Catherine is an expert jewelry smith. She is creative, resourceful and patient. If you give her an idea of what you have your heart set on, she will draw it and work with you until your jewelry piece is perfect. Her shop has beautiful premade pieces that you will love. Catherine is also great at repairs and redesigns. read more

If I could add additional stars, I would! CG Designs has made and/or repaired numerous rings and jewelry for my wife and myself. Most recently I asked if Catherine, the owner/designer/fabricator, if she could make me a ring using a gemstone my wife and I purchased on our honeymoon in India some 30 years ago. She dropped what she as doing and spent time sketching out some ideas for how to mount the ring in silver. We settled on a dessign (I wanted a more masculine forefinger ring) and within a week she had a full sized wax model that I could try on and suggest any modifcations ... the model looked great as is! A few days later the ring was finished. It looked awesome and was exactly what I hoped for! I can't say enough about CG Designs.! Catherine is truly a talented artisan/craftsperson and I highly recommend for any jewlery needs but especially design and fabrication! read more

CG Designs - Jewelry Near Me - Lafayette, California

Never again.. I feel taken advantage of and scammed by this business owner. . she messed up and didn't take any responsibility.. My mom passed away a month ago and I wanted to surprise my dad with a cross made out of moms gold wedding band and a bracelet. although the piece was imperfectly nice, 1/3 of gold was missing. I know because the jeweler weighed the original gold before and I weighed it when I got the final product gone. she charged me more for the piece than agreed and than was rude after I shared my experience with she.. she took ZERO responsibility for her lack of communication and took advantage of a first time customer who has NEVER made custom jewelry before.. she told me all her clients I'm the past know that 2 grams of gold will just be lost in the process.. would not use again and won't be recommending. read more

I recently got engaged with the perfect ring thanks to CG designs! I personally didn't work with the designer but I know how indecisive and picky my man is, she has to have the patience of a angel and her skills speak for them self. I know they worked on the piece for quite awhile and he was happy with the process and outcome. I'm a little rough on things and needed a repair and cleaning which she did the same day when he reached out to her last month. Thank you for a beautiful lifetime piece, I'd chose the exact ring if I designed it myself. read more

CG Designs - Jewelry Near Me - Lafayette, California

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I dropped off a piece of jewelry for repair at this business, paid a cash deposit, and was not provided a receipt. The owner, Catherine seems to have disappeared with my money, and valuable jewelry, while ignoring all contact attempts to get my personal property back. Filed a theft report against this business. The owner clearly only cares about her own personal issues and chooses to selfishly withhold sentimental items. Heartless and absolutely zero 'customer service'. The owners response: "I am getting divorced and hiding at a shelter because my soon to be ex is stalking me. I will return to work when I feel." I just want my personal property returned - repaired or not, I do not care to hear about personal problems from a business. It is not that difficult to put MY personal property in the mail (as I have asked several times.) Instead, she continues to keep my property in her possession after I withdrew my consent. There is a reason why people separate business from their personal problems, but this 'business owner' clearly doesn't know how. I have been extremely patient for over a month. Catherine Dining has made absolutely zero effort to return my items, and is completely unapologetic. This all just seems like a ridiculous excuse to keep / sell her customers' property to pay for her "divorce" while trying to delay before getting caught. read more

I had a very special pendant made by Catherine. It was a cooperative effort. It reflected the love of 2 wonderful men in my life. My husbands wedding ring was elongated and circled the pendant. Catherine created a north star design in the middle.In the center of the north star is an Australian black opal from my Bill. It has so much beauty and speaks to my heart. Thank you Catherine for capturing the love I shared. read more

