MacKinnon Jewelers

I brought my Tag watch in for repair. The owner, Tom, put in a new battery for $10. Suffice it to say, he has a new customer.

The older male worker's response was this is a cheap piece of junk and not worth fixing. Didn't ask him that, just asked what it would take. He's always rude and have had other repairs and battery replacements done. Some repairs were not done properly and he argued it was fine when it was not. Have taken my business elsewhere permanently.

They had a knowledgeable and pleasant staff. This company has great prices. I got my watch back as promised,

.

unknown

They were a pleasure to work with, things were ready when they told me they'd be, and it's the kind of shop that you like to go to. The price was also very much in line.

Knowledgeable friendly associates. Took a total of maybe 10 minutes. Treated us like valuable customers. Would definitely return.

I have an antique, self winding watch that belonged to a beloved uncle. It hasn't been worn for over 40 years. I started to use it but it was not keeping good time. I assumed that it was gummed up from age and needed cleaning and lubrication. I checked Angies List for and quot;watch repairand quot; in my area and MacKinnon Jewelers came up.
I took the watch to MacKinnon Jewelers and they said that they do not repair watches in house so they would send it out for an estimate. The estimate came back at $700.00 so I declined to have it repaired. The high price was because parts are no longer available for a watch that old. When I picked up the watch, a very pleasant lady said that there was no charge and they do that as a service. I had anticipated paying for two way shipping and time involved.

I clearly asked her if the diamond was worth the price appraised *even* if it was one clarity grade lower than my certificate and to my surprise she very clearly confirmed that it was still worth 3500/carat (it is 3.27 carats). Apparently she made a mistake in saying this and is now admamantly denying she ever said it and implying I'm a liar. But I didn't find out until I had paid her to appraise it. She said she normally appraises items like this to be retail value at 50% above wholesale, which would have conservatively valued the ring at $13312.50, assuming that was the price per carat. However, based on what she originally said, the ring should have appraised for $18,312. However, the ring setting alone is heavy custom made 18k gold and I could not have reproduced it for under $1500 retail though they insisted it was worth only 700. That a bunch of nonsense and anyone reading this will know a custom made 18k ring of 7.5 grams isn't going for that price.

If she had corrected her error, the ring would have been appraised at $13312 just to be fair. Still she and Tom refused to appraise it over 12k. What really makes me angry: she originally appraised it at 9,100! I had to load my baby in the car and drive all the way over there just to deal with them and to be insulted like that was the last straw.

I have a sneaking suspiscion here that these people are just a little resentful that I can find much better pricing elsewhere and was simply going to them for the completion of my projects, which I had done with many pieces of jewelry in the past.

It is insulting to have one's work undervalued and I have never had this problem with a ceritifed (independent) GIA appraiser in the past. Her appraisal was hand wirtten and very unofficial looking. I have, however, frequently seen local store jewelers get resentful when I bring them a piece I got at wholesale price. They look for way to undervalue it and make you think you didn't get a good price. I know my pricing and I know how to get a deal; don't try to fool this lady!

In the end they refused to refund me the money I paid for the appraisal AND refused to write up the value based on wrap sheet price, and I only got a partial refund. So, basically I had to pay for their mistake. I was insulted and won't do business here ever again.

Update:

In reply to the owner's reply. You recollection seems to be based on paperwork. I never resold the diamond. I purchased it for my brother in law and made no profit at all; he reimbursed me dollar for dollar. You seem to be implying I had a goal of overstating the value of this ring, which is not the case. Gale over stated the value of the diamond itself, upon which I then requested an appraisal as an added thing to make my brother in law feel even better about the purchase. The appraisal I was given is in the garbage. My brother in law, and all of my close family and friends for whom I have selected a diamond, trust me implicitly, and I have never in any way profited from any of my selections. I'm not a jeweler. It is true, the stone is heavily included, not what I would have chosen. The point is that you should have give at least a partial refund because of the initial error Gale made in her verbal estimate, which you were not present for at the time, and to which she denies. However it is good to see you now active on Angies List and I hope in the future you will treat customers like myself a bit more fairly. Your gold work was very decent (you might also recall I have extensive collections too, and don't sell those either). I appreciate integrity in this business you are in and think a bit more accountability is all you need to keep a customer like me (but it seemed like you didn't want to).

They offer a very fair price and the are quick and do the job well. The store is beautiful, well light and clean.