Payne Anthony Creative Jewelers — Local services in Salt Lake City

Avoid this place at all costs. I wish I had. I loathe writing negative reviews, particularly for local businesses, but my experience was so poor I feel compelled to warn others.

On February 17, 2024 my husband and I walked in to Payne Anthony Creative Jewelers looking for a gold locket we could customize with stones and also engrave our initials into. I was curtly told they didn't have many lockets to choose from because Valentine's Day had just passed. Totally fair to not have lockets, but the employee's rudeness was absolutely uncalled for. After I asked if they could do a custom order, the employee reluctantly agreed. This employee, Meri, was extremely rude to me from start to finish. I have purple hair and dress casually, and my appearance seemed to impact how I was treated. I should have turned around and walked out of the store then, but I'm tired of people thinking just because I have a fun hair color I can't afford nice jewelry. And sadly, I get judged so often in Salt Lake I'm sure any other jeweler would have been just as rude.

Because of the name and reputation of this jeweler, I was excited to get a custom made locket I could turn into a family heirloom. By custom make, however, they actually meant order from a catalogue. I nearly walked out again as I truly wanted to work with a jeweler and not order something mass-manufactured, but Meri convinced me they could customize it to my liking. We gave Meri all the details and paid in full (a huge mistake). She said it would take 3-4 days to arrive. I thought that was extremely optimistic, but I said okay.

Fast forward to early March. We've had no communication and no locket. We were going out of town for a week and wanted to collect the necklace before our departure. I called the store before work not realizing that their business number forwards to their home phone- yikes! The owner was grumpy (likely because of the call forwarding, I also wouldn't want to take business calls to my house at 8am) and told me his staff have had a lot of personal health issues lately and apologized for the delay. He said the necklace would be ready in the next 2 weeks.

Mid-March rolls around, our vacation passed, and my husband calls. They tell him that the locket has arrived and they have taken it to the engravers. Once they get it engraved then all they need to do is set the gemstone and we should have it within a week. We verify the gemstone we want.

Early April comes around, still no contact. We reach out and were informed that they were struggling to set the stone we had picked and that setting it would take a few days longer. Okay...

We finally get the call to pick up the locket on April 19th and I was thrilled. I go right after work and... oh no. The locket isn't engraved at all. They tell me I never asked for engraving, which is maddening since not only had I, but they also used the engraving as an excuse for taking so long.

Lucky for me I held onto my receipt which showed I had paid and had ordered engraving. Jennifer was very kind and offered to get it engraved in 3-4 days time. Having heard that before, I decided no, I'd rather take it to be engraved myself.

Jennifer was an absolute angel. She was very apologetic and really tried to make things right. For full disclosure, she gave me a discount on the chain and offered to get the locket engraved anyway. I didn't want to risk another 2 months of engraving time, so now I'm taking it to be engraved myself.

Finally, the quality of the necklace is underwhelming. The locket is nothing special and could be purchased for $200 at most mall jewelers. The chain, although a nice weight and color, has a discolored clasp. For a $1,600 necklace, I really expect excellent quality, stellar customer service and better communication. Very disappointed and I will be taking my business...

My husband really wanted to use Payne Anthony to purchase our wedding rings. We went in several times and always received very helpful and kind customer service. My husband was very particular about what kind of ring he wanted to buy for me - he wanted a custom ring that had a lot of symbolism in it. He spent a lot of time thinking about the design and importance behind this ring and even drafted up several sketches and digital proofs of what he wanted the ring to look like. We took these in to Payne Anthony to have it custom made. We worked with them for quite a while back and forth - it was kind of a drawn out process. Eventually, my husband got frustrated that the designer kept saying that what my husband wanted done for my ring was not possible and the drafts that they came back with were nothing close to what he was envisioning. During this time, I had already ordered and purchased his wedding band, which he loves although it was quite pricey, as well as we had also ordered a loose sapphire gemstone. The gemstone was reasonably priced. We probably could have found a very similar wedding band for a bit cheaper somewhere else; I was quoted one price but I was charged another, higher price. Overall, Payne Anthony isn't a terrible jeweler but we didn't really enjoy our experience with them. I would say keep your expectations in check when it comes to their custom...

I first came across Payne Anthony Creative Jewelers when I lived in SLC. Now, it is a must stop on every annual visit back, not only for the unique pieces they carry, but for Steve and Jennifer. They always remember me and treat me like a friend from way back. They help me find the perfect pieces and know my style. And, if they don’t have exactly the right thing, then they help me create it. This past Spring Break visit was no exception. I came in looking for a specific type of chain to layer, but didn’t want one like I’d seen everyone else wearing. Because of their unique selections and artisan jewelers, I found one that I’d never seen anyone with before & super affordable. Then, I fell in love with a design, but it was in a pendant. My eye saw it as a ring, so they made it happen and converted it. The craftsmanship is flawless…you’d never know it was originally a pendant. And, now, it is a custom piece of jewelry just for me. I love this store and it’s people SO much, that I won’t buy my fine jewelry anywhere else! I wait until my visits and am always amazed by their selections and price points for everyone. Thanks, Jennifer & Steve…see...