I'm getting married next month, and besides first meeting and falling in love, the whole process all began with Taylor & Jacobson. My fiancé commissioned Catherine Galloway to design and make my engagement ring last year, and she made a beautiful ring which he helped give some basic design direction, knowing that I love sapphires. When I was a little girl, I saw a movie on A&E with Liz Taylor wearing an opulent opera necklace with sapphires and diamonds, and the image stuck with me. When my fiancé opened the ring box and surprised me, I was stunned by the gorgeous and elegant ring which was a much more "me" version than the over the top Liz Taylor adornment. While I wasn't a part of the plan, he said that he enjoyed the design process with Catherine and that she communicated a lot and made the ring quickly. Fast forward a year, and we contacted Catherine again to make our wedding rings. While again I wanted something simple, it was fun to watch Catherine sketch out our idea and hear her suggestions. My soon-husband was given a family heirloom which needed some sprucing and sizing, while mine was custom made to fit the contours of my engagement ring. Catherine finished all of this way ahead of schedule, and I can barely recognize my fiancé's ring, which had previously been very tarnished and much too big. Planning a wedding has its challenges, but this aspect was by far one of the most enjoyable and flawless. Catherine is a pleasure to work with, so if you're in the market for any custom jewelry, wedding related or otherwise, I highly recommend her. I do! read more

CG Designs - Engagement ring. Photo by Sonya Yruel - Jewelry Near Me - Lafayette, California

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Short Version: Catherine Dining at CG Designs is our go-to custom jeweler because she is, hands down, the absolute best. She doesn't just listen to what we want. She asks, prods, samples, looks. It's not just about the finished jewelry; it's about matching the jewelry to the personality. She shelves her own preferences while keeping in mind best professional practices. Truly a joy to work with. Longer Version: We started coming to Taylor & Jacobsen 30 years ago because it was the folks' custom jeweler shop. We had wedding sets designed & customized, and we were thrilled. During those early years, the folks were having a lot of custom work done, too, so we returned several times for anniversary gifts, push presents, etc. Years passed, the folks' stuff became part of "the estate," and we discovered that Catherine & CG Designs had taken over the T&J business. We asked her to help us value all of these old pieces, and it must've been fun for her to revisit so much of her old work because we practically had to beg her to accept a reasonable fee. Two years later, our son decided to get married, so we asked him if we could gift him & his fiancée with wedding sets made from family heirloom gemstones. Catherine met with him and designed beautiful engagement & wedding rings, sui generis to his fiancée's preferences and using stones from at least 3 generations of jewelry. The finished rings are gorgeous and doubly special for the bride because they have so much family history. Catherine never once tried to up-sell us gems that we didn't need. Most recently, Catherine made several other new pieces: 30th-anniversary wedding sets and a couple of other rings, working in platinum as well as white & yellow gold. She continues happily to work with the family gems, designing always-unique pieces around the heirloom jewels we have. Catherine is an artist, and we love her artistic temperament. She is plain-spoken and friendly. We take time to talk with her, so we know more about her family than we do of many of our neighbors. She wears her heart on her sleeve, so we know when things are good and when they're not-so-good, but we find that when we're patient & kind, we're treated the same in response. Sometimes things take a little longer than any of us expect, but the results are always so wonderful, it's well worth the wait. We can't imagine ever going to a one of the big chain stores, and we'd never ask anyone else to make something special for our special family & occasions. No jokes. CG Designs & Catherine are the best. read more

Catherine custom-made a dragon necklace for my mother, who has since passed away. It's one of my treasures.

I just walked in one day, because I'm an old pawnbroker and I collect Jewellery. Had a nice chat and left. Came back a few months later. I asked Catherine to make a ring for me with my design. It came out perfect after a few adjustments. I'm picky. She has also fixed some things for me at a reasonable cost. I consider her a master. I've been in the Jewellery world most of my life. read more

Catherine designed a ring for me using my grandmothers earring and a great grandmothers wedding band. She took 2 pieces and created a gorgeous ring. I also used Catherine to size a few rings, make some diamond studs from old rings I had laying around. This was a great experience and would recommend CG Designs. read more

Catherine has designed a few pieces for me. She is very creative and thoughtful in her designs. I have referred a number of friends to her, all of whom have been happy. read more

