Meilleur Joaillerie

I was looking for this store during my visit this weekend. Last time I was here was 18-​years ago. Just as unique and one of a kind as ever. A must when visiting. Love it!

Most of the jewelry in this store is imported. I shop around the world and recognized this as soon as I walked in. Her pieces are exquisite! Definitely not overly priced, but you are not at Macy’s ladies. I bought 2 necklaces and every time I wear them I receive compliments.
I use to live in a high tourist town, believe me its annoying as heck! I wouldn’t dream of trying to talk a shop owner down in price. If you can’t afford it, go elsewhere, have some class people!

I received a hand selected necklace and matching earrings as a wedding gift from my Aunt and Uncle. They reside in NOLA, and choose this shop for their unique pieces.
It is a beautiful set, and I get more compliments on it because it isn’t something that can be purchased «on-​line».
Unilocaler’s just like to «gripe» and use foul language thinking it will get the point across.
#Tacky

The woman running the shop is a beast! I understand why it was empty. So much for southern hospitality. Maybe if someone bought some of her crappy jewellery she could afford charm school and not scare potential customers away.

This is the worst store experience I have ever had in my entire life, and by the looks of the other Unilocal reviews, I am not the only person who has been treated like absolute dirt at the place.
My mom was in town visiting me this weekend and would not stop going on about this necklace she saw in a window on Royal St. She just had to track it down during business hours. When we finally found the store, the necklace was a bit out of her price range. Looking around and seeing all of the handmade-​looking jewelry, I thought this could be a place that could cut us a deal. I barely had the words out of my mouth when the lady said very loud and rudely, «DON’T insult me! Are you JOKING? This is RETAIL not WHOLESALE! Please LEAVE!» and SNATCHED the necklace out of my had.
Are you kidding me?! What kind of customer service is that? If your prices are set in stone, that is all you have to say.
Honestly, my mother probably would have paid full-​price for that necklace. But after being treated like the scum of the earth, we wouldn’t have bought a thing from that lady, even if she hadn’t kicked us out.
I try not to let miserable people bother me, but this lady really ruined our afternoon. I guess working in a store on Royal Street, you can get away with anything and the tourists will keep coming back. I won’t be though, and I will probably tell every person I know.

8−12−14 stopped in to look at gorgeous earrings I saw in the shop window — the lady in store was very courteous & helpful told me to try them on and since I wasn’t sure about purchase (it was definitely an impulse stop) she could ship them to me — my experience was very good — lucy

I laughed out loud when I googled what «meilleur» meant in French. «Better Jewelry». More like, «I’m Better Than You Jewelry, and I Hope You Are Intimidated by My Fancy French Name»
So, I’m looking for a delicate gold bracelet to wear as my sole piece of jewelry in my wedding. I found one at Neiman Marcus for $ 120, but we were walking by this store and saw something similar in the window. I thought ‘that would be great to buy from a local store rather than a corporate retailer!’.
So we walk in, look around, then approach the woman working here (may have been store owner) to ask if we could look at said bracelet. Just as the words leave my mouth she abruptly says, «It’s GOLD, honey. It’s nineteen-​hundred and fifty dollars». Uh, ok. We both felt embarrassed by her very unexpected reaction (and Ryan usually doesn’t give two shits what people think of him!).
Here’s why, store lady, you are out of touch as a retailer owner/​customer service person in 2014. It’s ALL ABOUT customer service these days.
An anecdote:
I used to live in San Francisco for design school. My friend Casey and I decided to go high end «shopping» one day which sort of terrified me, but not him. So we march right into Chanel like we could afford it. Now, this was the year that Krazy Karl marched a full-​fur Yeti suit down the Chanel runway (google it, it’s as weird as it sounds). So we encounter the $ 30,000 jacket-​version of the furry beast and Casey immediately takes it off the hanger and puts it on. If the ladies working here were annoyed, the didn’t let it show and they were nothing short of kind and gracious, in spite of the fact that all we could afford was a bottle of their (very awesome, worth the $ 25) nail polish.
My point? Good retailers understand that much of the shopping experience is aspirational!!! People who can’t afford these things often go to stores out of their range because they hope to one day be able to make this sort of purchase. And what a retailer doesn’t know is which of these customers WILL come back to purchase — whether it be tomorrow with daddy’s money, next year with lottery winnings, or in 10 years after they’ve «made it big».
You are not a smart business person if you embarrass and belittle a customer. If you do not know that those words would embarrass someone, you are unempathetic and ignorant of human emotion. There is no excuse! We have too many comparable options as consumers. Your store isn’t that special!
Finally, anyone who has ever worked in a service business knows this: a happy customer may tell 10 people about their experience, an unhappy customer will tell everyone they fucking know.
Off to Neiman’s online I go.
That is my soapbox, thanks for listening. Hopefully, fellow Unilocaler, you got a laugh or two out of my angry rant.
–peasant

