Krieger Jewelers — Local services in Appleton

BUYER BEWARE. I am in the habit of looking at reviews and figure that a few bad reviews as long as there are good reviews are probably ok as people are more likely to post about a bad experience. Our goal was to buy a ring from a locally owned retailer to help support a local business and get a quality product.

We purchased a ring in Aug 2016. We had gone to other locally owned jewelers and Kriegers is where we found a ring that my wife liked. We had it sized to what they recommend. Found out after wearing it for a week that the sizing was too big, so had it sized down to a size that was perfect for my wife.

A few weeks before the wedding in July 2017, we have the ring and band soldered together at which point they recommend sizing it up because of the added thickness to get it over the knuckle. Since they are the experts, my wife agreed to this.

On Aug 11, 2017, we go into the store to have my wife’s ring downsized to the size it was before the band was soldered on. We are told that it will be about a week when it will be done and they charge us $72. We followed up on Aug 17 and were told that it should be done by Aug 23.

On Aug 18, we received a voicemail saying that they looked at the ring and found that 8 of the 12 prongs holding the diamonds on the ring were in poor shape and required $140 more in additional services to build up these prongs. They asked that we let them know if they should go ahead and complete this additional work.

After listening to this voicemail, we were shocked and immediately drove to the store. We explained that we had only had the ring for a year, not to mention that they worked on the ring two months earlier to have the band and engagement ring soldered together and no concerns like this were brought up at that time, so we were surprised that suddenly the ring required such repair work. My wife works a desk job and is not hard on her jewelry. The employee stated that she was not aware that the ring was so new and agreed with us that it was odd that such repair work needed to be done on a ring of this age. She informed us that they will treat this as a warranty issue due to us only having had the ring for a year and will do the repairs at no additional charge to us. We were told that the ring would now be ready by noon on Aug 25. At this point, we thought everything was taken care of and the next call would be to say the ring was ready to be picked up.

On Aug 19, we received a voicemail from a manager named Deb asking us to call them back regarding the ring. We called and spoke with Deb. Deb was immediately aggressive and stated that it was our fault that the ring required service on the prongs, criticized our choice to resize the ring, and that they will not do the prong work at no charge because they are losing money on this. We questioned why we were told otherwise just the night before, and Deb told us that this employee never said the work would be done at no charge. This makes no sense as to why she would call us if everything had been settled the night before and the next call was to be that the ring was done.

Deb said that the best they could do would be to split the difference on the prong work. We were shocked that everything we were told the night before was void and were concerned what the state of the ring would be when we get it back. We asked to cancel all work on the ring and for a refund since no service was performed and the completion date changed but Deb refused to issue a refund.

In the end we are out this $72, but the least I can do is give back $72 worth of bad reviews for the frustration.

If you choose this store, expect them to not honor the quality of their work. We will not be back. Both of our mothers have had their rings for 30+ years without issues and have not removed their rings from their hand for over 15 years so it seems odd that a ring bought within 1 year needs so much work so I question the original quality. It is sad to see a manager that blames the customer and won’t honor what an employee says. Good Luck to...

After wearing my wedding ring for more than thirty years, I decided to check out the prospect of having my diamond placed in a new ring setting. I began my search online and then went to the big mall where I could visit four jewelers in one 'house' without having to drive around. I became more discouraged as I visited each one, as they either didn't have what I was looking for or the price was four times more than what I was looking for. I could tell that the goal at each of these places was the high sale rather than an interest in what I was looking for. I felt deflated and reluctantly gave up on the idea of a new ring. I then went to pick up a carryout pizza on the north side of town. Though I had heard enough of high pitched sales, I was a bit early to pick up the pizza, so I hesitantly entered Krieger Jewelers next door. I was greeted by a very friendly Elizabeth who was eager to see the pictures on my phone of ring styles I was looking at for a potential new home for my diamond. Elizabeth efficiently produced several different options for me to consider and I was eventually able to narrow it down to three, and then finally two. Soon another employee, Deb, joined us in the debate. Both of these gals were so helpful, knowledgeable, and caring as I struggled to make a choice between two beautiful ring settings. They were so very patient as they assisted me in my difficult decision and even used my phone to take pictures for me of the rings on my finger so that I could have something to look at when I left to help me decide. I was made to feel so important even though they and I knew I was not spending a lot of money since I already had the main diamond. Speaking of price, the two settings were 1/4 of the price of the options shown to me at the mall jewelers. I later learned that they do not earn sales commissions which explained part of the reason they truly cared about what it was that I was looking for rather than the high dollar sale. I had even expected to hear the 'you can trade in your diamond and upgrade to a bigger one' sales pitch I had heard before and it was never mentioned at all! I left Krieger Jewelers that day with a renewed spirit, feeling so happy that I found two choices for the ring of my dreams and also feeling like I had made two great friends! Deb's patience and professionalism continued as I emailed once and called twice after that visit with specific questions about the two choices. She responded quickly and provided me with all of the information I was looking for. I was then able to make a decision and Deb handled all the details for ordering over the telephone since I live out of town and saved me another trip. I can't thank these two ladies enough for their great service, yet I am the one who received a thank you from them in the...

Update August 2, 2024; I brought my ring to a reputable jeweler in Appleton and they said my ring was fine and no repairs were needed. They saved us over $1300.

We brought my wedding ring in to be cleaned and to see if anything needed to be fixed on it - I have had it for over 30 years and my husband bought from Krieger. They were all friendly when we dropped it off and said they would look everything over and give us an updated appraisal and would call us if anything needed to be done with it. I got a call a couple of days later and was told that repairs would cost over $1300. I told them not to repair it and asked if sterling silver would be less expensive. I was told that sterling silver is not a good option as it's not as strong or durable as gold. Hmmm...I have another ring that is sterling silver and have worn it daily for almost 20 years and have had zero issues with it. Person I spoke to said she would ask if white gold would be less expensive and I would get a call back in 2 days. I never got a call. I called them and said I would pick it up that day. I picked it up. It was cleaned (though I have had it cleaned other places and it looked much better) but never got the updated appraisal and the lady couldn't get me out of the store fast enough. Never again will...