Robertson's Antiques — Local services in Carmel-by-the-Sea

The Good: Really cool selection of antiques and antique jewelry. Nice sales lady who was very patient and helpful while I tried a bunch of rings on.

The Bad: After a few visits, on 9/9/23 I went into the store and my husband bought me a beautiful aquamarine ring dating from the 1930s. When I asked if the ring came with any sort of certificate stating the specifications of the gem or it's relevant facts, I was told no but that each ring is examined by a gemologist and they have tons of experience with antique rings so they feel confident in telling me what it is (i.e. aquamarine from the 1930s set in rose gold). Ok, fine, no problem. At no point was I ever told the ring was in poor shape and would need additional repairs to make it wearable, or that there was damage to the stone itself. I was told by the sales lady getting it resized would be no problem, and I was led to believe that was the only work it needed. We paid approx $1400. When I got home to Seattle, I brought it to a reputable jeweler that had gemologists on staff to get it resized. The first, Cline Jewelers in Edmonds examined the ring and immediately pointed out the prongs were held on to the stone with glue and that was the only thing keeping it in place. They took a detailed look and noted the basket the gem was sitting in was cracked in multiple places and completely falling apart and would need a totally new setting or the gem would fall out, which will cost me $2300. Also, the stone itself was cracked. I then got a second opinion at Green Lake Jewelers, another very reputable business in Seattle, who repeated the same findings as the first jewelry store. They said it was too risky to work on and not wanting to damage the stone further due to the crack, refused to even reset it. The job is now back with Cline where I'm trying to desperately salvage the ring I fell in love with. Before writing this review, I contacted the owner explaining all of these facts, and how the ring should not have been held out as ready-to-wear and the poor condition should have been disclosed so I could have made an informed decision. He seemed offended that I was implying the ring was sold in poor condition and he told me to bring it back to the shop for him to look at. The problem being 1) I don't live in Carmel, 2) the ring is now being restored at Cline Jewelers and 3) he would have already known the state of the ring if the ring had been examined by their side before it was placed up for sale like I was told it was. So either they don't inspect the condition of the jewelry like they say they do OR they do, they knew, and just didn't care what they are selling. I gave him the phone number for Cline so he could speak to them himself to understand the condition of the ring and how what I was telling the truth. After that I never heard back from him and hence I'm leaving a review to hopefully help other customers.

Buyer beware. The jewelry pieces are beautiful, but you will probably end up paying more than what you spent on the jewelry just trying to repair it... that is if repair is even possible. And if you're buying something for the charm of it being an antique, realize that you might have to reset it in a modern piece to make it wearable. I'd hate for someone else to get their heart set on something there and then have an...

First off... the furniture here is beautiful and fairly reasonably priced. I was actually interested in a couple of pieces for when I redecorate my condo. The customer service is atrocious, though.

One older female in particular was incredibly rude when I came in with 2 friends to check out their wares. From the instant we came in she was cool in her demeanor compared to how she treated other guests who were dressed no better than us.

It became quickly apparent that she thinks tattoos are vulgar as she made many comments to the other female there about her niece who has tattoos and how these young children don't understand that it isn't going to age well.

Considering that I only started getting this tattooed in my 40s and I was with two younger friends with tattoos, it was quite rude for her to have this conversation, while glancing at us and doing it in just the right volume for us to hear. Quite tacky to be sure.

I'm not quite sure she understands that people with lots of tattoos typically have a lot of disposable income, especially my friends who's specialized tattoo artists costs upwards of $500+/hour.

In other words ... be a little less judgemental and bigoted ladies and you might have made a sale because the looky-loos you were being nice to obviously had no intention of buying, while the tattooed "kids" actually had money and love antiques.

Also super appreciated how the first older lady took her time to escort us out of the shop without saying anything to us at all to make sure we didn't take anything.

Sorry ma'am... after your comments we fully had zero desire to have anything to do with your selection of antiques. Please learn some etiquette and manners because the world is really getting tired of problematic white...

I was in this store for all of three minutes today (8/31/25) before I walked out, and I am glad I did. I have never in my entire life experienced customer service this bad. The old women at the register had an appallingly nasty attitude the moment we stepped inside. No hello, no smile, no “welcome in” whatsoever. I even went out of my own way as the customer to be polite first and ask how her day was going, and still got nothing but a nasty and hostile attitude and stare. My friend asked to see a pearl necklace and she made a comment saying “Just so you know, this isn’t costume jewelry.” Yes, I would hope not!

The store was not busy, so there was zero excuse. For prices this high, you would think they would understand the basics of treating customers with respect. Maybe they were being discriminatory toward younger shoppers, or maybe they assumed we were not serious about buying. We were ready to spend money here and excited to browse, but the employee’s behavior ruined that within seconds.

After seeing other reviews, it is obvious this is not an isolated incident. This kind of treatment is unprofessional and disgusting. Do yourself a favor and avoid this place at all costs, there are plenty of other antique shops in the area that not only carry beautiful items and but the employees are kind and...