Elder Jewelry — Local services in Lincoln

I have had a range of different experiences here depending on who is working. My husband got my engagement ring here and it is beautiful, but we have had to modify it a few times. The first time was to remove a hidden halo that we decided looked a bit off and detracted from the beauty of the main stone. I asked about a black spot in the diamond and the owner actually straight up replaced it for us, which was extremely generous and an unexpected (but welcomed) upgrade. The next visit, we had them resize the engagement ring along with another ring that is a family heirloom (both needed to be downsized) It was about $40 total. When I tried the engagement ring on, it still did not quite fit. I asked the lady (a younger woman, maybe early 20’s) if it was supposed to be loose and she basically said it’s up to me. I didn’t know how it was supposed to fit, so I just said ok well, I guess it might be fine if my fingers swell? She agreed, so I went on my way.

Later we came back again to resize the engagement ring a second time (it was definitely too loose after the first resizing, the older lady working agreed), along with my wedding band. Both needed to be downsized. This time we were charged over $100. The price seemed a bit odd to me, after having paid only $40 for a ring resizing the first time (plus we were back to fix the first attempt that wasn’t quite right, and we were removing gold, and it was a ring we purchased from their store), so I was confused, but didn’t argue. The ring is still beautiful (though still slightly loose lol).

The customer service was hit or miss. It seemed like every other time we came in the door we were stared at and not greeted. Sometimes we spoke with sales people who were a bit pushy and tried to tell us “you’ll want this or that, etc.” after we already said we knew what we wanted. (i.e. being told a flaw in our stone was a ‘unique identifying feature that many people actually like to have’ or that silver prongs on my gold ring would look better than gold [I wish I would have stuck to my guns]) Other times we had people who seemed either very shy or very unsure how to answer our questions, and we ended up having to ask someone else. A couple times there were children behind the counter or dogs (neither were a problem for us, but we were a bit confused when a young boy assessed our ring 😂) And other times we spoke with very helpful people—it was always a mixed bag of you-don’t-know-what-you’re-gonna-get!

Overall we are happy but confused (lol)—Happy with the end product but confused by the inconsistency with customer service and pricing.

I think maybe having more detailed, itemized receipts would be helpful. And, while we love to support a local family-owned business, the customer service needed to be improved in some of the staff. The owner is a very helpful, considerate, no-BS type, and the other woman who worked with us is a very sweet lady; but as for the rest, well, I have had better customer service at Claire’s (😂).

I still need to have my wedding rings fused, but I don’t know if I will go back to Elder because I’m afraid they’re going to charge me a higher price again.

But—If you’re looking for high-quality jewelry at prices that beat competitors (by a long shot), I would highly recommend Elder. If you are able to work directly with the owner, you will probably have a better experience. If you have a very specific look you want, be sure to voice your opinions with confidence and certainty. If you have a budget, be sure to ask questions and request a pricing breakdown.

I’m sure they would have been willing to work with us on our concerns had we done a better job of voicing them; we were just very inexperienced with buying jewelry and didn’t know what to expect. I think many young engaged couples go through the same experience, and I’d like to think that Elder will see this feedback and use it to improve their service for the sake of those...

Saved twice by this jeweler! I was told earlier this year by a very well known Omaha jewelry store (owned by a billionaire) that my wedding band was unfixable. It is a platinum diamond infinity band that was bent into a severe oval when I lifted a heavy box during our move. I was told by the large jeweler that too many prongs were damaged and it would need a new setting- which they offered to sell me. Fast forward a few months- I ended up stopping at Elder Jeweler on a whim. The jeweler listened to my story and while we spoke he was working on my ring. By the time we were done talking he had bent it back into shape. He was basically showing me that the other place was just trying to sell me a setting. He gave me a quote to repair the broken prongs and reset the diamonds. It was very reasonable. They told me it would take a week, however they had it done in just a few days and it was done on the low end of the estimate. I was more than impressed by how new my ring looked! Fast forward 6 months- my daughter has a religious medallion that she wears when she runs. It means a lot to her as she has some health issues and the medallion is blessed. The bail broke this morning and she has a meet tomorrow. I ran it over to Elder. They did not promise that they could repair it. They said they don't normally do same day repairs. The sales associate said she would talk to the jeweler and see what could be done. 5 minutes later I heard him call to the associate and tell her that "the chain will break before the bail fails". He had soldered it shut and it is repaired to new! I am so grateful to have this local shop. They are very trustworthy and do fine quality work! Thank you...

Treated me poorly. I wanted to add gold to a ring and they said that would cost a lot of money. I should just reconnect it. I said, how much? They responded about $200 to add gold and $30 to rejoin the part that broke. Then someone else said, no that’s $50. I said, it will just break again unless we add gold. They looked at me like I was nuts wanting to fix a little ring. I felt like they didn’t want my business. Like I didn’t look like I could afford their store. I am now getting a ring that my mother, who has passed, gave to my daughter, who has worn the ring every day since she was 13, fixed somewhere else. It’s not an expensive ring, but it’s 14k and has her birthstone. It’s getting fixed because it’s sentimental, not because I can’t afford a new one. (I was in the middle of moving and had on shorts and a t-shirt and did look haggard, but that’s no excuse). Every customer should be treated better.

Edit for owner: There were two people working. An older lady who quoted me $30 to solder the ring and about $200 to add gold.Then a middle-aged man said to solder it would be...