James C. Smith Fine Jewelry — Local services in Traverse City

My fiancé and I worked with Shea to create an engagement ring that incorporated two family heirlooms. When my fiancé proposed to me he did so with both my grandmother's ring and his great-grandmother's ring. The two were beautiful and I wanted to have a design that would represent us and the combining of our two families.

I am from Bay City but my Aunt and Uncle live in the Traverse City area and highly recommended this establishment. I was warmly greeted and treated with respect the entire time. I am younger looking and I tend to get treated poorly because of it. Shea was very interested in what I wanted and incorporating my ideas into the design. We emailed back and forth numerous times and probably had 10-15 versions of the ring. He never got frustrated or upset, but instead was happy to hear what I loved and needed altered. Shea wanted me to not like, but LOVE the ring. He never batted an eye at my budget or made me believe I had to spend thousands of dollars to get what I wanted or to have a beautiful piece of jewelry.

The ring only took a couple of weeks once the design was finalized and I was kept in the loop through the whole process. It was comforting to know that the diamonds from our families were in good hands and all work could be done in the store: aka my diamonds weren't sent to a third party. I found relief in knowing that they weren't being shipped anywhere. I have received numerous compliments already on the ring and I have only had it for 3 days! It is unique and brilliant :)

Thank you, James C Smith Fine Jewelry. This ring is perfect for us and our journey to the alter. I am proud to wear the heirlooms of my family while still having my personality and style...

We have many choices for fine jewelry stores in Traverse City but after a recommendation from a friend, I walked into James C. Smith Jewelry store on Front Street and was so kindly and professionally taken care of from the very beginning. I brought in a very elegant necklace my mom left me, my grandpa’s old wedding ring from early 1900’s and another small diamond ring from my late husband, hoping to have them create an original design that I could wear everyday. I wanted to carry their legacy with me in a special creation and didn’t know where to start.

Lindsay Anderson was instrumental in the design and also so much fun to get to know, but it was truly a group effort with Sam Jacob and James coming in with ideas and support. Their care and detail in their craftsmanship helped create a spectacular one-of-a-kind bracelet which I’ll treasure forever. It’s simple, sentimental and sparkles just like the people who inspired it! My new bracelet is full of love but what makes it extra special is the many wonderful hands that helped bring it to life. It’s a design I can wear now everyday and not just special occasions.

I highly recommend James C. Smith Jewelry Store for anyone who wants something meaningful, magical, and seriously beautiful! As Lindsay said when I was leaving with my new bracelet, “You’re like family now so come visit us often!”

It is so nice to have such a caring group of jewelers right in our own town. Many thanks again to Lindsay, Sam and James and...

After looking at numerous other places in the area to get our wedding rings, we finally stumbled into the James C. Smith jewelry shop on a Sunday morning, and could tell right away that they had the kind of unique designs and styles we were looking for. The woman watching the store that day - Rachel - was absolutely awesome. She gave us a friendly hello, and then let us take a look around at our own pace (no high-pressure sales pitch at this place; it's very chill.) She was so helpful as we looked at the possibilities for our rings; she gave us great tips and suggestions without being pushy or presumptuous, and was almost as excited as we were when we found what we really liked. She seemed really focused on helping us find what WE wanted, and she wasn't even flustered when the power in the store totally went out from a passing thunderstorm, and they had to lock the doors to keep the store safe.

A few days later, James Smith himself sat down with me to hone in on the final design of our rings, showing me the possible tweaks he could do. And when we came to pick the rings up, we got to meet the person who actually casted them (her name was Allison, if I remember right) which was really cool, so we could thank her personally. We love the rings, and love the way they do business. We would highly...