Gold Works Inc — Local services in Alexandria

I’m so hesitant to post negative reviews, but I’ve been so frustrated with my experience this week with Gold Works that I felt I had to. I visited the shop on Saturday after calling ahead about my antique engagement ring - I had just been proposed to, the ring needed to be resized slightly, and David said I could drop by and he could give it a look. On the phone, he mentioned that he would be able to do it same day, ring unseen. Given my excitement about the engagement, I agreed to bring it by. When I showed up, David gave the ring a look and said that he had other tasks going on and that we should send the ring back to whomever made it for resizing. I stressed that I would be visiting family later this week and wanted to have this done in a timeline where I could wear my ring to show them; he allowed me to fill out my info and said I should call to pick up on Tuesday. I was understanding that these things are important and take patience, so I agreed and left the ring with David.

On Tuesday, per instructions, I called the shop to check on the progress of the ring. I wasn’t able to get anyone on the phone, so I left a message requesting a callback at their earliest convenience. I called later that day when I hadn’t heard anything - an associate picked up and said David was out and she didn’t know the status of the ring, but that he would get back to me. On Wednesday, I called in the afternoon to see if there were any updates, given that the ring had been at the shop for going on 5 days - David answered, seemingly annoyed that I would call, and said he was “working on the ring and was just polishing it up,” and that he would get back to me. At this time, I asked when the ring might be ready, trying to be understanding again that while this takes time, I was confused about why I had not been given any updates when the expected timeline was exceeded.

On Thursday, I showed up in person to the shop, hoping that would give me more clarity and that “just polishing it up” meant the ring was nearly done. David was not in, and the ring was clearly not yet finished. Defeated, I went home and packed for my out of town trip, which I was hoping to have the ring by so I could show my family. I mentioned this to my fiancé, and he said that he would check on Friday to see if he could pick up the ring. He said he would pick it up, whether or not it was done due to the lack of communication we were getting. Today (Friday), I received word from my fiancé that he had gone to the shop to find that the ring was still not finished and David claimed “it would need additional work and I didn’t negotiate services when I brought the ring in.” I was flabbergasted. I’m not a professional jeweler, just a trusting woman who hoped that David would be able to help me with my engagement ring. I wasn’t given any advice or consultation about additional changes beyond resizing the ring when I dropped it off or in any of the phone calls I made. I don’t know why David would have agreed to take this project on if he wasn’t willing to be honest about what work would need to be done, or how long it would actually take.

I tried to be patient and understanding but this is a warning to others looking to get important pieces worked on: I have never worked with a jeweler with whom I’ve felt so dismissed. I have included photos of the ring from my fiancé and I am heartbroken that the ring appears warped. I wish David had been more honest and transparent throughout this process, and I hope that this review is taken with the care I...

TLDR: Do not use this shop, owner was months late on the order, dishonest about the price when I came to pick it up (even with my receipt), and horribly rude to both me and his staff. I would have been completely gouged without my receipt!

My first experience here was great. David fixed a ring that I had broken the stone on which had a lot of sentimental value. The price was the same as the quote and it was done within two weeks, as estimated, and looked great. He was a little rude to his staff members when I came to pick it up (you could tell they were embarrassed by his behavior), but I shrugged it off. I came back a second time to get a family heirloom reset for a family member as a birthday gift because I trusted David. He gave me an estimate of $200 and a timeframe of 3 weeks written down on a receipt. I called after 3 weeks because I hadn't heard anything and they said it wasn't ready yet and some orders were backlogged; they would call me when it was ready. Several MONTHS later I get a call it's ready for pick up. I popped in the next day to pick it up. David pulled out the receipt and had clearly written a different estimate on his version of the carbon copy for several hundred dollars more. He tried to charge me over double what I was quoted. When I questioned the price and noted the "est. $200" written in the corner of the original, he became irate and tried to tell me it really said "$300" and then told me, "It's an estimate! Estimate means it could be above or below that!" When I said that was much more than the original estimate, he then threw his hands up and said, "Well you figure it out then! Tell me what you want to pay!" I had to negotiate the price to get my family heirloom back, still much more than I was quoted ON MY RECEIPT. Really not sure if he was trying to be dishonest with me, or is just completely disorganized (the whole shop is run on paper and catalogs, no computer system), however this is NOT the way to run a business. I am all for shopping local and supporting small businesses, however I'm sure I can find other jewelers in Old Town who are a little more honest/organized and a lot less rude with their customers (and a little more respectful of their staff). If you still chose to use this business you MUST hold on to your receipt, make sure the estimate is written down, otherwise you could be way...

Update- Several months ago I dropped off a bunch of jewelry to be cleaned and also a watch to have fixed. The day that I dropped my jewelry off the owner was busy assisting other customers, and as a result of not having assistance that day or time of day, I was asked to, separate my broken watch from the rest of the ones that need to be cleaned, place them in separate bags, and also make a list of all the items I had in each bag. Fast forward to when I was ready to pick up my things, I realized that a pair of earrings are missing. When I confronted the owner and the assistant about it, the owner was basically gaslighting me and telling me that because they didn’t have any photos of it that those earrings in exist and they didn’t have it. Granted from what I understand, the assistant went through all of the inventory to make sure that they didn’t have it until one day miraculously one of the airings showed up. Now , I am being told that they only have one picture of the earring and not both. I am one who likes to wear pairs of earrings. Why would I deposit one earring to be cleaned? I received NO apology, no insurance, no recompense, no refund, nothing! Initially, I got some responses from with the assistant but when I text her back, she eventually stopped responding. As you can see on my original review, I had a great experience. Until I didn’t. I can go on and on about this.

!!!!Make sure to check the policies when dropping jewelry off with them or anyplace. I no longer recommend doing business with these people.!!!!!!

I went to have some jewelry cleaned and some necklaces fixed. 10/10 when it comes to service and pricing is very reasonable! I will be using them again and again. Stop by and check them out if you’re ever on King Street. The owner sells adorable...