CG Designs - This is one of my favorite of Catherine's designs. - Jewelry Near Me - Lafayette, California

CG Designs made my beautiful engagement ring and my husband and I's wedding bands. Catherine has an eye for detail and was able to take our designs and inspiration and make them come to life! It was a fun process in which she remained available for multiple 'mockups' of our rings until we came to our final designs. Catherine was reasonable with her pricing and helped us get the best cost she could. She is an excellent artist and I would recommend her to any friend. read more

Catherine was amazing! Such a talented artisan and a true joy to work with. She is incredibly creative and I highly recommend her jewelry design services. K.G. read more

Thank god they don't have longer hours, or I would be broke. I would have fabulous jewels, but no food, because I would spend all my money -HERE-. I recently decided it was time to upgrade some of my wardrobe basics. Kent was fabulous, he took the time to figure out what I wanted and helped to steer me away from what I thought I wanted [he explained why it wasn't a good idea but was willing to do it if I insisted]. He also educated me on the process of selecting stones and grading them and the difference between lab created and natural jems. I was able to pick my stones, and the settings. They also cleaned any other jewelry I had with me when I came in. FYI - The space is small, and it is appointment only. However, when you are ready to buy quality pieces this is the place to do it. When I picked up my work, they included an appraisal and the certs for the stones - not something you will get from a mall jeweler. read more

I was quite happy with Catherine, who assessed several pieces of my old jewelry, scrutinizing a men's diamond placer gold ring, a women's garnet bauble ring, and an old 10 kt fraternity pin and chain. She has some very interesting jewelry designs, lots of colored stones, and anyone looking for a custom piece ought to chat her up to see what she can do. A lot of her custom jewelry business is word of mouth so stop by and get in her queue. read more

Having Taylor & Jacobson create my now fiancée's engagement ring was the best decision I could have made for the following reasons Service - I had called around to many custom Jewelry makers in the bay area (all of the peninsula/S.F. & East Bay), the overall message was clear, that they can't be bothered to even pretend to care. Time after time it was a curt request to book an appointment and to not bother coming down without one (even though I had not asked) and very thin/impractical timeframes to meet. When I called Taylor & Jacobson the person on the phone was polite and offered me a wide range of times to meet with a designer for a free consultation. During that consultation I had the benefit of meeting with Catherine Galloway, she spent a generous amount of time meeting with me, was polite, personable. It was nice to work with a craftsperson who valued my input as much as I valued their skill. The service was consistently good the four or so visits necessary to complete the ring. Process - We started with a generous consultation, where Catherine inquired about my (at the time) girlfriend, it was clear she wanted to know what she was like/into. I brought some ideas in the form of photo's I had found on the internet and gave her some keywords for my goals in for the project "delicate, vintage". From there Catherine sketched the ring and we revised it over and over again until we had an agreed upon style. Next we selected stones and at the time non were inspiring so I came back later to review more stones in the style I had envisioned, we found the perfect one. A week or so later Catherine had a wax prototype ready for me to see and we agreed on the final style/setting/materials involved. Timeframe - The process was during a slow period for them so the timeframes are not necessarily normal but I was impressed with the overall turnaround time. Consultation 1-2 hours and I was able to get an appointment the same week. Stone selection 1 week later Wax prototype 1-2 weeks later Final product 1 month later Price - I found the price extremely competitive, other designers (private and major) are not even considerable after this process... There is nothing wrong with getting a Tiffany's ring or going with a designer that everyone has heard of this season but in regards to quality and bang for your buck I would not consider going elsewhere. I simply gave Catherine my budget and her extensive knowledge provided options and she wasn't shy about pointing out where we could be more conservative to make the whole project work. Parking - As a side note, it is helpful to just park across the street at the library, there is always parking there and it's a 2 minute walk at worst to the office. Final Product - The ring is gorgeous, I would post a picture on here but I feel strongly that the design would instantly be copied and that is one of the best parts about not having a standard/cookie-cutter Tiffany ring. So go and make your own and share this great sensation. My fiancée feels that she has a ring that is unique as she is and when people see it they pull out their phones to take a picture. Do yourself a favor and go to Taylor & Jacobson before they start charging what they can (and rightfully should). read more

