Avant Garde Jewelers — Local services in Austin

I stumbled across Avant Garde Jewelers quite serendipitously when I was trying to figure out my husband's ring size so I could have a new wedding band made for him. I literally just googled the closest jewelry store near me and rolled up without reading a single review. They were very knowledgeable and kind. I immediately knew I was in good hands with Brian and decided right then to have both our bands made there. I was able to get the wedding bands for both my husband and I and they were even able to put engraving in them in our own handwriting, which was something I really wanted to make them extra special, we both LOVE our new bands. Fast forward my husband went to Avant Garde to design a custom upgrade engagement ring for me after a disaster with working remotely with a Jewelry store in Denver, that resulted in us needing to send the ring back and starting over (lesson learned, work with someone in your area who you trust!!). Brian and Emily worked with my husband extensively to design the PERFECT ring. They even measured my wedding band to ensure they would fit perfectly together and they were able to incorporate 5 diamonds from the first piece of jewelry that my husband ever gave me to make this new ring even more sentimental. It was very important to me to have a lab diamond and they sourced lots of different stones for us with different ratios in order to help narrow down exactly what I liked. He went back and forth with them A LOT until the design was just right and throughout the whole process they were very gracious and knowledgeable and their quality control is impeccable! I knew I would be getting a ring that was not only beautiful but well made and I wouldn't have to worry about losing stones or breaking. We're definitely customers for life. Everyone at Avant Garde made us feel like family (I worked a lot with Sami and she is wonderful) and I can't say enough good things about them. If you're looking for a place to have a bespoke ring made Avant Garde Jewelers is the...

Yesterday, upon receipt, this was a 5 Star ring. I have fairly long fingers and needed a wide wedding band to properly scale to my fingers and wanted a 12mm wide ring. Avant Garde is one of the only ring sources i could find, which offers widths, beyond 10mm. I chose to wait until after my wedding in order carefully decide on the style which I liked (bought a cheap online ring for the wedding ceremony itself). My choice from Avant Garde is a polished titanium with a 5mm 18K gold inlay. Avant Garde did a great job in manufacturing and the ring was stunning when I put it on yesterday. Family members raved about how classy it looks. HOWEVER, after wearing it around the house for only 24 hours, the gold is scuffing so badly that it already looks like it is 5 years old, on the inside surface. After reading all of Avant Garde's helpful online information and tutorials, I felt relatively confident that the gold would be much more durable than it has proven to be, after only one day of wearing. At this point, all of the scuffs are on the surface of the ring, to the inside of my hand/fingers, since this ring is wide enough that it doesn't readily rotate or spin on my finger. This is only from handling some cooking utensils and doing household chores, such as vacuuming. I absolutely love this ring, but after spending $450, I am quite disappointed in its durability. Had I purchased a polished gold ring at a regular jewelry store, I am sure I would not see the abundance of scuffs which this ring is showing after one day of wearing it. I guess I am stuck, since 12mm rings are generally unavailable, even from the major jewelry chain stores. So, bottom line is that Avant Garde did a fabulous job in fabrication and finished look, but I can't imagine why the gold and the titanium are...

Contacted this company on April 14th for a quote for a custom jewelry piece. I got a reply the same day with a snarky attitude regarding my requests, but they said they would have a quote for me the next day. Nothing. Emailed to follow up on the 21st. Nothing. Emailed AGAIN on the 27th. And got a response 2 days later that made it clear they had completely forgotten about my request. So I explained everything I wanted again. That was 4/29. My next email from them came on May 15th from Brian’s assistant Emily saying the company they use to do their CAD designs (you don’t even do your own custom jewelry designs yourself?!) was just now opening and they should get my render by next week. That was the last I’ve heard from them. It’s now 6/14. 2 FULL MONTHS since my initial contact. I don’t understand how they have so many good reviews. I wouldn’t touch this company with a 10ft pole. Their communication is condescending, they clearly don’t value their customers, and they don’t even design their own ‘custom’ pieces! Thankfully we contacted other jewelers and got our piece made with them. It’s almost complete, and they took exceptionally good care of us and our order. It is possible to get good service, just not here! For the record the piece we made was $6,000 at another jeweler and we have several other custom pieces in mind for over the next few years. I guess Avant Garde doesn’t need the business as they seem to be too busy to bother with new customers. Save yourself the time and headache. Go...