My fiancé and I recently visited Artinian Jewelers in Lexington, MA, and I feel compelled to share…read moremy experience. Twenty-five years ago, I purchased a gold setting from Artinian at the Jewelers Building in Boston (which they are no longer located in) for a diamond ring that had been passed down to me by my grandfather. The ring had a damaged setting, as my grandfather--being 'old school'--had cracked it while trying to adjust the size himself with a pair of pliers, fearing that jewelers would replace the original diamond (an old miner's cut) with a cubic zirconia, which was apparently a common practice back then. Despite this, I had a positive experience at Artinian and regarded them as a reputable jeweler, one I would frequently recommend to others and trust with my own jewelry.
Fast forward to today, and the ring no longer fit me, needing resizing and the prongs reset. My fiancé also had a ring enhancer that was too small to wear with her engagement ring and needed resizing. We thought this would be a simple request, as ring resizing is a standard service for any jeweler. So, we weren't expecting to leave without knowing the cost of the repairs. However, we were surprised when Artinian asked us to leave not only the two rings for resizing but also my fiancé's engagement ring for them to "determine the size of the enhancer." This didn't make sense to us, as they had already taken measurements of the ring, and we were only requesting an estimate at that time. Nevertheless, we complied, leaving the rings behind and were told we would be contacted with estimates.
Three days passed without any communication, and we grew increasingly unsure about whether resizing the enhancer made sense, as it depended on the cost. I called to inquire about the estimate and was told by a woman on the phone that she was unfamiliar with our job but would look into it and get back to us--presumably the same day. But no call came. For three days in a row, we called, each time being promised a callback with an estimate, yet no one followed up.
My fiancé, now feeling uncomfortable without her engagement ring and growing frustrated, wanted to visit the store and get the rings back. While I had previous positive experiences with Artinian, she had never dealt with them before and was less forgiving of the poor service. She felt it was best to part ways with them and find another jeweler.
At the end of the day, with still no estimate in hand, we visited the Lexington location. We explained to the desk staff that we had dropped off our rings for an estimate a week earlier, called multiple times to follow up, but had not received any response. One of the women behind the desk then informed us that estimates typically take a week. I questioned how long the actual work would take if estimates took that long. At that point, the goldsmith from the back suddenly stood up, angrily approached us, and said, "Go find another jeweler." He accused us of "barging in" and demanded that we leave the store.
Clearly, there was no intention of offering an apology or taking responsibility for the lack of communication and poor customer service. The situation escalated when I asked to speak to the owner. The goldsmith quickly replied, "You don't need to know who the owner is," and insisted that we leave immediately. I told him that I would be sure to share my negative experience with my friends and family, and I asked him how this behavior benefited the business. He had no response. In a highly competitive industry, pushing customers away like this is a surefire way to harm the business in the long run.
It became evident that the goldsmith was stressed and overworked, taking his frustration out on us, the customers. This is not a recipe for success. My initial visit to Artinian was based on a positive experience from many years ago, but it is clear that the business has changed since then--and not for the better. The current staff seems disengaged and has lost sight of why they are in business: to provide a service that makes people happy. Jewelry is purchased for special occasions, to celebrate important moments, and this experience completely soured me on Artinian.
I will never return, and I encourage others to read this review and others that share similar negative experiences. It's important to carefully consider whether you want to trust your valuable jewelry to a business that clearly doesn't prioritize customer service or satisfaction.
Upon reviewing other negative feedback, many of which share my concerns about poor customer service, I noticed that the Owner of Artinian has responded. However, rather than taking responsibility, the responses focus more on offering an explanation for why the problems occurred.
When a customer reaches the point of leaving a review, an explanation feels irrelevant. Disenchanted customers like myself have already moved on, as there are plenty of other skilled jewelers in the area who value their customers.
