Ware's Jewelers — Local services in South Bradenton

My father was a dedicated customer for many many years and became friends with Bob and Cheryl, the original owners. He suddenly passed away recently and I stopped by the store to let them know of his death. They were not there that day, but Makayla and her fiancé (I apologize I do not recall his name) were there. In telling the story of my father and his personal relationship to the owners, Makayla, who remembered my dad, noticed a diamond missing from my necklace. A necklace that was a gift from my father. I became emotional in the store when I realized the missing diamond was the one that represented him in the 5 diamonds of the pendant that represented the five members of our immediate family. I live in Michigan and was heading back within a few days to bring my mother up there to be with us. What would’ve been a 3-4 week repair, Makayla assured me they would do in two days. When I showed up at the store on a Saturday, there was a letter on the door saying they had decided to close for Memorial Day weekend. Heartbroken and unsure when I would be getting my necklace back, I left a voice message for them. Makayla’s fiancé immediately called me back and graciously offered to drive to the store and open it for me to retrieve my family jewelry. It was such a beautiful act of kindness and some of the best customer service I have ever received. Not only will I treasure the memory and the necklace from my father, but all of the other pieces of jewelry he lovingly bought from them to gift to my mother over the years. So happy to know there are still kind, honest, respectable small businesses, and when Bob and Cheryl decide to retire, their family run jewelry store will continue to be operated by good, kind people such as Makayla and her...

We had the most disappointing experience with Bob, the owner of Wares Jewelers. In 2022, we purchased three rings and made a significant investment with the business, including a custom engagement ring. We provided the center diamond and purchased two side stones through them.

Unfortunately, just one month after wearing the engagement ring, the center diamond became loose. Since then, it has continued to loosen every 4–6 months. When we brought this to Bob’s attention, he initially blamed wear and tear and insisted we come in for regular maintenance. In our experience, it’s highly unusual for a well-crafted ring to require maintenance this frequently, especially considering my wife works from home, has had two children since then, and rarely wears the ring.

To make matters worse, our insurance provider, USAA, refused to accept the appraisal because the store does not maintain proper licensing.

Now, three years later, we are still dealing with the same unresolved issues, no valid appraisal, no insurance coverage, and a ring that continues to have problems with its setting. We’re beyond frustrated and have decided to take our business elsewhere.

To say we’re disappointed is an understatement. While it seems Cole, the future new owner, may be taking over soon, the damage done under Bob’s management is undeniable. We sincerely hope others don’t have to go through the same experience. Cole was as helpful as he could be in...

Working with Wares Jewelers, owner, Bob, has been a total nightmare. We bought an engagement ring from them a few years ago, used our own center diamond and purchased the setting through them, along with two natural diamonds. In addition to two more rings (3 total). Not even a month after getting the ring, the diamond came loose. When we brought it in, Bob said it was “normal wear and tear” and that we should expect to come in every 6 months. That didn’t sit right with us, but we trusted him.

Since then, the diamond has continued to come loose every 4–6 months. Every time I brought it in, Bob would just take it to the back and tighten it quickly, no paperwork, no service record, nothing. I wish I had documented every visit, but I didn’t think I needed to.

Also, we found out Bob isn’t even a certified gemologist. We submitted the appraisal he gave us to our insurance company (USAA), and they wouldn’t accept it. So now, after all this time and money, we don’t even have proper insurance on the ring.

My husband and I aren’t usually the type to leave reviews, but after three years of the same problems and feeling like the blame was put on us, we felt we had to say something. We’re honest people who came in looking for help, and instead we just kept getting the runaround. I feel bad for the new owners, they’re probably going to lose a lot of customers because of Bob’s erratic and...