The Jewelers Bench — Local services in Duluth

My wedding ring is something I only want to associate positive feelings with. That's why I chose this wonderful business after visiting many others over a period of several months. I was either going to "trade in" two rings to select a new ring from a case...or add an additional diamond to what I had to design something new.

None of the other jewelers I visited inspired trust or seemed to appreciate my business. Frankly, I'm no diamond expert and so many retailers send things away for the actual work...it made me a little nervous. Who knows what strangers might do with the diamonds you left with them? And the estimates others gave me suggested that they were trying to take advantage of me rather than earning my business through a mutually beneficial, respectful transaction. One jeweler pointedly referred to my existing rings as scrap—more than once. I know that's an industry term, but it should not be used to describe the beloved wedding ring presented by a customer, simply to strengthen the jeweler's negotiating position. I was insulted.

So I waited. And then, I learned about The Jewelers Bench in Duluth from online reviews. So many people expressed the same priorities I had, and said this family business met and exceeded their expectations. So my husband and I visited. While we were there, another customer in the shop picking up her jewelry (thrilled!) gave an impromptu testimonial and recommendation in line with what I had already read.

My husband and I had a wonderful feeling about our interaction with Jesse and her family at the shop. They clearly know how to create good jewelry ...not a surprise since they are goldsmiths by trade...and spent time helping us select a new band that suited me...something very modest, but what I had in mind. They never tried to upsell me and instead respected the ideas that I brought in. The estimate was fair based previous research we had done, and later Jesse called to say the new stone and all work would actually be less than the original estimate by over two hundred dollars. Wow....talk about inspiring trust. They did the work there (so important) and the ring is EXACTLY what I hoped for. Beautiful and exactly as promised. Moreover, the experience of creating it has only added a positive vibe to the ring I wear to celebrate thirty three years with my wonderful husband.

I don't live in Duluth and had no prior experience or connection with this business or family, so my review is completely objective. And I wish we were more frequent buyers of jewelry so I could patronize them more. I hope my review will encourage others to do so. I won't EVER go to another jewelry maker again.

Thank you to all the wonderful people who created my...

What a fantastic place! Recently my wife and I went to Jewelers Bench to have my wedding band resized and redesigned. From the beginning EVERYONE in the store was helpful and pleasant and we talked to Lisa the Goldsmith about our hopes and plans for the remake of my gold wedding band. She listened, wrote down everything and made some suggestions. As a retired Dentist I have worked with gold my entire career as well as making a few jewelry pieces for my wife and I knew immediately Lisa was the right person for this important project. She gave us an estimate of time and money and we left knowing we had made the right decision to work with Jewelers Bench. When it was ready I went to the store and I could tell Lisa was excited about how it had turned out. This wedding band had been made and engraved by my brother and so it was very important to preserve that part. Lisa had done that and more with her skills. Everything we had hoped for in the design and remake she accomplished with great care and precision. It literally brought a tear to my eyes as I was overjoyed with being able to wear my wedding band again. I want everyone to know that service and caring for people is not dead in this world, it exists at Jewelers Bench! Thank you Lisa and everyone there who made this a once in a...

I had my bezel set solitaire "checked and tightened" at another jewelry store a couple years ago. When I went to pick it up, the bezel looked like a torn pop can with very little gold holding my diamond in. I'd worked in the jewelry business for 5 years awhile back and knew that was terrible work they'd done on my ring. Meanwhile they were trying to tell me it was "fine" and that's how I had brought it in. Totally false, my bezel had plenty of gold and was not mangled when I brought it in! Also, if you bring your jewelry somewhere for it to be worked on, shouldn't it be nicer looking than when you dropped it off? I left there and immediately went to the Jeweler's Bench a few blocks away. They were so kind and sympathic about what had happened to my precious ring at the other shop. The Jeweler's Bench fixed my ring so it was like new, you could never tell it had been previously tortured by an incompetent jeweler. Not only that, the charge for service was so reasonable, I would have been happy to pay more because of how great their work was. These are people you can trust with your jewelry! I don't let anyone other than the Jeweler's Bench work...