Damasquinados Suárez — Local services in Toledo

The swords and exhibitions are the highlight of this workshop. Toledo is a fascinating city and this is a good stop to physically see the war history of the city. Overall, the tour is decent which I will now explain.

The first part is the welding/entrance workshop and this is difficult to see with lots of people on your tour. Consequently, it is then difficult to hear the guide and you're unsure of the exact steps. I cannot comment on this section in detail as sadly, I could not hear it all.

The next part is the brooch/ornament making process which is very interesting. Here there is a camera over the worker so if you can't get close, you can see their view from the TV Screen. This process requires a very high level of detail. There are three levels of quality which are expert handmade, beginner handmade and machine made. The design in the expert tier is distinct and even to the untrained eye, you can see a difference between the three levels.

These first two sections take about 10-15 minutes.

The final part is sadly where the focus appears to be - the gift shop. Don't get me wrong, the products on sale are incredible. As mentioned before, there is a very high level of detail and you cannot question the skill of those who made it. The products are high quality and made from gold. However, it would have been nicer to hear more of the history.

Here is the reason for the 3* review. Almost ALL the products you see are available in the city from over 30 identical shops. The gift shop at the workshop boasts a discount - 10% expert handmade, 25%(?) on beginner handmade and 50% on machine made. Some of the shops in the city also boast a 50% discount and the products seem identical! The products at the shops can be cheaper though I have not been to all of them (there are simply too many shops). The products speak for themselves and it will be very difficult to not buy a souvenir. However, if they do speak for themselves, some more priority in the history and background would have...

I wanted to share with you my recent experience at Damasquinados Suarez, a remarkable metal making shop that I had the pleasure of visiting as part of my tour.

Damasquinados Suarez is truly a treasure trove of handcrafted metal goods, offering a wide array of swords, shields, jewelry, mini soldiers, and even armor. The craftsmanship and artistry displayed in their creations are simply exceptional, showcasing the rich heritage of metalworking traditions.

During my visit, we had a live demonstration where a skilled artisan showcased the intricate process of creating these stunning pieces of art. The opportunity to witness the craftsmanship firsthand and even capture the moment through photography and recording was truly captivating. However the demonstration was short and we didn’t had time to ask questions or see another artisan doing the work; which I found disappointing.

While the quality and artistry of the products at Damasquinados Suarez are undeniable, I must mention that some of the prices may be on the higher side. I bought a bracelet and it cost me around 100 euros. However, I believe that the unique and exquisite nature of their creations certainly justifies the investment for those passionate about collecting fine...

Feels like watching workers in a zoo demonstrating a rough abridged version of what someone may think a "masters workshop" looks like. Very uncomfortable.

I don't know if they actually make things here, but the tour is less about being educational and more about upselling you on their wares. Everything affordable is things you could buy yourself imported and anything presumably made at the place itself is unattainably expensive. Shady sales tactics include providing steep discounts as a flatrate on all products (50% for factory made, 30% for student wares and 20% on master wares) which just means they up priced it even more upfront. Not worth going to.

The entire thing is just a sales pitch.

If they had come up with a creative and cost effective way of making lower priced souvenirs to accompany their handmade pieces instead of just importing cheap sourvenier stuff, like machine pressed necklaces or sth, I would have bought sth.

Just felt like our tour guide was getting a comission to go here because this stop was not even mentioned in our guide and it was clearly just intended to manipulate the group into...