Zales vs. Szul Engagement Ring Match Up
Renowned since almost a century, Zales has a flamboyant history as well as reputation. You might wonder what competition is Szul to Zales? But, after researching behind the endless tabs and verified online purchases, we have one sure jeweler that you MUST try!
Founded
Zales
Began in 1924 at Wichita Falls, as an exclusive diamond seller, Zales has a wide customer base, all across the world. The jeweler expanded its stores to 12 by 1941 and is known for introducing the earliest jewelry financing plan of ‘a penny down and a dollar a week’. Today, Zales boasts about having the biggest inventory as a diamond geezer in North America.
Szul
Founded in 2002, Szul is all about its own prime location and unparallel designs. Located in the core of the diamond district of America, Szul is one of the favorite wedding jewelers in North America currently. An exclusive virtual diamond store, Szul is known for its high quality diamonds and exclusive designs priced affordably. Known for its multi faceted functions, Szul is the most sought after brand for engagement rings today!
Online/ Traditional
Zales
Began almost a hundred years ago, Zales has both traditional and online stores. The popularity of Zales jewels is high, both as an online and offline diamond seller. Offering rare and trending varieties of classic plus contemporary baubles, Zales is known for its enjoyable jewelry buying experience.
Szul
Began as an online store with exceptional features and customer benefits, Szul does not have any physical stores. The website is known for its variety of jewelry designs and thought-provoking educational blog posts. The jeweler is an infamous jeweler does not have a median store and hence provides amazing jewelry at cost-efficient prices and discounts solely online.
Slogan
Zales
Expanded from a downtown-family -run jewelry, Zales is a trademark in the online jewelry market today. With a slogan – The Diamond Store, Zales believes in simplicity and clarity. The jeweler was one among the first few jewelers in North America and claims to be the biggest as well. The slogan denotes its supremacy in the diamond industry, a few decades ago as well as currently.
Szul
Known by its popular tagline- Affordable Diamond Jewelry Online, Szul stands for unique and rare jewelry at budget-efficient price-tags. The jeweler is known to have no conventional brick and mortar shops and hence is completely focused on its digital ventures. If you’re looking to cut down some expenses without having to sacrifice your dream jewelry or its quality, Szul is your best option!
Jewelry types
Zales
Offering extravagant engagement ring collections made of diamond to pearl and even titanium, Zales has a wide variety of jewelry, displayed on its website. The types of jewelry you will find on Zales are Earrings, Necklaces, Bracelets, Bracelets and Rings. Zales is also a celebrated watch manufacturer.
Szul
Offering a wide range of jewelry items, Szul is the hallmark of fine and affordable varieties of jewelry under one roof.
Some varieties of jewelry available on Szul jewelers are
- Earrings- Diamond, Gemstone, Gold Hoops and studs;
- Necklaces- Diamond, Gemstone, Pearl and Solitaire necklaces;
- Rings- Diamond, gemstone, pearl, Engagement, promise, anniversary and wedding rings;
- Bracelets- Diamond, Gemstone, pearl and gender based bracelets;
- Diamonds- Custom Design or loose rocks;
You can also opt to design your own nuptial jewelry exclusively at Szul.
Number of Locations of the store
Zales
Stretched across the world with more than 750 stores, Zales is the big shark of nuptial jewelry. Being a century old at present, Zales also offers countless varieties of designs at each store. Currently, it has branches all over North America and Puerto Rico. The company is headed by Zales Corporation with its main store in Texas.
Szul
Being an exclusive online diamond store, Szul has nothing but its lone headquarters in New York. According to our reports, Szul has 0 stores. The company has its warehouse situated in Manhattan.
Variety
Zales
Offering endless designs, classic, vintage, rare and exceptional, Zales has an uncountable variety of jewelry to choose from. Ideal for wedding selections, Zales has its maximum products online and the thousands of its rarities will surely stun you.
You can select your engagement ring based on the rock like diamond, pearl, gold, silver, cobalt, tungsten, titanium and gemstone. The best varieties of wedding jewelry available on Zales are the bridal sets that include three stone varieties too.
Szul
Offering a large variety of designs ranging from traditional to progressive, Szul boasts a large variety of engagement rings. The best characteristic of Szul is their seriousness of keeping up with the trendiest jewelries always. The website offers an extravagant variety of rings inclusive of Solitaire, Diamond, Gemstone, Two-Stone, Three Stone and Stackable diamond rings.
In addition, if the endless variety of ring designs doesn’t enthrall you, you can also opt to self-customize your dream rings!
