Stanley Brown Jewelist — Local services in Lake View Township

My husband and I are new to Chicago/Lincoln Square and have gone to Stanley Brown Jeweler for a couple things. Their staff are great, professional and treat you like an awesome human being. :)

My husband had a designer watch with a band that needed to be repaired. The person he consulted with was great. She even gave him advice about the band and how to maintain it. My husband felt like he could easily walk into this place and not feel like someone is trying to sell him something he didn’t want/need (as you experience with many other jewelers).

The day that made us super happy, and that made Stanley Brown Jeweler our go-to was when I went to them to have a sterling silver necklace repaired. We have a baby who loves to tug at things. This necklace broke for the third time. I had taken it to another jeweler in the area twice before, paid $20 each time to have it sent out to that jewelry store’s main shop, and had to wait 2 weeks each time for the repair. The person at Stanley Brown, first off, never tried to sell me anything I wasn’t looking for or make me look at other jewelry while I waited for the repair to be evaluated (that being said, they do have some really great items on display), and I never felt pressured into anything. What he did do was talk to me-he asked me how sentimental the chain was and talked me through whether a repair would be worth it vs replacing it. He then whipped out a bunch of the exact same chains, let me pick out the one I liked, and $10 and 10 minutes later (after discussing with him a local art installation they currently have on display in the shop in support of a local artist), I was out the door with my new chain. If someone at the other jeweler had taken half a second to talk to me, I’d have saved 4 weeks and $40 to just replace the chain.

They also have some awesome jewelry on display-when I asked they said many of their pieces are designed in-house. I plan to go back to have a right handed ring designed with them soon. :)

Thank you for the awesome experience and 5 star service for something as simple as a...

To be clear I did not purchase so I have no product to be (dis)satisfied with. I consulted one of the owners about custom engagement rings and there were some pros and cons about that experience I think management and potential customers might find helpful.

Pros: Friendly staff, obviously gay-friendly I asked about doing an inlaid stones inside the band because my partner and I will have different center stones and we wanted a through-line between the 2 rings. The owner advised me that was just begging for a cracked ring. None of the other shops I consulted mentioned this, and I deeply appreciate the honesty. I saw some of their custom salt & pepper ring work; not to my personal taste but I’m sure it’s what the clients wanted and the craftsmanship was excellent. The owner claimed to have a salt & pepper diamond supplier that is cheaper than Misfit Diamonds and I believe them.

Cons: The owner proudly proclaimed themself “the general contractor of engagement rings” because they have a wide range of people they contract parts of the process to, matching desired ring elements to different artisans’ preferences and pricing. I can’t imagine a worse comparison than to a general contractor, infamous for going over budget and behind schedule. (I also mention this for anyone who wants their ring done entirely in-house.) The owner pushed for a max “out the door” (i.e. taxes included) budget, from which they would work backwards and give me the best ring in budget. I’m sure some customers prefer to shop this way, but I wanted something more transparent. Other full-service jewelers gave me a clear quote for labor and gold (with a reasonable range depending on final gold weight and market price at time of order); this allowed me to shop for my perfect center stones with my stones-only max budget in mind but also no pressure to...

When we decided to get married, my husband and I had lived on Rockwell and Lawrence for three years and wanted to keep the money we spent on our wedding as local to Lincoln Square as possible. When it came time to buy our wedding bands, there was no question that we'd get them from Stanley Brown Jewelists. Our experience was everything we'd hoped: True to the sign outside their door, the shop is elegant yet unpretentious, and the crew is fun, attentive, and personable regardless of your budget—they know their stuff, and it’s clear that they love what they do. As we finalized our order, they even joked about officiating our ceremony; when City Hall cancelled on us at the last minute because of the No Kings protests, we wound up taking them up on their offer!

From start to finish, they made our day incredibly fun and special: they were completely unphased by this frazzled bride and her friends showing up a few minutes late (after all, what's more Chicago than a CTA delay?); our wedding party got to model some absolutely gorgeous jewelry for photos; the space is such a cool blend of early 20th century styles with a ton of natural light—perfect for photos; and most importantly, they prepared an intimate and thoughtful ceremony for us. Jim gathered some intel from my husband and spun it into a poetic speech—we truly couldn’t have asked for a better officiant! We even had the honor of partying with the crew at Ricochet's afterwards.

These folks offer customer service beyond compare and made our day so very special. If you're looking to celebrate your love in Lincoln Square, definitely choose Stanley...