How to find a trusted local jeweler?

[A bottle of Red]

I've seen posts recommending finding a trustworthy local jeweler because they don't charge the markups like branded jewelers do, they can repair your items etc. and that makes sense but how do you go about finding one in a new area?
I have gone to a local jewelry store and the owner seems nice and knowledgeable with years of experience, but how do I know if he's being honest?
For example, if I want to buy a piece of jewelry he's selling that has tiny melee stones, they would not have Gia grading , so how do I know what I'm really buying? He can tell me they are xyz color & clarity but I don't have the eye to see the difference.
Or he says a bracelet is handmade, and really good quality, how do I know?
I mean it looks like a nice gold bracelet but are there things I should ask or look for?
Unfortunately, two people in my family have been scammed in the past by "trustworthy " jewelers in our previous neighborhood so I just am not sure how to be sure.

 

[sdkitty]

I've seen posts recommending finding a trustworthy local jeweler because they don't charge the markups like branded jewelers do, they can repair your items etc. and that makes sense but how do you go about finding one in a new area?
I have gone to a local jewelry store and the owner seems nice and knowledgeable with years of experience, but how do I know if he's being honest?
For example, if I want to buy a piece of jewelry he's selling that has tiny melee stones, they would not have Gia grading , so how do I know what I'm really buying? He can tell me they are xyz color & clarity but I don't have the eye to see the difference.
Or he says a bracelet is handmade, and really good quality, how do I know?
I mean it looks like a nice gold bracelet but are there things I should ask or look for?
Unfortunately, two people in my family have been scammed in the past by "trustworthy " jewelers in our previous neighborhood so I just am not sure how to be sure.

word of mouth? do you know anyone in the area who has nice jewelry?

 

[A bottle of Red]

word of mouth? do you know anyone in the area who has nice jewelry?

Unfortunately not; this is a small town with not many people buying quality jewelry. I had thought about looking in a city a few hours away but I know absolutely no one there either to ask.

 

[JOJA]

Go in and just browse ~ ask some questions you know the answers to and see what they say.
When I was searching for my diamond I went to a local store I wanted to work with. I did not let on that I knew anything about diamonds and the jewelers answers gave me all the information I needed to know that I couldn’t trust him.
Sometimes you just have to act like you know nothing to find out everything, lol!

 

[lorihmatthews]

I have usually had good luck finding reputable companies on Yelp.

 

[Swanky]

Are you on Facebook? Most communities have local FB groups, you could get great insight from a local group.

 

[A bottle of Red]

Are you on Facebook? Most communities have local FB groups, you could get great insight from a local group.

I'm on fb in local groups, that's where I even learned about this store.

 

[A bottle of Red]

Go in and just browse ~ ask some questions you know the answers to and see what they say.
When I was searching for my diamond I went to a local store I wanted to work with. I did not let on that I knew anything about diamonds and the jewelers answers gave me all the information I needed to know that I couldn’t trust him.
Sometimes you just have to act like you know nothing to find out everything, lol!

I tried asking a bunch of questions about diamond grading ( not that I know much myself) and some gold pieces but like I said I don't know enough to truly evaluate.
What types of questions did you ask @JOJA ?
I did have a piece given for repair as well so that might tell me how good their work is since they do the repairs themselves.

 

[limom]

Go to a well established jewelry store, ie someone who has been in business for a long time.
Review yelp, ask nextdoor(those senior are brutal and don’t give a crap about feelings, love them)
Start with a small piece of jewelry and see if you like the work and ask for feedbacks from others.
I hired a GIA appraiser to review and appraise some of my eBay purchases, some good news some awful mistakes.

 

[JOJA]

I tried asking a bunch of questions about diamond grading ( not that I know much myself) and some gold pieces but like I said I don't know enough to truly evaluate.
What types of questions did you ask @JOJA ?
I did have a piece given for repair as well so that might tell me how good their work is since they do the repairs themselves.

I mostly asked questions about the cut quality and inclusions. I did a ton of research and with the help of @ame (she's on here and is crazy knowledgeable about diamonds and SO helpful) I was pretty well versed going in. At one point I asked a question and he was like well don't worry about that, just trust me so I knew it wasn't a fit.
@limon made a great suggestion about starting with a small piece and going from there!

Some jewelers are amazing but some are just sales people and don't care about what you care about. The best is to find someone who aligns with what's important to you!

 

[A bottle of Red]

Those are really good points, thank you @JOJA and @limom
When I looked up jewelry appraisal in my area, this store came up but idk if they are actually Gia certified.
But we were discussing diamond colors and he said well to an extent it's arbitrary based on the appraiser at Gia's opinion .
Is that true? I always thought there were guidelines for what makes a diamond an h color vs I color.
I said I can see the color in my h diamond and he said no you can't see color at h if it's unset . ( my stone is set and I definitely see color)
So I'm unsure

There is only one other local jewelry store here and I had taken a look around but the people were very unfriendly and unwelcoming so I left .

 

[880]

Start with a small piece of jewelry and see if you like the work

This. You also have to like how an independent answers your questions and treats your concerns.
Mine is family owned and scrupulously honest.

 

[A bottle of Red]

This. You also have to like how an independent answers your questions and treats your concerns.

So far it's been a mixed experience there.

I'm definitely curious to see how my repair process goes with them.

 

[limom]

Good move and yes some color sensitive people can see the color themselves.
You can send the stone to Carlsbad as well.
My appraiser does work for insurance purpose.
He is not a regular jeweler

 

[A bottle of Red]

Good move and yes some color sensitive people can see the color themselves.
You can send the stone to Carlsbad as well.

I'm not looking to buy a single stone, I was thinking about a necklace with some small melee diamonds , which might be harder to evaluate?
But we were talking about my own diamond ring and veered into a chat about color and clarity and Gia.