Catherine has helped me numerous times. Her expertise is hard to find. She is a master craftswoman and honest when looking to sell jewelry. I recommend her highly. read more

If I could give Catherine no stars that would be my review. Catherine has my ring. It has been three weeks and I was told it would be a one week. I went to her shop multiple times, to find a locked business, with a note on her door saying she would be back soon and to be patient. She rarely returns my texts or emails and when she does, it is about her personal issues without regard to my feelings or concerns about my deceased mother's ring. I have reported her actions to the police and suggest that you do not fall into her web of deceit. read more

Beautiful original pieces. GIA graduate. I love her work.

Catherine has an exquisite eye for design and pays close attention to the details. She created a beautiful dragonfly pendant which fits me perfectly and I wear always! It is the single most complimented item of jewelry I own. Complete strangers will go out of their way to rave about the piece and inquire about the artist. read more

A must visit for all your jewelry needs! Catherine was very kind and took the time to address all my needs and concerns.

I am so happy I found Catherine. She did a beautiful job resizing my engagement ring and quick! I was having a hard time finding a jeweler that could get it done in less than week and Catherine came through like angel! I will definitely be going back for jewelry and jewelry repairs that come up. THANK YOU Catherine! read more

First of all, I would like to preface this review by saying that it hurts me to write this review because Kent Jacobson is a wonderful person. He designed my wedding band and has worked with my family for many years. He now takes clients by appointment only. Our first experience with him was wonderful. Our past experience was horrible and is sure to be our last. Recently, my husband and I welcomed our first baby boy. For a Christmas gift, I wanted to have a simple band ring made with his name engraved onto the inside. With each child we have, I want to add their name to it. Easy enough, right? I think not... Due to Kent's limited schedule and the fact that what I was wanting seemed to be fairly easy to make, I settled on meeting with someone else. Upon arrival, she seemed to be cold and almost disturbed that we showed up to our appointment. I explained what I wanted very thoroughly. We paid and were told that the ring would be ready in 3-4 days. Just in time for the holidays! 4 days later, I called to check our order status. We were then told then that the ring wouldn't be in for another 2 weeks due to shipping issues from Louisiana. We were very disappointed but patient. Finally, the ring was in. My husband picked it up. When he got home, to my surprise, the ring didn't fit. The engraving was also not what I had specified. You could barely read the name. We then called immediately and scheduled to meet with Kent. I met him and the ring was stretched to fit my finger. She had apparently ordered the wrong size. They then buffered down the engraving and sent me to another location to have the engraving done free of charge. I was annoyed but glad to finally have what I wanted and paid for. I went to this second location only to find out that they couldn't do what I wanted either. I had specified to Kent that I wanted Edwardian Script. This engravers machine was not capable of doing that. Waste of both of our time. After this, I was done. I went to another well known jeweler on North Main and they took care of me. I spoke with the hand engraver there and he engraved my ring without issue. It was exactly what I wanted. For curiosity sake, I asked them the value of my palladium ring. They quoted me half of what I paid. Very, very disappointing. They also wondered why I choose palladium. I didn't, as the women at Taylor and Jacobson recommended this metal. I initially wanted white gold. They explained that palladium is a a softer metal that is the hardest to engrave on and isn't necessarily the most longest lasting. Being that she knew I wanted to clearly engrave on this piece and have it for quite some time, why would she recommend it? Very confusing. She seems to either be uneducated in her trade, was trying to make more money of us, or had a palladium ring sitting around that she wanted to get rid of. In conclusion, I wish Kent the best, but we won't be back. I still have yet to get a call to confirm that my engraving turned out right. They probably aren't even aware that I had to go elsewhere and pay out of pocket to have it done right. Quite frankly, I don't even care. My priority is that my ring was done right and Spitz Jeweler made that happen. My advice to Taylor and Jacobson is that they improve their customer service. The consultation should have been much much thorough and detail oriented. I can't imagine the outcome had my idea been more intricate! They have yet to apologize to me or follow up. For the value and experience of choosing a special piece of jewelry, I would not recommend Taylor and Jacobson. read more

Love Kent. Great designs. Had my wedding rings made with him!

