Mark Hiroshi Willis : Jewellery Atelier — Local services in Tokyo

My fiancé and I had talked about getting engaged, and subsequently proceeded to hunt down the perfect place to get precisely what I pictured in my head for an engagement ring. I’m a picky girl, so it was proving to be the most frustrating experience, because no place we found seemed capable of meeting me where my head was at, or making me feel seen.

I stumbled upon Mark by chance, after scouring the Internet. I read only positive things about him, his practices, but still stalked his social media for a few weeks before taking the plunge. My fiancé and I tracked him down at one of his events, and he was exactly what we were looking for. From that moment, and throughout the months that followed, Mark helped us design my dream engagement ring from the absolute bare bones. I was so clueless and yet so particular, and Mark was nothing but patient. He taught both of us so much about what we should expect from a diamond, and particularly from a trio of them. He searched for the perfect centre diamond with such care and intensity that when it came time to find the side stones, it was only fitting he had to ship them in from overseas just to be sure the three of them were right for each other.

We met several times over the course of a few months, and each time Mark was ready to answer any questions, make any adjustments. When we couldn’t meet, he was always a message away. He sent us photos, sketches, and frequent updates. We never sat wondering what was going on.

Needless to say, all that care helped to nurture our joint respect for Mark as a designer and businessman. And more importantly, it led to the physical manifestation of exactly what I pictured in my head all those months. We truly couldn’t be happier with the final product.

My engagement ring is simply beautiful. Timeless, comfortable. Sparkly as hell. And we will be working with Mark to create our wedding bands next, without a doubt.

Lastly, I want to mention that my fiancé is Japanese, and I am not. As a foreigner living in Japan - in a relationship with a native Japanese person - it can be so daunting to look for and even find someone who can understand you both, equally. Mark is bilingual, and so neither my fiancé or I ever felt like we were being left behind in the process. It was so important to us, so if that’s important to you, too, then you’ve found the right place.

Overall,...

I was looking for a piece of jewellery that I could wear and fondly remember my time spent in Japan and I quickly settled on getting a diamond stud ear ring.

Initially I had thought this would be a pretty simple purchase (being such a simple design in my eyes) but it turns out that it's either near impossible to find a jeweller that's willing to sell you a single stud vs. a pair, or the diamond that is used in the piece is small, overpriced, low quality and usually "palmed off" to unsuspecting tourists hearing of the Jewellery district for the first time.

However fortunately for me I then stumbled upon Mark Hiroshi Willis and didn't hesitate to get in touch with him through LINE, receiving a near instant response.

Mark was able to source an excellent quality 1.11ct LG Diamond at my request and fix this into a beautiful 4-prong platinum setting for me, with the piece being in my hands after merely a week and complete with all the relevant certification, documentation, guarantees and wonderful presentation. Utterly phenomenal turnaround.

Pricing was extremely reasonable and I hugely appreciated his "No BS" approach to the whole order. He was extremely friendly and there was never any pressure, deceit, or otherwise pushy sales tactics. In short then, communication was excellent throughout and essentially instant through LINE/SMS should you have any questions before, during or after just as I did. It was great to be able to speak in English too!

It's abundantly clear that Mark has an eye for quality pieces and truly loves his work which is fantastic to see.

For temporary visitors to Japan, I will mention that there isn't a tax-free option with Mark. This really wasn't a deal-breaker in my eyes because the price was already excellent even when factoring in the included tax, but it should still be noted to set expectations.

In summary, from start-to-finish Mark was an absolute pleasure to deal with and I genuinely would not recommend anyone else in...

All I can say is WOW!! Mark did an amazing job creating the perfect custom engagement ring that my fiancée can't stop gushing over even 6 months later.

What I like about Mark is that he LISTENS. He was there to answer every single question I had, always gave me honest feedback, he never rushed or pressured me, and we spoke in depth about what I was looking for. He gave me the pros and cons of every aspect of the ring I wanted (4 vs. 6 prongs, metal thickness etc.) and informed me about things I wouldn't even think to consider (pointed prongs can snag more), so that I was able to make an informed decision.

My timeline was pretty tight and Mark was upfront with his schedule from the beginning. Despite this, he was able to work some magic and get it finished within my timeline. He created the custom engagement ring exactly as I wanted.

Since Mark is a native English speaker, there was never any ambiguity or anything lost in translation, which was very important to me. He's extremely friendly and welcoming and I never once felt uncomfortable in any of our interactions.

Lastly, since it was a surprise I wasn't able to get the correct ring measurement from my fiancée. Mark resized it for us for free, with another quick turnaround. He also says if we have any problems with it to just come back and he'll fix it for us.

10/10 would definitely recommend Mark for anyone looking to get a diamond...