Austen & Blake - Southampton Reviews 127

Very good experience overall. Staff very helpful and engaging. The engagement ring itself was simply beautiful and of good quality

We had a ring made, it's absolutely amazing. The service from start to finish was polite, and I was kept informed of progress of the ring.
I would recommend Austen and Blake to anybody looking for that 'something special'

Excellent service very helpful and a really friendly team.

I had an amazing experience with Austen & Blake while searching for the perfect engagement ring. From the moment I walked in, the team made me feel completely at ease and really took the time to understand what I was looking for.

Their knowledge and attention to detail were incredible, guiding me through different styles, diamonds, and settings without ever making me feel pressured. They genuinely cared about helping me find something meaningful rather than just making a sale.

Thanks to their patience and expertise, I was able to find the perfect ring for my partner—something that exceeded my expectations and felt truly special. The whole process was smooth, enjoyable, and actually exciting.

I couldn’t recommend Austen & Blake Southampton enough if you’re looking for quality, professionalism, and outstanding customer service. They made what could have been a stressful decision feel effortless.

The selection of ring designs were stunning.
Kyrie gave us unbelievably amazing service, she took her time to take us through all the options available and kept us up to date with each step of the process.

We felt informed and excited through the whole process.

I love my ring and would definitely recommend Austen Blake and Kyrie.

Thank you x

we picked our wedding rings up today from the Southampton branch, and experienced such a lovely friendly service from both Kay and Richard. Both are so friendly and helpful, Kay cleaned my engagement ring for me in the ultrasonic machine whilst we were waiting. We are so happy with our rings and thoroughly recommend them.

I had a wonderful experience purchasing an engagement ring in-store, thanks to the exceptional help from Kaushika and Kyrie. From the moment I walked in, they were both incredibly welcoming, patient, and knowledgeable.

They took the time to understand exactly what I was looking for, guiding me through the options without any pressure. Their expertise made what could have been an overwhelming decision feel easy and enjoyable. They answered all my questions clearly and honestly, and their attention to detail really stood out.

Kaushika and Kyrie made the whole experience feel personal and special, which meant a lot given the importance of the occasion. I’m truly grateful for their support and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for outstanding service when making such a meaningful purchase.

Got our wedding and engagement rings from Austen & Blake in Southampton. Staff were really friendly, patient and helpful! Kyrie spent a lot of time making sure we were really happy with all the details of our wedding bands and we couldn’t be happier with the rings & the service. Highly recommend!

Had a lovely experience this morning purchasing mine and my partners wedding rings. Really insightful and enjoyable appointment!

I’m extremely disappointed with my recent experience with Austin Blake Southampton. I previously had a positive experience purchasing my engagement ring from them, which is exactly why I chose to return for my wedding band. Unfortunately, this second experience was frustrating, time-consuming, and ultimately a complete waste of money.

I initially paid £150 for a CAD design, which is off course highly overpriced. After sharing the CAD, they didn’t provide a quote as you would reasonably expect. Instead, they simply sent me a payment link for a cast, which I paid. Only afterwards did I realise they had never actually shared a full quote for the ring.

When the quote finally came through, it was far higher than expected. They claimed this was due to an increase in the value of gold, but when I asked for a clear breakdown of the costs, this was never provided. They also referred to “discounts” which were not to be discounts at all, but simply amounts I had already paid for the CAD and casting being deducted from the total.

Communication was also very frustrating. Everything is handled through WhatsApp with no names provided, so it felt like I was constantly speaking to different people who weren’t fully aware of the previous conversation. There was a lot of back and forth with little clarity.

At one point I asked to reduce the number of diamonds in the wedding band. Instead of adjusting the full cost appropriately, they only removed the cost of the diamonds themselves and not the labour, which resulted in only about a £100 difference, something that made very little sense.

Another issue was that costs were never explained upfront. Later on I was told I would have to pay a £69 rescanning fee and that I needed pay to post my ring to their facility myself, with no instructions provided beyond an address.

When I eventually decided to go ahead despite all the issues, I was then told they couldn’t organise V12 finance from the store and that it had to go through their area manager, which would cause further delays. I needed the ring by the end of April, but after over three weeks of back-and-forth caused by the lack of clarity in the process, they said they could no longer guarantee it could be ready in time, despite there still being eight weeks until the end of April.

To their credit, they did refund the cost of the cast. However, I would never have paid £150 for a CAD if I had known this would be the overall experience.

Overall, the pricing structure is unclear, communication is disorganised, and important costs are not explained upfront. What should have been an exciting process turned into a frustrating and disappointing experience. I won’t be returning.

My fiancé designed my engagement ring with Austen and Blake which was a really helpful and positive experience. We returned for our wedding bands because the company was so great. The office is a private setting and all of the people we met there were very knowledgable and kind.

Amazing experience with Karina! If you buy 2 wedding rings you also get a discount. Would highly recommend them, they are so knowledgeable and answer every question you may have. Thank you again.

Karina-
Fantastic service at Austen and Blake Southampton branch! Would recommend highly to anyone considering a new ring or jewellery purchase. Very professional throughout and will guide you through an array of options to suit your individual preferences. I purchased my fiancées bespoke engagement ring and now our wedding bands through them and could not be happier with the service they deliver!
Thanks Karina

Good communication, good variety of rings and helpful staff

We visited Austen and Blake to purchase our wedding bands! Kristina was absolutely amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience with her. She was super friendly and not pushy at all, she gave us brilliant advice! Would highly recommend coming here if you are in need of some beautiful rings, they have a fantastic selection😊

Great customer service . Excellent

Karina was extremely helpful with helping us choose our wedding rings and very patient with us. She worked with us to ensure we found our perfect wedding bands! Thank you so much Karina!

I ordered online, paid online, and collected in Southampton with no issues. The jewellery is great, I got it on a discount, and Karina in store was helpful.

After purchase I received an offer for a “FREE jewellery clean worth £69.” I contacted the online team several times with no reply until posting this review. They eventually replied, but claiming it requires sending the item insured with tracking and waiting up to 21 working days — more hassle than it’s worth. Honestly, it would have been easier not to advertise it.

4 stars — happy with the jewellery, but the marketing and delayed response were frustrating.

Fantastic company Customer service is excellent would definitely use again

My husband purchased an emerald eternity ring from Austen Blake to celebrate 20 years of marriage. Disappointed doesn't even begin to cover the experience. After having the ring less than 2 months a stone fell out. This was then sent back for repair which meant I was without the ring for a month. After receiving it back, a different stone fell out within 2 months. This time I had lost confidence in the ring and felt that it had been manufactured faulty. Austen & Blake agreed to this, commenting that not many company's made emerald and platinum eternity rings as being quite soft emeralds do fall out of small settings. They replaced the ring for a new one. This one lasted a year before another stone fell out. We have sent this back and they commented it was normal wear and tear! For reference I have another ring purchased in Brighton Lanes as an engagement ring 24 years ago, no stone has EVER come out of this ring and it looks as lovely as the day it was purchased. I would not use this company for your special purchase, trying to get hold of customer service & wait for responses is ridiculous. To think that three separate stones have fallen out of a ring in 18 months is beyond what I would expect for a good quality product. We are still waiting for a response and refund one month later and I've had no ring for 3 months. Purchase from a reputable high street store instead where you can actually speak to someone.

*Just to edit from the response from Austin Blake for reaching out....I replied back to their response on 30th January and no surprise but they have NOT been in contact...