Thinking of fine jewelry? Think Taylor Jacobson! Simply no substitute for artistic, custom, beautiful jewelry! Downtown Walnut Creek has a "gem" of a store here. They consulted and custom developed a gift for my wife that fit each and every criteria I had, leading to the perfect gift! Call to schedule a time to drop in, you'll be happy you did! read more

Something must have gone wrong. I have dealt with these people for over 30 years and have always been delighted, from custom designs to repairs. For a full week, I have given them the benefit of the doubt. But it's my jewelry they have and beneficial thoughts are only carrying me so far. I am only writing this review to hopefully spur Taylor and Jacobson to better their communication. I have left messages every day for a week trying to track down my overdue repairs/jewelry. I'm stressed and upset because all four pieces they have are extremely sentimental. My grandmother's locket with my great grandmother's photo inside and my wedding ring amongst others. I truly feel there must have been a family emergency or something like that. And I'm sorry for any grief that might be going on. They need to communicate with their client base, especially any of whom have jewelry in their possession. The thought of losing my wedding ring has me so completely freaked out that I'm writing this review in hopes of a response. If something came up, that is okay, life happens. But they need to communicate. Not one answer to my many calls. No one in the office. Fed Ex notices waving around on the door. UPDATE: KENT JACOBSON IS NO LONGER OWNER OF THIS BUSINESS. Many incident reports have been filed with the police. The woman who bought the business is not responding to calls or emails. I am terribly distressed about ever seeing my jewelry again. But I hope. I was told by a reliable source that she would NOT have stolen it. All I can do is wait it out. read more

I brought in my old engagement ring & another gold ring that had a missing stone where the original opal had cracked. Catherine found a perfect sized replacement stone for the opal ring & credited me a very good price to use the diamonds from my old ring to make a pair of stud earrings. Both were beautifully done; the cost was very reasonable & the service was persoanl & very fast. I will definitely use them again when I am looking for a special piece of jewelry or a gift. They were great! read more

The end result was amazing - but the WORST customer service ever! Many phone calls went unanswered, deadlines passed - so frustrating!

We had a ring made from two older rings, and it turned out beautiful. Catherine is very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. She even repaired my dad's wedding band that had to be cut off, and it turned out perfect. Gorgeous jewelry. We'll be returning to have her design a wedding band to go with my engagement ring. Great service, quality work, great prices. Highly recommend! read more

Catherine came highly recommended as I needed someone to fix my 23-year-old wedding ring which surprisingly had broken. She thought she could fix the original ring, but as it turned out, she had to recreate the whole ring. She did it perfectly and in fact, did a much better job than the original jeweler. She made it much stronger and I can't imagine that this one will ever break! She went above and beyond to repair my ring and keep the original design. Now it is my turn to highly recommend her. I would give her 10 sparkling stars if I could! read more

I had given my wife a ring for our 40th anniversary. The size of the ring was not correct so she brought into what I thought was a professional jeweler to have it sized properly. In the process of this the stone was not removed as a precaution and was cracked. In this situation they informed my wife it was an inferior stone, not worth the AIGL appraisal and replaced it by splitting their cost with us. Turns out the carat was smaller by one and a half carats on the replacement. In the process they ruined the whole meaning of the occasion and handled the situation unprofessionally. One would assume that a company that had been in the jewelry business for 28 years to know their trade and how to handle customers. We will not use this company again- beware. read more