Galati Jewelers — Local services in San Mateo

I found Galati Jeweler's and I am ecstatic about the work that was done for my engagement ring! I have a pear shape ring with a slim setting and I had managed to knock it pretty good making the stone point towards the right. Upon inspection from Ed he recommended to add some more metal to the front prong and adjust some of the other prongs as well to ensure more security for the stone. He walked me through the different ways in which he could fix it and helped me understand the process of what he would do and why it was important for the integrity of the jewelry. I felt comfortable that this was the jeweler for me. Ed was able to do a rush repair for me knowing how important this piece of jewelry is to me. I brought it in about 3 pm on a Saturday and he had it fixed polished and like nothing had ever happened to the ring by 6 pm that same day! Not only is the quality of work great, but he does custom jewelry and works with vintage jewelry as well. I plan on bringing some of my family pieces here that I have been meaning to have worked on and look forward to working with Galati Jeweler's and Ed in the future. If you are looking for unique jewelry, repair, or something custom made...

It really makes me sad to give this place anything less than 5 stars. This has been the only place I’ve ever got jewelry from and I still consider this my only jeweler. The owner is extremely friendly and helpful as are any employee I have dealt with. 20 years ago he custom made my jewelry when I was married. Fast forward to two grown up daughters and one midlife crisis and I found myself scraping to manage to make ends meet and was grateful that he bought the pieces back. Of course no where near my paid price but it was ok because he didn’t rip me off and paid full current market price for the weight. I was happy and I think we both won. The last piece I was trying to keep unless I had no other options. But it was time and there was a woman and her friend it seemed. I asked if the owner was there and she said she was the owner. Ok, so it’s his wife. That works too. I had already weighed the piece and looked up the current gold price and knew what it should be. When she took it to the scale, she returned and offered me less than half of what it should have been. I had never experienced this sleazy, underhanded behavior here before. It...

I hate to do this, but just wanted to share my experience. If you have no deadline, this shop will probably work for you.

TLDR: Was told two weeks for a resizing. Picked up my ring after a month with no resizing done.

I hand my ring off for a resizing and was estimated a two week turnaround. After two weeks, no word from the shop, so I call them up. I was told there was an illness and it would be another week, totally understandable. Another week goes by, no word from the shop. I call them again and was told I would receive an update by Saturday or at the latest Tuesday morning. I needed the ring by Tuesday as I was leaving town. Tuesday morning comes and goes, no word from the shop. I ultimately had to go in and pick it up, not resized after wasting a month.

I understand circumstances may arise, however, you can't overestimate your time budgeting skills and neglect to contact the customer when you fail to deliver on those promises. By simply keeping me informed I could have made alternate plans.

The pro is that the man is incredibly kind and friendly. He is very personable and it's small shop, which is what makes writing this...