Barbara Oliver Jewelry — Local services in Town of Amherst

I found Barbara Oliver and Co while searching for a reputable jeweler to size a ring made of German silver. After reading some glowing online reviews, I decided to contact them. Barbara and her staff were the absolute kindest and most helpful people to do business with. From my initial meeting with Barbara, I was struck by how warm, genuine, and knowledgable she was. Within the first moments at her office, I could tell she not only KNEW what she was talking about, but that she actually cared about the artistry of the piece and about me, the customer. In short, the job was finished in very quick time, the price was reasonable, and the workmanship was impeccable.

Fast forward several months; I return to Barbara to begin the engagement ring purchasing process, being lucky to have found "the one". Barbara dropped everything she was doing, sat me down, and proceeded to give me an incredibly thorough and understandable crash course on diamonds. After about forty five minutes, I had gone from knowing "diamonds are sparkly!" to knowing more than I could have imagined about carat, cut, color, and clarity, table size, ratios, flourescence, and more. I don't think I have ever had a completely foreign topic explained to me so clearly and effectively. A little knowledge goes a long way, and once I started looking at stones, what Barbara kept telling me became clear as day: the most expensive diamond isn't necessarily the prettiest diamond, and vice versa. Barbara could not have been a more wonderful or patient mentor in helping me select my fiancee-to-be's diamond, and made what was such an important decision a lot of fun.

As for the ring itself, I went in having done significant research on my own into various design elements, and after much discussion with Barbara, settled upon what became a very intricate custom design. Barbara was eager to meet my expectations to the letter and clarified every point with me to ensure it would be perfect. The big day finally came, and the finished ring was ready for pick up. I almost fell off Barbara's couch when I saw it. Already having spent quality time with the diamond, already knowing the design of the ring - none of it mattered. I could not have been prepared for what a breathtaking work of art it was. The workmanship was better than I could have hoped; every detail was honored perfectly.

I've already waxed long, so let me say simply that working with Barbara to create the most important purchase of my life thus far was an unforgettable experience. A ring is just a ring, but my experience with Barbara opened my eyes to the beauty of crafting something intricate and purposeful from base materials. I hate to sound like I belong in a commune somewhere puffing from a hookah and wearing conflict-free hemp, but the process was the closest thing to alchemy I can fathom; metal and stone were transformed into an emotional symbol that transcends its merely physical nature. I couldn't be happier with my decision to trust Barbara with this project, and it's an amazing feeling to have worked on something that will become a family heirloom for generations.

You will not find a more knowledgable, caring, or honest jeweler in the business. I cannot recommend Barbara Oliver...

I found Barbara's store after returning from a trip to Virginia with my parents to help clean out my aunt's house. I returned with several new pieces of jewelry, as did my mother, and Barbara's reputation online helped to put our minds at ease.

When we first went in and were greeted by Barbara, her wonderful staff, and of course, Opal (the store dog). The friendly welcome instantly calmed our nerves and we started to show Barbara the pieces we brought with us.

My mother brought more than I did with her: asking Barbara to repair the clasps on two of her necklaces, size down two rings of hers that had gotten too lose, and size up a ring she got from my aunt that was several sizes too small. All of that work cost less than my mother had been expecting for just the size up on the one ring.

My request, as it turned out was a bit more complicated, my grandmother's engagement ring is a thin platinum band with several diamonds inset into the top and VERY delicate hand engraving along the inside of the ring. It was a little more than 2 sizes too small for my hand, and I was massively worried that any attempts to resize the ring would distort or completely destroy the engraving. My fears, as Barbara patiently explained to me were entirely reasonable, as the engravings were located in the spot that would have been the easiest for the work.

We talked about it a bit, and she told me though her team would be as careful as possible, she couldn't guarantee me that the engraving would survive the resize. Ultimately, I decided to trust her, and when I came back (less than a week after dropping off the ring) I was delighted to see the engraving completely untouched and the ring now properly sized to fit. As an added bonus, the resize cost far less than I had expected.

Being able to protect an engraving that meant so much to me earned Barbara my business (and that of both my parents) for as long as her store is open.

Fast forward a few weeks, and I decide to take a few more pieces to Barbara. This time I was asking for a consultation. One of the rings I had gotten contained three diamonds my aunt had pulled from my grandmother and great grandmothers jewelry and set into a ring I absolutely could not stand.

Barbara sat down with me and helped me design a ring that matched my taste while subtly honoring the way my aunt had chose to design the ring she had worn.

Today I got to pick up the finished piece and it is more beautiful than I could have hoped for. The photo I attached really doesn't do it justice.

It's barely been two hours since I left her store, and I have already lost track of how many people have asked me to look at it.

If anyone has any doubts about working with Barbara, whether for resizes, appraisals, or custom work let me put your minds at ease as at this point, she has done all three for me. She is not only a tremendously talented jeweler with a wealth of knowledge but also a wonderful human being who is a genuine pleasure to work with.

Thank you again Barbara, and you know full well I'll be back.

Sarah (and the rest of...

Barbara Oliver is exceptional. When my fiance and I were looking to design our own engagement ring. She explained everything about diamonds to us, and even laid one out from each color of the spectrum next to each other so we could see the differences. She did the same for stones with different cuts and weights so we could see how cut was more important than just carat weight alone. Barbara showed us the chart jewelers use for pricing diamonds cost per carat so that we could see what the real cost was. She didn't over charge us or try to sell us more carats than we wanted. She offered many carats, colors and cuts so we could compare them and pick the one we liked best for our ring. We got something unique to us which made the whole experience more fun and rewarding. For me, being green and sustainable was important, so Barbara used recycled gold to make my ring. She made Autocad renderings of our concepts so we could get an idea of how it would look and even made a 3D wax model that I could try to really see what the final product would be like! This only took a few visits and was easy to do! I liked it because I got something I can't stop staring at and my fiance didn't have to worry about spending too much or buying a ring that I might not have liked. Barbara worked with us one on one. She was very honest and straight forward, open and transparent. She is a fun, sassy lady and very professional. She even offered wine while we visited and sometimes, one of her poodles would be there in the store! The diamond shaped chocolate goodies and To Your Future mini champagne's she gave us were a nice touch. The atmosphere and experience were great and much better than we would have gotten in some big box store. Designing my ring was memorable and brought me and my now fiance closer together and made the engagement process less stressful. Once we were done with the design, I was dying to know when he'd surprise me with it! I love my ring and so glad we got it from Barbara Oliver...