Jjanusz Custom Jewelry Design

Wonderful people to work with! I inherited my grandmother's wedding ring after she passed away and it was gold with small diamonds. It was a bit worn out, so I talked to John and Joyce of Jjanusz Custom Jewelry Design about my options. John suggested turning the ring into a pendant. I loved the idea! He sketched a design that I really liked. John suggested the addition of a centerpiece stone of amethyst which was very affordable for my budget. I agreed to the design. John made the pendant quickly, and it turned out to be quite lovely, and was made within my small budget! Whenever I wear the pendant, I always get compliments! I highly recommend Jjanusz Custom Design Jewelry for great service at a great price!!!

Perhaps Jjanusz was good at one time, but we saw little evidence of artistry in the work he presented to us. The unprofessional, sloppy arrangement of his office perfectly matched the poor quality of his work. Despite the beautiful pictures on his walls, Jjanusz's work was amateurish, as if a school kid made it. Moreover, he ignored our requests. We asked for an organic, leaf-based design for the groom's ring. Instead, the wax model he made had a very stylized, repeating pattern of large S-shapes, end-to-end, at regular intervals around the ring - no leaves. Also, it was supposed to match the pattern of the bride's ring, but bore no resemblance to it at all. He tried to fix it by mashing the wax of the S-shapes, rather than sculpting leaves. We complained, and actually drew leaves on paper for him. A couple weeks later he presented the same pattern, just mashed even more. It was a mess, and certainly looked nothing like the bride's ring. Originally, we settled on a $2700 price for an engagement ring (we provided the stone) and two wedding bands, all custom sculpted. Midway through the design process, we were told that gold was extra. After that surprise, they tried to charge us $1000 for $400 worth of gold. I ultimately ordered "casting grains" from a jewelry supply store online to avoid their obscene markup. Dealing with them was a nightmare, and I hope that no one else goes through what we did with them. It tarnished what was supposed to be a joyous, beautiful process before our wedding, and I ended up spending $1400 for just the engagement ring ($250 could buy better quality online) before we finally gave up. As a way to make up for our deeply disappointing experience, they promised to buy back the $400 I spent on gold to cast the wedding rings. I was just told now that they changed their minds. More than just inept, they do not keep their word. That has been our experience. My advice: you can get far better quality for far less money online or any jewelry store.

My wife and I initially came to know John and Joyce after being referred by our insurance agent to get our ring appraised. During the meeting, they mentioned producing custom jewelry, so when it came time to start thinking about getting my wife a birthday present, I headed back to visit. The stone from my wife's engagement ring had come loose and since been replaced by Kay's under warranty, so taking the original diamond, I asked if it'd be possible to put it in a pendant. John is a wonderful artist and had some great ideas, Joyce was all too happy to get the business, so we began discussing. I should note that during this time, Joyce showed herself to be a bit unprofessional. She blamed John for missing stones and all but started an argument with him in front of me. I repeatedly felt I should excuse myself, but pressed on hoping to get the matter resolved and leave. I initially had a $500 piece in mind, they quoted me at $1370. Joyce stressed it probably wouldn't go higher than that. Okay, so I had to spoil the surprise for my wife as it'd just become a massive financial undertaking to deliver this gift. I stressed to Joyce that cost was major factor and the budget would be a big concern. She was extremely cavalier towards my concerns and stressed repeatedly that the finished product would be beautiful, demonstrably ignoring the issues I was raising regarding the cost. That was my problem to worry about after all, not hers. I brought my wife in on the surprise given the cost and after a few notes John took into account, we agreed to place a deposit. When it came time to view the wax facsimile of the finished product, Joyce's initial quote had swelled by another $330, bringing the total to $1700 for the piece. We balked at the cost and asked to have some time to discuss overnight, Joyce immediately responded asking, "What's there to discuss?" and after stressing again that cost was a huge factor, she dismissively said, "Well, money is money." After discussing the matter, my wife and I agreed to walk away. The increasing cost had already spiraled beyond what we'd been told initially and Joyce's attitude only added insult to injury. I called to cancel the piece and asked for the diamond I had provided to be returned and a refund on the deposit since no finished product would be delivered. Joyce immediately changed gears on me and said that it was "their policy" to not do refunds on deposits. I kindly reminded her that it was never mentioned to me that the deposit wasn't refundable, nor was it on the receipt we'd been given. She stressed that there'd be no refund despite never stating this prior, ignoring any attempt to discuss the matter further. We then agreed to meet so I was able to pick up the diamond. Showing up half an hour late to give me the diamond back, I again brought up the deposit being refunded. Her tone became aggressive that it was "their policy" not to refund deposits - conveniently taken via cash or check oddly enough - and just as quickly stressed how much she'd regret that we weren't seeing the creation of the jewelry through to the end. About how beautiful the finished product would be. I took the diamond, told Joyce to take care and left. An unspoken, unwritten policy isn't a policy. And it's poor business to take a client's money without ever making mention that the deposit was non-refundable. I understand custom jewelry is just that, custom. But for a business that so haphazardly demonstrates a concern for money costs itself any sort of repeat business, which assuredly they won't be getting from us after this. The only reason I even gave a second star is the patience and artistic ability of John, who is an absolute pleasure to work with. But it seems Joyce is fiercely concerned with the business at the expense of all else, even keeping a customer. Should you work with them in the future, I cannot stress enough that get everything in writing and buyer beware.

Awesome