Hands Jewelers — Local services in Iowa City

Limiting this company to only 5 stars undermines their customer service and quality of jewelry they provide. I had some ideas for an engagement ring that I wanted, but I also had a tight timeline. Needless to say I was having trouble finding "the ring" and my time was running out. Linda was my main point person and she took the time to coach me on what I should be looking for in a ring, diamond, etc.

The Process- The thing I appreciated is that I didn't feel pressured to buying one of Hands' rings. The staff does take a lot of pride in their work, but they also just wanted me to be informed. Linda had samples, estimates, and artists lined up so that her clients get taken care of quickly. I was nervous about what the ring would look like as everything was on paper or a tablet screen. I wanted to see it. Linda knew her stuff and dimensions and showed me a few examples from their showcases of what most resembled the rings on paper. I put a lot of trust in her judgment and I'm glad I did. After telling Linda I was hoping to have a ring in hand within about 10 days (from when I first stepped in their doors), she advised it would be difficult, but Hands' resources are sometimes able to work miracles. Wow! Did they EVER work a miracle and were able to turn a ring out in less than 5 days once I made a decision! Linda hustled and had the setting overnighted on a Monday, the ring arrived on Tuesday, and it was ready and perfected on Wednesday. The day it arrived, the ring was absolutely perfect.

The Product- The diamond blazes on my fiancée's finger and the size, weight, and thickness of the band couldn't be any better and perfectly embellishes the diamond. My fiancée cannot stop looking at it and loves to show it off.

The People- The staff at Hands were extremely hospitable and friendly, and they weren't fake sales people. When I was waiting for some of the paper work to finish up, the staff would hang out like good friends and talk about restaurants and where to get some good food in downtown Iowa City.

The Pride- These professionals love what they do and it shows. Before even starting the selection of a ring, they asked questions about my fiancée to get an idea about her personality, activities, etc so that they could guide me to the right selection. They know what they have as far as jewelry, but their cares don't revolve around selling shiny things. They care about the people who enter their doors. They also want to meet the recipients of their jewelry because they take a lot of pride in their work and want to see what it looks like at the very end of the...

Hands provides all of the benefits of both large, nationwide jewelers and local, more personal stores. If you're searching for something with a local touch and want to work with salespeople who are genuinely attentive to your jewelry needs, this is the place to shop.

I can speak specifically to shopping for an engagement ring and, eventually, wedding bands. I worked with Rachel, who is the assistant manager at the store.

When I started shopping for an engagement ring, I did my own research online to learn about various ring settings and how to shop for a diamond. I wanted to do firsthand research because I was skeptical about whether a salesperson at a store would give me an honest assessment, or instead try to up-sell me to something more expensive.

It turns out I probably didn't need to do so much research when working with Rachel. I went in wanting to creating a custom ring, and she was attentive to both my stylistic preferences as well as my budget constraints. Through her expertise she balanced those considerations and helped me put my abstract idea into an actual design. Once I finally ordered the ring, she kept me up to speed about its progress and eventual delivery (I had moved away from Iowa City by that time). The ring turned out perfectly, and as I've already foreshadowed, when I proposed my fiancee said yes!

My fiancee loves her engagement ring, and as a couple, we have a special affinity for Iowa City because it's where we met. Because of that, and because Rachel was so easy to work with the first time around, we decided to go back to Hands to shop for our wedding bands. Neither of us had a solid idea of what we wanted, but we had some general thoughts on what we liked and what we didn't. We took those thoughts to Rachel, and she helped us pick out two bands that really match our preferences. Again, she was extremely attentive to both jewelry preferences and budget considerations.

On top of the actual (3) rings being so great, Hands and Rachel add other little touches that make the jewelry-buying experience enjoyable. Every time we've gone in to the store, they've offered to clean my fiancee's engagement ring at no cost. The jewelry boxes and wrapping that the rings have come in are always elegant and classy. They have provided all of the specifications about the jewelry that we need to insure it. And they have convenient financing options.

Overall, I can't speak highly enough about Hands. Go here if you want a personal, easy, and excellent...

(This is an in-depth review of our engagement ring design process).

My partner (now fiancé!) and I chose Hands to design our custom engagement ring after shopping around at other jewelers. Ultimately, we chose Hands for several reasons including its history to Iowa.

Their stock is unique. As a lover of vintage, handmade, and unique pieces I wasn’t seeing myself reflected in the offerings of other stores or ready made options. We knew we wanted to go local so we could have a relationship with the designer. When I spoke to Linda at Hands for the first time I showed her a photo of an idea I liked as a base design. She immediately began asking me questions about my lifestyle, job, and how I use my hands to determine if the design would work for how I live my life. I was impressed and felt ‘seen’. We wanted to create a piece that would become part of our daily lives, not something for status.

She then brought out rings and other pieces of jewelry on the floor with a similar aesthetic. Using these as examples, we refined our vision and gained education on the construction of jewelry. I enjoyed seeing what the materials might look like.

On a later appointment, Linda brought out some loose stones so we could understand first hand what sizes, cuts, color, and clarity all mean. This wasn’t so much a sales pitch as it was a leisurely educational experience for us. (And not only in diamonds). It gave us the opportunity to talk about our ethics regarding the diamond trade. Linda showed us an Old European Cut from 1915 that we fell for after seeing and holding it. (My fiancé would later surprise me by securing this stone for our ring).

Every step of our design process was met with openness, warmth, and humor. Linda was conscious that I wanted to design every element of my ring and she challenged me while understanding my limits. She made herself accessible by giving me her cell number and inviting me to send her ANY inspiration as I found it. She is no-nonsense and honest about the limits of materials and cost. She did everything in her power to make sure we were 100% happy with our design, even working through additional tweaks, until it was ‘just right’ and altering some materials to accommodate my metals allergy.

We were firm on our budget and did not feel ‘pushed’ or ‘oversold’ to go outside of it.

The finished piece is even better than I could imagine. We will likely be back for our wedding bands...