Prices
Zales
Offering even custom design options, Zales offers a varied range of products. Starting as low as $50, Zales has rings that can range up to $50,000. The website offers varieties of jewelry and depending on your centrestone, setting and materials chosen; the total price will also differ.
Szul
Ornaments are an expensive purchase. If you’re looking for superior clarity of jewelry or precious stones, affordability is not an option. When shopping with Szul, the same is not the case. As the cheapest ring on Szul starts at $250, it is easy to pick out one that befits your tastes as well. The maximum to spend on jewelry at Szul is $50,000.
Photos quality
Zales
The website provides one photo per item, which can also be enlarged for a detailed zoom-in view. The high definition photo also provides lucid detailing of the superior artisanship of the jeweler.
Szul
The website offers two high definition photos of every product displayed on the official website. Customers can view the pictures with an enlarged view when the mouse is hovered over or by clicking on the picture displayed. The two types of photos provided are high quality and are not on-finger real-time picture.
Videos
Zales
Zales is known as an offline and online diamond geezer owing to its vast experience. All the products displayed are without any 3600 rotational video.
Szul
Providing high definition images that can be enlarged to dissect detailed and in-depth view of the product is the maximum of what Szul provides. The website provides not many pictures for a detailed review of the product, in addition to the lack of 3600 video that shows the product from all sides.
Extra topics
Zales
Sought after by diamond enthusiasts owing to its century old experience, Zales is a trustworthy name in diamonds. It provides exceptional and unique articles on the topic of 4Cs, Jewelry Care, Pearls, Gemstone Jewelry, Diamond Guides and other specialty topics.
Szul
A notable trademark of Szul is its exemplary customer care services as well as skill. The jeweler is known far and wide for its polite and amiable dealings with the customers as well as its expertise in jewelry industry.
The best topics explored on Szul are
- Diamonds- 4Cs, Myths, Logic, History and Diamond Picking guide;
- Gemstone- Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Citrine, Blue Topaz, Tanzanite, Amethyst, Garnet, Peridot and Opal.
- Metals- Gold, Platinum and Silver;
- Jewelry Care- Cleaning, Washing, Maintenance, Things to Lookout for and Dos & Don’ts;
- Culture Mine- Important books, movies and links to take help of to understand jewelry better.
- Ring Sizing- How to find the perfect sizing for your finger;
Contact methods
Zales
Do you have any comments or questions that you need direct clarifications from? Zales customer rep will help you right on! Offering multiple contact methods, Zales has qualified staff too.
Some contact methods are
- Phone- 1-800-311-JEWEL;
- Email Contact Form- online;
- Live Chat- 24×7, online;
Szul
Always welcome to the calls of the customers, Szul has multiple modes of customer care contact services that are highly skilled.
- Direct email- [email protected]
- Mail-
12 East 46th Street
3rd Floor West
New York, NY 10017
- Phone- (800) 332-4382, International- +1212.689.7770;
Reply duration
Zales
Via the email contact form, we contacted Zales directly and the customer representatives got back to us within 48 hours. If you want an immediate chat with the customer care, request the same via Live chat, where executives are available 24×7.
Szul
The best attraction of shopping with Szul is its amazing customer care services. The shopping experience is informative and amiable, apart from being available 24X7. The personalized type of email that truly answers your questions and queries with care is what keeps Szul a level higher than its competitors.
To our email query, Szul replied directly within 12-24 hours.
Auto spam
Zales
Having an ironclad auto spam activated on the site, Zales also has a quality website. It has a page rank-5th and Alexa Rank of 16442. The website is renowned for its high regard to providing secure and child safe content.
Szul
The website assures maximum protection for its audience and has auto spam, besides being a 3rd ranked webpage with an Alexa Rank of 123833. Szul.com is celebrated for its top rated content, which may be child unsafe at times.
Customer Care
Zales
Unfortunately, the customer care representatives of Zales are highly incompetent. Within the century long service of Zales, there are endless complaints about how the customer reps misplaced orders too. Most verified purchases from Zales have been found to be derogatory and highly degrading in the part of the jeweler.
Szul
Having none but highly skilled jewelry experts at the customer’s disposal via multiple media, Szul is a celebrated wedding jewelry seller. Most verified purchases and reviews (even available under a tab on the official website) emphasize unanimously that buying from Szul is truly a life-changing jewelry purchase.
User Friendly
Zales
Online since 17 years, Zales is an attractive and experienced jewelry seller today. Providing high-quality services to its customers, Zales also has a hassle free and efficient official website. With fresh content and stellar dazzles, the website is truly a gem for couples looking for engagement rings.
