06/28/06

Excellent custom work, customer service can be spotty...

by writerevie

I went to many different jewelers to find a new setting for my ring, but was unable to find a place that provided high quality settings that were not outrageously overpriced. All other jewelers carried subpar settings, and the only quality ones were usually name brands - with the markup associated with name brands.

At Zwillinger, I got a quote for a custom setting and the job was completed earlier than expected. The quality of the setting is wonderful; it's handmade, and I'm incredibly happy with it, except for one thing that can only be noticed by my eagle eye.

Even so, Suki, the saleswoman that I worked with, was incredibly patient with me and let me try on anything I liked. She is now in the process of helping me change some things with my ring to ensure that I am 100% happy with my ring.

Update: I dropped my rating from 8.5 to 5, mainly because I was unhappy with how they handled the servicing of my ring. When I originally picked up my ring, I was unhappy with one of the sidestones that Suki had chosen, as it had noticeable inclusions and appeared yellow. I had her call in another matching pair, and I had to go downtown EACH time to approve them. First set didn't match. Second set matched, but I was charged an additional amount of money to correct a mistake that was made by them in the first place. Her excuse? That I had a small budget (it was NOT small, I got cheaper quotes by other places, but I chose them based on their location). Well, my response was to ask them if they compromised quality just so they can bring a piece of work under budget. No answer. Suki also developed an irritated attitude, and became extremely snappy.

Update 2: The owner's son called me to remedy my earlier complaint and offered me a refund and apology for the way the situation was dealt with. All in all, I have to say they do care about their customers and reputation, and the final result is that I would definitely still consider them for any future jewelry projects.

• Pros: Location
• Cons: Parking, store hours, not open on Sundays