So somehow I wound up lucky enough to score an incredible woman for a wife. (I know, right? Whodathunkit...) so I'm looking for a, a simple ring repair on a seriously sentimental piece and b, a new creation that she's had her heart set on for ages.
After the usual fruitless trek through all the big mall chain stores and a half dozen mom and pops... i see this place, only because I was at the stop sign waiting for a break to get on 183... literally on the way to yet another far flung "highly rated"... shop.
What the hell, check it out. Yeah, pretty unassuming. Why not.
Big surprise. Walk in.. you feel the competence, the quality. There's some too hollywood handsome guy manning the counter, I'm like, great, here we go again. But nope. The dude very clearly not only deeply knew his trade...which if you read any of my nonsense, you know is numero uno for me... but he was also not just polished in delivery, but flipping heartfelt. Ummm... ok. Not expected, but I'll give it a minute.
Thirty minutes later, I'm still grilling him.. and he's batting 1000. Damn. For this little shop? Then the guy that's been sitting quietly in the corner comes over. This guy is the o.g. real deal. This guy is an artisan, a craftsman... a producer. I've made, created and fixed stuff all my life. It's a if you know, you know, moment.
He answers my questions, and gives me his bonafides... holy bejeebus. I'm hard to please... real hard, after almost 70 years of witnessing and absorb it every kind of failure...
I leave there having dropped well north of a grand down as an initial deposit for both the repair... and custom work yet to even be designed.
After a good minute going round with the ol lady... I scribble out what she wants for Shad (mr. Hollywood, Joe handsome model guy)... Ray, the dad... checks it... yeah, no sweat (echoing Shad)...
Shad hits me with the cad drawing a few days later... oh, hell yes. I bring the wife in... she melts. It's beyond imagination... more than a home run. She takes the repair.. swoons. It's fantastic. And it is. I wanted strength, on top of looks. Ray delivered, in spades. The wife was a legit body builder /physique competitor back in the day... still occasionally beats the hell out her jewelry at the gym. So it needed to be hardcore strong. Ray knocked it out of the park... and it is exquisite....
I plunked down a few bills for an in stock piece just to show a bit of appreciation... when the custom work arrives, I'll update this review.
The takeaway here is... whether you're off William cannon or liberty hill... do yourself a serious solid and drop in.
Whether you're looking to score with the s/o (in either direction...) or you want investment grade or just want to pump up your flash... this is the place to get it done... and the coin will have you increasing your reach way past what you thought your budget could stand... (and do NOT say "that's a really good price!!! out loud... we need to keep this part of their operation to our little selves, ok?)
As always, not in the habit of shoveling out reviews... only when someone is way spectacular... that's when i don't want them going unnoticed.
Drop in. You'll be glad you did... and your wallet will too... read more