huge mark-up. The rings and diamonds are beautiful, but they are not worth the extra premium.

Here is the Official Website:  https://www.iprimo.hk/en/