Granát, d.u.v. Turnov - podniková prodejna - Dlouhá 710

Unkind. No english. Rude.

Nice store with a wide variety of garnet pieces.

The headquarters in Prague. There are gold and silver sections. I found out that the biggest garnets are actually imported, be sure to ask which ones are the real Czech ones.

I write this with a heavy heart. After living and working in Prague for almost 20 years and being of Czech heritage (and married to a girl from Prague), I have greatly appreciated the gradual disappearance of the classic “Czech” approach to customer service - dour, unsmiling, obstinate and, often, dishonest. This store, however, still manages to be an island of the old school ways. After a friend that lives in the USA purchased several pieces of jewelry from here that lost stones soon afterwards, I stopped in to ask how one gets the stone repaired. It took several laborious minutes of deflection and unhelpfulness before I eventually learned the following: 1. The retailer will not honor any warranty on the jewelry. They will make minor alterations in house to facilitate a sale, but all claims for defective items must be submitted to the factory. They were unable to tell me the process for such return other than it takes about six months. Bottom line: I would be required to seek a manufacturer warranty and they would not even assist in any way. 2. The “Granat”signage is essentially meaningless. There are several clusters of these stores with common ownership or common branding, but it is not like a chain to which you can return an item purchased at another location. It remains unclear to me that there is actually any meaningful certification as every single store purports to have certified garnet. 3. The ladies who work there are the absolute worse vestige for a time when doing your job meant showing up. They enjoy a steady flow of tourists (mostly senior tour groups from the USA) and they cannot be bothered to help them if anything goes wrong post-purchase. In my opinion, these ladies represent the last type of person that Czechs should want dealing with tourists. The owner of this store should be ashamed or representing the CR in this way. Summary: There are many other shops selling Granat in and around old town. Lots of them owned or operated by Russian-Czechs or other foreigners. These people are helpful (I was able to buy as many loose stones as I wanted from such a shop - also “Granat certified” - for whatever that is worth). In short, my advice to anyone that ones to purchase jewelery from here - don’t. The story of Czech garnet is oversold and, frankly, a waste of your money. If you want a true Czech experience, take a walk along the river at sunset or venture into one of the outer neighborhoods for a soup and a goulash. Don’t buy anything from these purveyors of sadness and despair. You will overpay and you will be disappointed. Maybe not the day or purchase or the day after, but eventually, and for a long time after, you will regret spending a single dollar here.

The prices in this store are better than those the other at Staré Město although there are no discounts. The jewelry with imported 'granat' is cheaper than hose with Czech. I was not really happy with the customer service.

A hidden gem, slightly off the beaten track, recommended to me by a small independent jeweller. This is the outlet for the artist cooperative who own the mining rights for Czech garnets which display a distinct fiery-red sparkle. The artists sort, cut and set the stones into jewellery and also glass objects in workshops and studios in the Northern town of Turnov and sell through this shop in Prague. Here you will get a certificate guaranteeing that you have bought the genuine article. Well worth a visit.

My husband bought me a lovely pendant from this store several years ago so, on my first trip to Prague, we knew where to go. We were also guided by the reviews of quality and genuine stones they have to offer. The ladies at the counter were true Czechs: unsmiling, dour, limited English and not that helpful. However they were patient with me as I decided on my purchases. I received their quality cards confirming genuine stones Managed to get a tax refund form which they didn't fill in for me but which I have to complete myself so I hope it passed the customs check. Happy with my purchase but feel the customer service could be better.

Great overall shopping experience, the staff were all very welcoming and helpful in explaining the difference between all the garnet options available onsite. They are honest and tell you where all the stones come from, with certificates of authenticity provided. The earrings I bought had both Bohemian and South African garnets, set in silver. The lady helping me even explained how I could get money back for the taxes at the airport before leaving Prague, so that was cool. With so many shops in town selling foreign garnets, or even worse, glass, this place is a must visit. Doesn't hurt that their parent company owns the mines.