Desert Gems — Local services in Lakewood

I would have given this shop a higher rating if the experience had been more pleasant. My husband and I went in to find some gems for making jewelry, as well as some stone pieces to showcase in our home. The older male employee kept eyeing everything that we were looking at asking if we had questions about it which seemed normal. We didn’t have any questions as their labeling for pricing and descriptions is extremely clear through out the store. This older gentleman proceeded to follow us and stand over us at literally everything we stopped to look at. Being a black woman I am used to this type of racial profiling. After about the 7th time of feeling this guy breath down my neck I told my husband let’s get our stuff that we want to purchase and leave. However before we do I want to look at the beads on the wall in the corner of store. As soon as we started walking towards those beads the lady at the front proceeded to quickly follow us back there and do the same thing the older gentleman did. I decided not to get the beads. Mind you this is a tiny shop with cameras EVERYWHERE! This type of extra cautious stereotyping security was not necessary Especially considering i picked out 3 stones and left them at the register telling the cashier to watch them as I’m planning to purchase them. I figured showing intention to purchase should make you realize we are not thieves!!! We spent $100 with the plan to spend $350. Extremely uncomfortable experience. Probably won’t return. If you’re that worried about people stealing hire security don’t profile customers and stock them when they’re just...

The business owner is a jerk !! I went in to buy some stuff as a gift for a girl that I am friends with .. Found some stones and trinkets for under $10 then I went to use my debit card and for some reason their credit card processing machine would not charge my account more than $5.98 .. They kept telling me that the remaining balance was $3.70 and since I didn't have cash on me they wanted to try and charge my card again.. So I went ahead and let them try which it did not work. I instantly checked my account balance and show them that the charge for $5.98 was not taken off my account and I proceeded to tell me that it wouldn't be returned to my bank for at least 72 hours and if I had a problem I would have to call my bank .. My balance was over $20 at a time in which I should've had no problems purchasing the items but instead I was left with a pending charge to my account as well as no merchandise that I wanted to buy .. This was the worst experience I've ever had trying to buy gifts for friends especially in a gem store where the energy should be more positive .. They kept telling me to just leave like they didn't want to deal with the situation and were being very short with me and did not want to explain things .. Which only made me more and more frustrated . There are plenty other shops that have a way better variety and selection of stones than this one DO NOT...

As a jewelry-making gemstone fan, I looked forward to visiting this shop - especially since I've only found one even similar to it within 100 miles of my home in Louisiana!

Pros: Nice staff, ample parking, good-sized store, good selection of beads and some fabricating items, too (metal-working, rock tumbling, antiquing, different sizes and styles of genuine copper wire (not just craft wire), and more). However, what stood out the most to me was the display case of incredible cabochons in the back of the store!!! Most were natural, however they do carry some dichroic glass cabs (but fewer now that I bought a bunch haha)

Cons: Not so much "cons" as "suggested improvements"... I wish they'd have had a display of locally-sourced stones, as I would have loved to make some "souvenir" pieces, but the surprisingly small number of locally-sourced items are disbursed throughout the store and tough to spot. I also would have loved to have purchased some PMC there, but they carried none. :(

Compared to the bead shop in New Orleans, this shop seems less geared towards novices or hobbyists as it has limited findings, charms, components and chain (they stock plenty, but much less than in NOLA). However, those who are getting into fabricating their own settings, components, etc. would probably prefer this shop. I'd happily shop...