JEWELSMITHE — Local services in Southern Pines

On August 26, 2024, I hired Mr. Lomax to work on a few different projects. He fixed a gold chain while I waited and did a great job. Next was my daughter's ring. It is a small promise-type ring in a swirl design. She caught it on the washer and lost one of the tiny diamonds, pulling it up and out of round. He was to replace the diamond and make it round again, lowering the swirl that was lifted up. Then came my project. He was to remove the head (diamond and prongs setting) of one ring, place it in another ring, and move the swirls out further on that ring. He would also need to remove the smaller diamond from that ring. I would have the platinum shank left from the first ring and the smaller diamond from the second. This would take 3 weeks—a bit long, but okay. The invoice says it was promised on the “15th.” After 3 weeks, he called me and asked me what he was supposed to be doing because he couldn't read his own writing on the invoice. I explained it to him, and he seemed to remember. He was having some family issues and said it would be another 3 weeks. I think he could hear the displeasure in my voice. He texted me on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept 21, with a picture of my finished ring. I thought it came out great. I picked up our rings the following Monday afternoon. I asked him for my ring shank and loose diamond. He could not find them. He said he would look and get back to me right away. I was very concerned because the ring shank is platinum. When I handed my daughter her ring, and she put it on, she realized that he may have replaced the diamond but did not fix the ring because it was still out of round. The swirl was still lifted. I discovered that my ring wasn’t sized. I realized it must have been an oversight as it wasn’t listed to be done on the invoice either. We decided we didn’t want to wait another 3 weeks for him to “fix” something, so we went to my out-of-town jeweler. They were able to fix her ring within minutes. Mine- well, that’s another story. When they went to resize it they discovered that the prongs were so loose the diamond was spinning around inside the setting. Since I now live out of town, they fixed it for me that afternoon.

I texted him on September 24 to inquire about my missing shank and on September 25 to remind him that I was also missing the diamond from the other ring. I did not receive a response. I texted him again on September 28 to ask about my missing parts. I did not receive a response. I texted him again on October 10 and realized he must have blocked me. I was not harassing at all in my inquiries.

On November 25, Mr. Lomax called me to say he had my ring shank. He didn’t know why he had it, but it was there with my name on it. I asked about the loose diamond and he was confused and said he knew nothing about a loose diamond. He said he would be open the Friday after Thanksgiving and then back to regular hours. I picked up my ring shank on December 2. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I have no idea why, but he cut my platinum band. I’m left with two-thirds of a ring shank. I was shocked. There was NO reason for him to cut my ring like that to remove the heading. He didn’t use any platinum in the ring he placed the heading. I asked him again about the diamond, and he had no clue. There is not talking to this man, he just...

I came into Jewelsmithe hoping for a simple service, to have a ring cleaned and evaluated so someone interested in trading me a car for it could confirm it was real gold and diamonds. What I got instead was one of the rudest and most dismissive experiences I have ever had in any store.

The man helping me was immediately cold and rushed. He interrupted me repeatedly, did not listen to anything I was trying to explain, and acted like I was wasting his time. Before I could even finish talking, he blurted out that the ring was maybe worth $350 because nobody would want it. It was extremely unprofessional and completely uncalled for.

To make it worse, he wanted to charge $50 just to clean the ring and $100 for an evaluation, only to shut me down and send me on my way without even giving me the chance to respond. I left feeling completely disrespected.

Thankfully, I went to Kay Jewelers right after. They not only cleaned the ring for free, but they also evaluated it for free and gave an honest and respectful estimate. They appraised it at a minimum of $4,200. The contrast in service was night and day.

I will never do business with Jewelsmithe again and absolutely would not recommend this place to anyone. Terrible customer service and a complete lack of basic respect. Do yourself a favor and...

Called to ask about re-sizing a wedding band that i purchased for my fiance. Guy i spoke to was very snappy and said i wouldnt have had to have the ring resized if i had gotten it from him. Wouldnt even offer an estimate on how much it would cost to work on without me bringing it to him, then hung up the phone on me. Very unprofessional and rude.

EDIT: Response to owner's reply

You said you might have been with a customer when I called. it's possible I suppose but I would surely hope you wouldn't be rude to someone on the phone in front of a customer, but from reading your other reviews it appears that I'm not the only one that thinks you're rude. Did you really think after you were rude to me on the phone and hung up on me I would bring any business to you? I didn't write my review to hurt your business, I wrote it about my experience with you which wasn't pleasant. Put me on your wall of shame, that's awesome. You might do good work, I'll never know because of the hateful way you talked to me. But good luck running your clientele away with your rude and...