Where is a good place to go locally (Wake County area) to shop for earrings? Can be, but doesn't have to be, diamonds. Other stones are fine. Budget wise I would say under $400 or so would be ideal. I would just prefer to go to a store to actually see the piece vs. an image on Overstock or some other website.

12/10/2010 9:16:12 AM

I don't remember the name of the place but in Carr Mill Mall in Carrboro there's a couple of nice jewelry shops in there, mostly made by local artists.

12/10/2010 9:22:02 AM

Do you remember which store you shopped at? I was hoping for a couple personal testimonials and not 'go to Diamonds Direct or Jared' or whatever generic commericals we all see/hear.

12/10/2010 9:35:37 AM

Don't remember the name but everything in that mall are small, independent shops. You really can't go wrong with any place in there. Hell, you can't go wrong with anything in Carrboro period if you're looking for mom and pop places

12/10/2010 9:40:32 AM

Man, I haven't been back to the NC State/Hillsborough area in a long time, but there use to be a great little jewelry store on the left side of Hillsborough (going towards downtown) maybe a block or two after the Bell Tower??

It was owned by a friend of my gf's family at the time and I would also go in there to pick out jewelry for her (or the guy would tell me what to get for her because I don't pick out jewelry). Good price ranges. Affordable for me as a college student, but also some really good expensive stuff.

12/10/2010 9:56:04 AM

^You're thinking of Weatherman, in the same building as the old Darryl's. Unfortunately they closed a few years ago when the owners retired. A Locopops is now occupying that space.

Also I will say that Bailey's in Cameron Village is a locally owned store. A friend of mine got his gf's engagement ring there and was quite happy with the service and the process. No clue about their prices though. I've only been in there once, to get a watch battery replaced--looked like they have a good selection too.

[Edited on December 13, 2010 at 12:44 PM. Reason : d]

12/13/2010 12:42:29 PM

I'm working at Jared for the holidays and you can come see me
I have actually been pleasently surprised by the quality of some of thier stuff and the prices.

12/14/2010 11:04:05 PM

I found an 8 mm pair of garnets on amazon for a ridiculously low price, and i got a nice aquamarine ring from another seller on there too. They have good return policies too, which make up for the buying sight unseen problem, imo. brick and mortar stores have a lot of overhead.

12/15/2010 10:24:08 AM