Gem Studio - Gilbert — Attraction in Gilbert

Perspective from my short 20 plus years in the jewelry industry; The concept is a good one though all things considered executed rather poorly. I was expecting something a bit different came in with an open mind following the lead of the staff. It was half amusing and half terrifying watching the evening unfold. No safety provisions were utilized in addition to improper direction and use of the tools and chemicals. I witnessed them grinding stone DRY (and metal 😲) on a very costly piece of lapidary equipment, fyi sans water gem dust is pretty dangerous to inhale. The copious waste of silver, overuse of soldier and general lack of knowledge on metallurgy had my head spinning.

Asked if I could make some much needed modifications to my piece to save it before we were directed to blindly smash down the bezel, oh lord. They were so eager to go home early I was told I couldn't correct the issue on my bezel height because the person "didn't recommend it". The glaring bezel height issue was 'corrected' when they cut out stacks of thick paper and glued them in with E6000. Yep, that fixed the problem. I wasnt sure to laugh or cry at this point (All the setting tools were being referred to as burnishers 😆)

Ended up spending $149 with $35 of that being for an overpriced stone. The piece ended up being a complete joke of something resembling a ring to add to the SCRAP PILE on my bench, after a quick bath in Acetone to get the vile glue off the metal.

I would suggest more training for the staff, or a restructuring of general process. Because if you don't know any better ignorance is bliss 😊 it is also dangerous. My 'jewelry designer' just sort of stopped helping me at some point, perhaps at the gluing process. Definitely could have had some sandpaper files on hand, I should have brought my own 😆 I have had a better time at the Dentists office. My friends made some cool designs but will soon be missing...

I went here December 20th with 3 other people for early Christmas gifts. I got 2 rose gold anklets. Not even a month later 1 bracelet broke and the other changed by skin black. For over a week I called their phone number trying to reach someone to speak to. Finally I gave up and drove the hour to Gilbert to go personally to the studio. I walked in, wasn’t greeted and then finally after 15 minutes I was asked what I needed. I told the employee what happened and she and the other employee didn’t know how to issue a refund. She called her boss and then told me I needed to return during her boss’ hours. Monday-Friday 10-4. I work and it is an hour away, not convenient. When speaking to the employee she also said they don’t even have a phone in the studio. For a company that doesn’t seem customer service forward. I tried calling again and spoke to Hallie. She was trying to be helpful but now I have to drive back to the studio, an hour each way from my house, to return the anklets. I paid a reservation fee, the tip for the employee, and the anklets. It was an expensive splurge. I feel like I should be compensated for the miles driven, time trying to reach an employee and the unsatisfactory quality of metal. I was given a few extra days to return the jewelry. This seems like a big ordeal for something so simple. I just need a refund. I still have to make the journey to the studio to return the anklets. Hopefully I can comment back and say it was smooth....

We really looked forward to this date night and wanted to love it! But we came away disappointed.

Mostly the inlay ring. My husband paid almost $90 ($75 for base then extra for tiny stones) to glue stones to a premade stainless steel ring. The worker then did all the other power-tool stuff. They ground it smooth and finished it with a layer of resin. They don’t buff it because they say the resin won’t hold. It feels very cheap.

My ring feels better quality, and it is real silver. I don’t know how the base for my silver ring and the stainless steel ring cost the same but they do. Anyway, I did get to be more a part of the process. The most off-putting thing about mine, however, is what they did when the stone was too shallow for the bezel. They cut up two pieces of paper to make it set higher. I am concerned what will happen when my ring inevitably gets wet. Will the paper eventually disintegrate? I wish they had used metal. They had plenty of it. The amount of work we got to do was maybe 1 hour. The worker did many things we could’ve done, and on top of that we weren’t allowed to use most power tools. So with waiting for the workers to use those power tools, and sharing time with another couple, we ended up waiting another 2 hours. The workers were very nice, and most of what we didn’t like is out of their control. I’m glad others have had good experiences. I wish I felt the same! I did like the...