A beautiful little necklace caught my eye several times as I was walking around the French Quarter. The first time, it was before the store opened. I looked for hours of operation on the door and on the internet, but none were to be found. I went back in the evening, after we had done some of our other sight-​seeing, and the store was already closed. Now, this was a Sunday, so I understood if they had abbreviated hours. I went back on Monday morning, again, wondering what time they opened. Going back at approximately 10:10am, I walked in. I saw the woman behind the desk, either reading a phone, or a book. or something. She did not bother to look up, or to greet me. Now, I was not dressed the part of a big shopper. We had arrived in New Orleans, unprepared for the stretch of cold weather. But I had my eye on that necklace. After a couple of minutes of being in the store, and one full walk around the entire store, I said «Good Morning» and was replied to rather tersely. I asked if I may see a necklace in the winder. She said sure, got up, I pointed out two necklaces from the window, and I met her back in the store. At one point, I apparently a seemingly stupid question… because she sort of laughed at me when she gave me the answer. But I continued trying on the two necklaces. In the meantime another customer came in and immediately knew what she wanted. she pointed to a couple of pairs of earrings, was immediately helped and went on her way. I tried on another necklace that was inside of the store and noticed that both of the necklaces I had tried on earlier were gone.
Before she left me to help the other customer (without excusing her self from me) I did say «I have decided against this one, but am still thinking about this other one).
When this woman (shop owner?) was done with the other customer, she did not come back to me. She did not ask how I was doing. She did not offer to help me in any other way. She went and sat back down in the front corner of the store, opposite where I was. I found this odd, disrespectful and I was dumbfounded. I turned around, asked if she had put both of the necklaces away, she said yes. It was only then that she asked if I wanted to see anything else. I did not. There was no way I would give this store any of my money $ 118 for a necklace, or $ 2.00 for a postcard if they sold them.

Bought a charm necklace that’s crafts-​y, cheerful and very flattering. I’ve been wearing it everyday since I got home from my trip to New Orleans.

Walking by the beautiful jewelry in the window caught my eye immediately. I was in New Orleans around the holidays and decided to start my Christmas shopping. BIG MISTAKE! I purchased 2 pairs of earrings. One for myself and one for a gift. The woman working wasn’t helpful at all until she realized I wanted to spend money in her store. Jump ahead to Christmas and the earrings were given to my mom. The earring were too heavy for her and wouldn’t stay in her ear lobes! I called to exchange the style for the ligher weight style (also larger and more expensive) and was rudely told there was nothing she would do for me. I offered to ship them back to her, pay the difference for the larger, more expensive style and pay the shipping back to me in IL. She refused and basically laughed at me! So, now I’m stuck with a pair of earrings my mom can’t wear and now I don’t even want to wear my earrings because they remind me of this store and my awful experience. Very disappointed!

Walking by on Royal Street one morning, a beautiful antique diamond and sapphire ring caught my eye. It was in the alluring window of Meilleur Joaillerie. The next day, my husband stopped by to enquire about it. The lady working there was welcoming and helpful and he brought me back later to buy the ring. We arrived a few minutes after closing but she let us in and did not rush us. It’s such a gorgeous store with so many antique jewelry pieces that even modern day designers cannot replicate. I look forward to coming back one day, perhaps to buy another piece!

Chandeliers are everywhere in this gorgeous boutique that epitomises the French Quarter. I came in here to find some jewelry but, sadly, left empty handed.
I do wish that there was more merchandise in the store. Coming from Chicago, I think that back home the merchant would have stuffed the store with at least twice as many baubles yet it would have the same feeling.
The store is filled with jewelry at all different price points. And the chandeliers are for sale as well!