Van Rijk

Really great service! Professional and knowledgeable. We brought in a couple of rings and were treated really well and given the best price compared to several other places we went to. Felt safe and confident here vs other places that try to hassle and intimidate you. Really well run and recieved payment promptly. Will come again! Place was packed with lota of people buying when we returned. Thank you again!!!

We had some estate jewelry that no one wanted. The selling experience at Van Rijk was excellent--no pressure and immediate settlement. We would definitely recommend.

I am a well-informed watch collector who wishes to share with others the experience I had at Van Rijk Jewellers. I visited the store to view a valuable watch after being advised over the phone that it was in "mint condition" by a female staff member. When I arrived, I was greeted by an older than middle aged woman with dark dyed hair, draped with diamond jewellery. No extremity or body part seemed spared. By wearing a watch of higher value than the one I was looking at, I anticipated staff or any informed watch trader would recognize me as a potentially valuable customer and work with me in good faith. The watch I came to view was priced over 20% above the market value, both in Canada and the United States. The watch was not mint, rather, it was characterized by multiple dings and scratches throughout the bezel and bracelet and compatible with heavy wear. Given its condition, I asked for a loop. My request clearly upset the saleslady, whose facial expression accentuated deep furrows around her mouth as she grimaced and stated "you do not put a loop up to a used watch". After I requested the loop for a second time, she reluctantly obtained one and rather than hand it to me, she aggressively placed it on the glass counter in front of me. The loop revealed the watch to be in much worse condition. I therefore inquired as to whether there was any flexibility on the price of the watch, to which she emphatically responded "not a penny less!". She effectively conveyed to me that she was frustrated, if not bothered having spent her time to show me the watch. She then reached out and vigorously grabbed the watch from my hand, placing it back into the case and patronized me by lecturing me on the value and demand of that particular watch. I was speechless and did not engage further with this lady. It was overtly clear that not only was she ignorant, but also rigid, rude, and immature in her ability to interact effectively with a prospective customer. The experience would lead one to question the integrity of Van Rijk and the relationship it has with its staff. I suspect that this is a family run business, as otherwise, I can see no justification to have people with these characteristics working with customers to sell such valuable commodities. As I was curious, I followed the website for several months after my visit to the store to confirm the watch had not sold. My experience with Van Rijk Jewellers would lead any potential customer to question the basis upon which it prices its watches. As I have spoken with other watch collectors who have shared similar experiences with this specific saleslady, I wonder whether her sentiment and manner of dealing with customers is part of a larger attitude that is present within the store, and if not, why Alec Van Rijk has not recognized and addressed this deficiency sooner.

Alec takes tremendous pride in his customer service and makes sure his customers are 100% happy. This is extremely respectable. I am very impressed.

I took the time to email them about a few of their watches online I was interested in, since they hide the prices of most of their timepieces. They never bothered to reply. EDITED 1.11.2018 star review rating based on the owner's comments below. One day I hope to actually conduct a transaction and change this review to five stars!