Marthaler Jewelers — Local services in Fletcher

My story is a bit lengthy. I considered deleting all of it and just saying simply that Marthaler is the best of the best. But I know the feeling of "How do we make this huge decision!" when it comes to custom engagement rings. And I do feel like my experience could be helpful for those who are really agonizing over it.

So here's the short of it: Marthaler is a cozy jeweler with a local, mom-and-pop vibe but with the inventory of any big-box, white carpet, white cabinets, mirrors everywhere store. You can find almost anything you are looking for. And if you don't find it... they have a top-notch in-house designer who works directly with the owners (also seasoned pros). Staff is friend and never ever pushy, listening carefully to interpret your vision into reality. On top of that, they can repair/restore like nobody's business. I've loved working with them and highly recommend!

The long of it: I've been hunting for a jeweler with the know-how to do two things for us:

Restore a "well-loved" gold and citrine ring my mother gave me about 15 years ago (that I wear DAILY) -- an emotional investment Build a custom engagement ring for us -- a financial investment (and, well, let's be honest, an emotional one too)

Let me tell you, there are plenty of folks out there who can do no. 2 (and honestly, probably do it well!). But I'm not a jeweler. So I don't know if our 5-figure investment is in good hands by just looking at sparkly portfolios. All I can do is trust they are doing it right. Our first experience with an established online retailer (NOT Marthaler) resulted in a prong bending within 5 days. Trust. Shot. Back it went.

So I used No. 1 To-Do on my list -- the restoration -- as a litmus for a. assessing a jeweler's chops AND b. assessing their ability to support us later, once the ring is crafted and finished and on my hand.

Not naming names here, but I went somewhere else first, receiving an estimate and leaving my citrine ring for repair. They called when it was supposed to be finished to let me know it would take at least 2x as long as the original estimate and cost twice the quote. Image if that happened with a custom-built engagement ring!

Around that time, a few separate people told me about positive experiences at Marthaler. I popped by the store and loved loved loved the comfy atmosphere and kind sales person, Alex. She has a great energy and really helped us translate our vision, so I have big heart-eye emojis for her.

So, left my citrine ring with Marthaler. The time/cost estimate was similar to the first jeweler, but otherwise, the experience was night and day. The repair was finished 5 days early and was STUNNING. I swear I think it shines more than when it was brand new. The stone was so badly abraded that they had to recut it, so it's totally possible in my mind!

(Sidenote: Marthaler was thorough in their assessment -- they offered to simply replace the stone, suggesting it was the less expensive route. But that particular stone was sentimental to me -- I kept it.)

Meanwhile Britt, their designer, has been working with me tirelessly to perfect the design of the engagement ring. That project isn't yet finished, but I'm so excited -- she's bringing great ideas to the table! I've loved working with Britt and think she's a total pro. :)

Best of luck with your jewelry search and I hope this helps! As for me, I'm 100% sold on Marthaler (along with the many people who referred me there!) and will go there first from here on!

I wish I'd taken a before and after, but here...

I hardly know where to begin describing the wonderful experience I had working with Andy and Tonya. I recently entrusted Andy with designing an engagement ring for my now fiancé. I was outside of the Ashville area but selected Andy through a recommendation. While I was nervous about going through this process remotely, Andy took superior care of me from start to finish. He put in the time to listen to all of my ideas and flip through numerous inspiration pictures, working until we came up with what we both felt was a ring to perfectly fit my fiancé. Andy provided great insight into the diamond selection process and had a number of diamonds flown in from all over the country so that I could make a single trip into Asheville to select the best diamond for the ring. He provided a nice array of high-quality diamonds on very short notice and was patient enough to talk me through the features of each diamond, ensuring that I was completely comfortable with the final selection. When I was faced with a tight deadline (needing the ring for an upcoming trip), Andy put in the extra time to get the ring done on time. He sent me pictures and videos of the ring progression after hours and even on the weekends to ensure that I was aware of the progress and 100% satisfied with how it was coming along. When I received the final product, I couldn’t have been more impressed with the quality of the ring. From the presentation of the delivered product to the sparkle of the diamond, I knew that I had selected the right jeweler for the job. Now, the only person more impressed with the ring than me is my fiancé… and every woman she encounters. We can’t go anywhere without her getting at least one compliment on the ring. She even has other women ask her if they can try it on or photograph the ring. It makes me proud to know that I provided her with such a strong statement of my love for her and a top-quality ring to constantly remind her of my commitment. I thank Andy for the immense role that he played in this process. I thank him for the taking all of my considerations into account, for taking the time to learn about my fiancé in order to create a piece that was perfect for her, and for putting in the many hours of hard work to create such a perfect ring. Andy is an honest, quality man and exactly the type of person that should be entrusted everything that is invested into the creation of an...

I brought my grandmothers ring and asked them to take the heirloom diamond from it and set it into a new ring I had crafted at another designer from new Zealand (didnt feel safe shipping my diamond overseas or I would have had them do it. Instead they made the cad to my exact specifications and diamond size.) the person that helped me seemed nice and informative. He took my items to the back, and came back to tell me that the diamond wouldnt fit in the new design and that i would have to have it reworked for it to be possible to mount. he stated that the basket for the new design was 5.8mm and the diamond was 4.7mm (the diamond measurements for the cad where 4.7mm) after the trade in of the 18k gold in my grandmothers band it was still a $200 job. I foolishly agreed before speaking to the designer of my new ring. She asked for photo proof of the discrepancy in size, to which the jeweler obliged. However, he was using the caliper incorrectly and measured the outside of the prongs, which caused a 1mm discrepancy. After learning this i went and got my items. I no longer felt safe. I told them i wanted to get a second opinion and when they brought me my rings the guy told me that in fact the ring could be set it just "wouldnt shine as bright" I brought my items to a local jeweler in Hendersonville, who set my ring for $65 and confirmed my suspicion that i was being scammed. I will never be back to this facility, And wouldnt trust them with any...