Szul
We are proud to say that we totally love the ease of navigation and dedication of the crew behind the official Szul website. The posts are top-rated, flawless and speak of nothing but perfection. The products are amazing, well updated and we love the warm design of Szul.com.
Financing options
Zales
Also offering effortless financing options inclusive of the collaborative effort with PayPal- Bill me Later. The company also provides its own credit card called the Zales Credit Card for hassle free transactions. With Zales, the stress of expensive jewelry shopping is inverted!
Szul
The jeweler- Szul has a known collaboration with Affirm and hence offers user friendly financing alternatives for its customers. The same charges 10% and 30% Simple Interest sans any hidden costs or late deductions. The minimum monthly payments required by a customer is $1.77 with its bridal sets priced at $200-$300.
All products on Szul are accompanied by the Affirm pricing.
Payment methods
Zales
Zales has been conducting online and traditional transactions since many decades. In order to make a purchase via its official website, you must use one of these-
- Visa
- MasterCard
- American Express
- Discover
- Zales Credit Card®
- Gordon’s Jewelers Credit Card®
- Piercing Pagoda Credit Card®
- Zales Gift Card
- Zales.com e-Gift Card
- PayPal
- PayPal Credit
Szul
Offering the best of convenience and a completely aided shopping experience, Szul offers a wide range of payment options to its customers. All online transactions are secure and ensured safe. They accept Mastercard, Discover, American Express and VISA apart from money orders, checks or wire transfers.
Szul also provides PayPal and Amazon checkouts, including gift certificates.
Shipping policy
Zales
Offering a free shipping option for all orders for delivery within 3 business days, Zales has an attractive shipping policy. The addressee must provide the digital signature and can also opt for the basic free delivery to the Zales store next to you.
It also offers
- UPS 2nd Day- $6.95
- UPS Next Day- $21.95
- Priority Mail- $7.95- $18.95
Szul
When you shop at Szul, there is a wide array of shipping options available for domestic and international customers. Szul offers free shipping on all orders which is the standard shipping policy, usually taking about 4-7 days from the date of payment. The website also offers
- Express Shipping- Taking 3-5 days at $9.95;
- Expedited Shipping- Taking 1-2 Days at $24.95;
- International- Standard at $19.95;
- UPS Express Shipping at $45.95;
Refund policy
Zales
Unlike most of its counterparts, Zales offers a 60 days window to avail 100% refund of the jewelry. The jewelry must be unworn when returning and must be within the window. Customers can also return the product via mail and make sure to attach the Return Tracking/ authorization Number for all returns.
Szul
The website offers a transparent and appeasing refund policy that provides 100% refund of the original amount provided the jewelry is unworn and returned within 30 days of purchase. To do so, contact the customer service, and avail the Return or Exchange Authorization Number and if you mail the packaged without the number, the same is subject to a restocking fee.
For certified loose diamonds bought via the website, Szul offers a 15 day refund policy.
Trade in policy
Zales
The trade-in policy lets a customer upgrade their jewelry in the future for the original price with the same jeweler. Zales offers no exclusive trade-in options; however you can directly exchange the jewelry for an equivalently weighing jewelry of the same or twice the cost.
Szul
The website assures a 60-day period for all repairs and resizing of jewelry bought online. The same will be returned in 7-10 business days as well. Szul does not offer any trade-in policy for its customers, but who knows, the same might change soon?
Headquarters
Zales
Located in Irving, Texas, Zales has an extensive list of showrooms all across Puerto Rico and North America. The company strives to provide high customer care services to both in-store and online customers. It is worth a net total of $226,024 with a daily traffic of 22,503.
Szul
Set in 12 E 46th St, New York, NY 10017, United States, Szul is a celebrated jeweler. The website is a net worth of $30,010 with daily unique visitors of 3000+ and is popular on the social media for its services.
Stock
Zales
Zales has been conducting jewelry business over almost a hundred years and all its diamonds are conflict-free. Processed via the Kimberley Process, Zales also abides by the Clean Diamond Trade Act.
Szul
Diamonds mined from African combat regions are termed as conflict diamonds. Offering nothing but conflict free diamonds, Szul has a firm voice of following the ethics of diamond mining.
CEO
Zales
Theo Killion is the CEO of Zales jewelers.
Szul
Manesh Patel is the CEO of Szul Jewelers.
Founder
Zales
Morris B. Zale is the founder of the celebrated jeweler- Zales.
Szul
Manesh Patel is the founder of Szul Jewelers.
Our Conclusion
After digging deep into the verified customer reviews and the deeper features of Zales and Szul, we have come to the conclusion that Szul is the best wedding jeweler to try in 2016, for its affordability, uniqueness and mind-blowing customer care!