Lang Antique & Estate Jewelry — Local services in San Francisco

I recently purchased a mid-century jewelry piece from this online store—a piece I had always dreamed of owning. Before completing the sale, I raised concerns with Elizabeth, the sales associate, based on the item’s photographs. I identified several issues, including worn holding loops, extensive staining on the back, and a lack of movement in the pendant—a feature clearly designed to function. I specifically requested that the item be cleaned and thoroughly inspected prior to shipping. Elizabeth answered: “I will have our jewelers take a look at them before boxing them up for shipping and inspect them to make sure nothing is bent. The bottom sections do move freely.”

The item was ultimately described and sold as being in “very good condition” according to their point-of-sale documentation.

However, upon arrival, the jewelry broke the moment I removed it from the box—hardly the hallmark of a piece in “very good condition.” Alarmed, I consulted two local jewelers to explore repair options. Both confirmed that the piece had been previously repaired using tin. Tin complicates further repairs, making all subsequent repairs prone to new fractures, spreads uncontrollably, and permanently stains gold. The jewelers also identified other undisclosed issues: chipped stones, a broken prong, worn loops, and a soldered pendant that could no longer move as designed. The complexity of any future restoration left me questioning whether the item’s condition had been intentionally misrepresented.

When I brought these findings to the store’s attention and said I prefer to keep the item and detailed the discrepancies between the described and actual condition of the item, the defects, and the significant challenges and costs of potential repairs, the owner, Mark Zimmelman, initially communicated the following: “Mark Zimmelman here, co-owner of Lang’s. Please contact me at your convenience and I will do my utmost to rectify your negative experience. We aim to please.” and then again: “Mark Z. Business Owner. Please contact me (the owner) at your convenience. I assure that we will settle the matter to your complete satisfaction. Promise. Mark Zimmelman …” When I contacted him, he only agreed to fix the damage “that may have occurred during shipping,” and after that, they stopped communicating and did not return either phone calls or emails. What about other complicated repairs the item needed in order to be used securely and as intended?

This experience left me with the impression that the store prioritizes making a sale over ensuring transparency and honesty about the true condition of the items they sell. The idea of reselling antique jewelry is a wonderful one, but its success hinges on the seller maintaining customer trust by providing accurate, complete information and pricing items appropriately based on their condition. Regrettably, this store failed to meet that standard, leaving me with a beautiful yet damaged item requiring costly restoration, a frustrating experience, and no confidence in their business practices—all of that for a repeat customer and someone who...

Working with Lang Antique & Estate Jewelry was an easy and wonderful experience. I had heard about them through a referral who told me that they had engagement diamond rings in the price range that I was looking for and in the style I desired the most.

I didn't know what to expect but when going through the website, there were pieces I found myself very interested in! However, I live in MA and they are in San Francisco so I assumed the process would be way too difficult and I wouldn't be able to work with them. That was, until I called them...

Nicole Corsini made purchasing my engagement ring easy, fun and stress free. Because I live far away, she explained and made me feel comfortable about shipping rings across the coast and how easy the return was if I didn't like the piece. She also explained I could do it as many times as I wanted and have even a few rings shipped to me at once to decide from.

After telling her which rings I liked from the website, she immediately took clearer photos and videos of them to give me a better sense of what they looked like! It was easier to narrow down which ring I liked the best! Her photos were as if I was in the room trying them on. Then they shipped the ring!

After trying on only one ring, I fell in love and was sold!

Lang Antiques was very professional from the beginning. Made the process of making an important decision very easy having been no where near them. When they shipped the ring to me after it was resized (FOR FREE), it was during a very bad snowstorm. There was someone from the company who emailed me about the delay of the delivery, clearly tracking the package with me too! I was very impressed by that.

Lang also offers a layaway program which was very helpful to me and my new fiance! We were given a few months to pay it off instead of doing it all in one shot. I felt safe throughout the entire process. I highly recommend working with them even if you live nowhere near San Franciso. The distance didn't matter. Nicole was amazing and I am truly...

Lang has an amazing selection of vintage and antique jewelry accompanied by exceptional customer service!

I had been eyeing this store through their Instagram site for a while, and when my fiance and I went in to browse for engagement rings they did not disappoint. They have an amazing selection that is well curated and organized, and they get in new stock frequently. They do have very high end jewelry, but also many quite affordable rings in a good range for every budget.

Our sales associate, Molly, was knowledgeable, friendly, patient, and fun. She indulged me as I tried on many, many rings (and a few bracelets and necklaces...), and I never felt like she was trying to rush me in a decision, but at the same time she was really helpful in helping us narrow down our choices and figure out which rings we liked best. I am very indecisive and didn't go into the process knowing exactly which style I wanted, and Molly was also really good at quickly figuring out my taste and suggesting options I was likely to enjoy. We were definitely looking at items in the lowest price range of their selection, but I never felt like we were treated as such. At the end, I was deciding between two rings, and one was almost double the price of the other, but I never felt like I was being nudged to purchase the more expensive one. We ended up with a gorgeous ring that I am so happy with, and we also learned that engagement ring purchases get you a 10% discount on wedding bands.

They are unusual compared to many other antique jewelers in SF in that you can just walk in anytime. We went in on a Tuesday afternoon and had the store almost to ourselves. When we went back on a Thursday it was more crowded, so I might recommend going on an earlier weekday.

We had a great experience at Lang with Molly and the rest of the staff, and I would recommend this place to anyone who wants some unique and...