Studio Jewelers — Local services in Madison

Let me start out by saying that I have never written a negative review before, and I am not doing so lightly, but my experience at Studio Jewelers has deeply upset me. I would strongly caution anyone from giving Studio Jewelers any business.

My husband I have been Studio Jewelers' customers since 1992. We had our original wedding rings made here as well as new wedding rings made around 10 years later and several other custom jewelry pieces over the years. We have been consistently pleased with the craftsmanship, and since I immigrated to America in 1992, I have never went to any other jeweler. My experience with the owner and all members of the staff was pleasant while my husband was alive and well; I interacted with the owner on several occasions during that time and she was always polite and amicable. I had planned for some time to make a ring out of an opal my daughter had brought me from Australia and I left the stone at Studio Jewelers, fully intending to make a ring as soon as possible. In 2016, my husband was diagnosed with dementia; years previous, it was evident his cognition was declining, but we didn't receive full confirmation until that year, and his health sadly rapidly declined from there. I stayed in contact with Studio Jewelers and the owner throughout that time to let them know why I had to delay construction of the ring, what with my husband's illness, his eventual death in 2018, and the Coronavirus pandemic.

Two weeks ago, I finally felt like I was in a good place to make the ring. I was excited. I was speaking to an attendant at the door to inquire about the opal I had left at Studio Jewelers and the owner kept interjecting and making snide and dismissive remarks as if I wasn't a customer and equal but some despicable lowlife. I told her that I had been a loyal customer for decades. She snapped, "Like thousands of others." Never have I experienced this level of blatant disrespect and disregard. Nonetheless, I tried to diffuse the situation, figuring that she was stressed, because they said they had a showcase coming up. I kindly requested the attendant give me a call when the opal was found, so that I could schedule an appointment at their earliest convenience. The attendant called a few days later and left a voicemail, letting me know that the opal was found and to schedule an appointment with the goldsmith. I promptly called and scheduled an appointment with the goldsmith for last Thursday at 1pm. I arrived for the appointment and the attendant handed me the opal without saying a word. I said, "Wait, I'm here for an appointment." The attendant told me to wait a minute and that she would talk to the owner. The attendant came back and told me that the owner wanted me to just take the opal and leave. They refused to let me in or discuss the matter further.

I will never return...

I want to preface this by stating that I was a goldsmith and jeweler for years after I finished my fine arts program until I decided to switch careers. Given this context, I am familiar with standard procedure as far as checking jewelry for condition, checking stones, cleaning and polishing.

Second, I am a hispanic woman who has visible tattoos. I don't look like everyone else. My ring is a 10K Yellow Gold setting with a green tourmaline center stone and very small diamond accent on either side. It was originally cast in Beechworth, VIC Australia. I cannot take it back there for obvious reasons.

There were three women working and one other customer who appeared to be shopping. Nothing seemingly out of the ordinary.

Immediately as the door was opened for me, the person looked afraid to let me in. She asked me what she could help me with. I said I was looking to have my ring cleaned and polished. Her body language showed she was very uncomfortable with me. She took my ring to look at it under the scope, which is typical. you want to check to make sure stones aren't loose or the prongs are in good condition or that it can withstand an ultrasonic.

She looked at it for an unusually long time. Then asked for a second opinion. She made it a point to say "My eyes are so bad I just don't trust them." Listen, you can practically see bacteria growing under those scopes. The light was bright, sun was coming through the window, and she was wearing glasses.

A third person came and took my ring and used high air pressure to clean it. My ring was never polished as I had asked.

There were a lot of micro aggresions happening. Nothing was explained to me. She could have explained why she needed to look at the ring (She didnt.) She could have explained why they used air pressure instead of an ultrasonic (She didn't). If a polish is a service cost extra (given that cleanings are typically a free service), that could have been explained to me and I would have happily paid. (Yet again, she didn't).

She was not comfortable with my appearance and just wanted me out of there as fast as possible. How embarrasing.

I really wanted to support this local jeweler given they are in my neighborhood and I make it a point to shop local as much as I can. I wanted to talk about the possibility of casting a custom wedding band to go with my setting. I wanted to talk about ordering my husband a wedding band. Given my experience with what should have been a simple cleaning, I will not be returning.

Please make it a point to not judge people based on their apperance. Just because I don't look like your typical customer, does not mean I don't deserve to be treated...

The craftsmanship, talent and service that Studio Jewelers provides simply SPARKLES! My husband purchased my engagement band from Studio Jewelers 12 years ago and I have very much loved this ring….simple, unique and fitting for “me”. Fast forward to two years ago, when my husband presented me with beautiful diamond for our 10th anniversary. Although the diamond was beautiful, it just wasn’t “me” – we worked with the jeweler where my husband purchased the diamond, but they just couldn’t get a setting right……it was all too frustrating, and unfortunately the ring ended up in the drawer! After two years, I finally decided that it was foolish to let a beautiful diamond sit in the drawer and suggested to my husband that we make a trip to Studio Jewelers to see if they might have ideas. The day we stopped by we were greeted by a very welcoming Jill, who suggested that we might talk to the owner, Hanna, who happened to be there that day. Hanna listened to me, she heard me, she took into account that I did not want some big, gaudy flashy ring – that wasn’t “me” – nor did such a setting do anything for the stone itself. In a matter of an hour, Hanna was confident that she had a design that I would WANT to wear….. and she was able to incorporate my original band into the design. She introduced us to a gentleman (so sorry I don’t recall his name) that would be crafting the design and who exuded confidence in the plan. Hanna offered ideas, options, patience and humor while working with us. Hanna and her team did not disappoint. Her staff was very timely in communicating a reasonable estimate and a timeline for completion. My ring turned out absolutely PERFECT – a true reflection of me and my style. I would like to give a huge thank you to Hanna and her staff for the service and expertise they offered, for taking the stress away and for creating a one-of-a kind-...