Riddles Jewelry

Brought in my wedding band to be soldered with the engagement ring, both of which are family heirlooms, and had no idea what I was getting in to. They cracked the band and soldered like a 12 year old let loose with a welder.... I brought it in to be redone, but was told they couldn't fix it without removing the original inscription my grandfather had written in for my grandmother. They offered to replace it with a new inscription, but that wasn't the point. It looks only only a little better now (at least the band isn't broken anymore), and the original inscription is completely gone. I replaced it, but my grandmother was still heartbroken to see her message gone and her ring in such sad shape. Maybe it was just an off week for them, but I'm definitely upset that this family heirloom was done such injustice.

Great customer service!!! They went above and beyond to helping me out with a ring purchase and inquiries about other jewelry. I would highly recommend this store to anyone who is looking to purchase jewelry.

Wow, what a debacle. My mother recently visited Riddles with a few requests, but came away with only problems. And the problems just kept on coming. I accompanied my mother when she first went to Riddle's about a month ago. She had two requests: (1) Evaluate and provide a price estimate to fix her engagement ring and soon-to-be wedding ring, an antique gift from the mother of her fiance. The older ring needed a prong replaced on the main diamond, and a few smaller stones replaced. Also to be considered was the cost of welding the two rings together. It was made clear that the rings were being left for evaluation purposes, and that my mother would await a call to hear the price. This was explicit; I know because I was standing right there during the discussion. (2) Provide an estimate to replace a birthstone on her Mother's ring, a gift from us three children on Mother's Day a decade ago. We left all three rings in Riddle's care, with the understanding that they would call once their experts had a chance to examine the rings and provide estimates. A few days later, my mother received a call that her engagement and wedding rings "were ready". What did this mean? It meant that they had gone ahead and welded them together, replaced the prong on the main stone, and charged my mother hundreds of dollars more than the original, drop-off estimate. No notice at all. The only reason they hadn't yet replaced the minor stones was that they were on order. It appears that there was inadequate communication between employees. The woman who took charge of the rings, spoke to the metalsmith, and called my mother was not the same woman to whom we gave the rings and instructions. The fact that an estimate was being requested first, and that no work was to be done without approval, was not passed on. Thankfully, it only took two discussions before Riddle's agreed to separate the rings, cancel the small stones on order, and return them to my mother without charge. In regards to the mother's ring, we were told it would take a week or so to order the stone. The stone would cost $15 or so, and the fitting another $20-25. Thankfully they actually called my mother and confirmed this was okay before doing any work this time. Several weeks went by, not just one. Two or three weeks later, they finally called and said their estimate was off, and that the actual total cost would be near $60. My mother was weary at this point, and agreed. Yet more time passed. Finally, about a month after dropping off the ring, my mother received yet another phone call saying the price had increased again to $100. (Recall, the original estimate had been $30-35 to replace a simple, cheap birthstone.) My mother wisely refused. The salesman was kind enough to "eat the difference", and stick with the agreed upon $60. I understand the jewelry business is rather cut-throat, and not in a very healthy economic situation these days. But at every turn our experience with Riddle's Jewelry has involved deception and price hikes. Frankly, at this point I would never use Riddle's for any jewelry work, and would only use it as a straight retailer for Pandora charms or something. Even then, I'd likely go through another retailer just to avoid supporting my local store. The only reason I'm giving 2 stars instead of 1 is because the work done on my mother's rings was pretty good. The rings that had been welded together were separated without much trouble, and look okay. The missing main stone prong was replaced expertly and looks just like the others. The bands are a bit thin now, one of them worryingly thin, but they are pretty and smooth and of decent workmanship. I wish the metalsmith working for Riddle's the best of luck, as they seem to know their stuff. But if I were he/she I'd bail on this location.

Great staff, great selection, very knowledgeable.