Bracken Jewelers — Local services in Santa Monica

I don’t really understand how more people don’t know about Todd Bracken except for the fact that now that I’ve found him and his store I don’t want anyone else to know about Todd Bracken. You feel like he's your secret weapon. From the outside, his shop looks like just another little office in Venice, probably used by some semi-retiree who just wants to live, and sometimes work, near the beach. But when you’re buzzed into his shop (he is appointment only) you quickly realize that’s not the case. There are collector’s Rolex watches on display, craftsman guitars hanging on the back wall, and rows of unusual jewelry.

It’s hard to say whether he’s more of an artist, craftsman, or historian. When my boyfriend and I were first looking for a ring I really wanted an antique ring. Through speaking with him we found out that he actually designed and created a range of antique-styled jewelry for Tiffany’s. If Tiffany’s trusts him, you know he knows what he’s doing. I have heard he has also created jewelry for Michelle Obama and Lady Gaga. He also restores antique jewelry and if you want to buy something antique he knows both the history of how it was made but also why the styles and motifs were popular at the time. Then we saw that he actually designed and crafted beautiful pieces himself! We actually fell so in love with his original pieces that we ended up buying a beautiful peacock-colored sapphire ring with a diamond band.

We were also drawn to Todd’s gold bands. If Todd wasn’t already an amazing craftsman we found out that all of the gold from his own gold line is prospected by him in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. Yes, as in gold mining. He actually was featured in The Discovery Channel series "Curiosity: What's Beneath America?" and makes sure to mine responsibly.

With all of this, his items are somehow extremely reasonably priced. When you see him just remember to make sure that the address is the Lincoln Blvd. in the Venice neighborhood not in the Los Angeles neighborhood. We accidentally made that mistake the first time. I know this is a long review but I honestly feel like now I only want to buy all of my jewelry from him and I can’t believe there aren’t more reviews about him in general on the internet. When you meet someone so gifted and passionate about what they do you begin to feel it’s a shame that there isn’t more written about them and want to...

We can't thank Todd & Rebecca enough for such a lovely, collaborative experience in redesigning my wedding ring. My grandmother left me one of her diamonds from her Toi et Moi wedding band when she passed away. I had a vision to create my own version of a Toi et Moi wedding ring using her round diamond and the oval diamond my husband proposed with. My husband and I really wanted to find the right Jeweler who would understand the vision and the sentiment behind it to make it truly special. I wanted the ring to pay tribute to my grandmother's ring while also having it's own modern touch to it. I shared inspiration photos of exactly what I was hoping for and I couldn't be happier with the final result. Rebecca was so responsive and communicative with us for the entire process, making us feel super cared for with this special project. Todd was super informative in helping me better understand the stone my grandmother left for me and how to set the diamonds to really make them shine. I couldn't be happier that we chose Bracken for this sentimental ring that I get to stare at every day!

Bracken will definitely be our go-to Jeweler for anything we need in the future. Thank you...

Working with Bracken Jewelers on our engagement ring and wedding bands was a great collaborative experience. I brought in screenshots of my then girlfriend’s inspiration board highlighting aspects of several rings I liked. Not only did Todd seamlessly incorporate the elements I liked, since my fiancé and I had been together for six years, he suggested flanking the center stone with six diamonds. He wrote part of our story into the ring. Todd is a true artist and master craftsman. Being that we are both from California and having met there, there was no other option for me than to have a California Gold wedding band. I model I chose was Golden Bear. The earthy green glow, raw hammered finish, and stepped edge spoke to me, though it was hard to choose from Bracken Jewelers’ other unique offerings. My wife and I get compliments on our rings regularly and I always enjoy telling the story of how and where they were crafted. I love knowing that the gold was conscientiously sourced in Northern California and hand crafted in Los Angeles by a 3 generation...