Ollie Trout's Jewelers

I should start by saying that my ring is 100% perfect, even better than I expected. I first took the broach to a few jewelry stores in downtown Austin and they all were rather rude. When you think about it; their lack of interest makes sense - a jewelry store has to send out an heirloom and pay a designer to reassemble the new piece. A jewelry store doesn't make much money on that type of work and would prefer you buy a new piece of jewelry. When you work with Brian Mikeska, you work with the designer and cut out the jewelry store middle man. My mother had heard Brian's name from her clients and then we realized we knew his name because he had shared a design shop in the 1970s with the designer and friend of my parents who created their wedding rings. Brian was always very professional and I never waited for an appointment. His design services were affordable and I was so pleased with my ring!! The only thing that you should be warned about - Brian takes forever to complete your piece. He's very busy and I would allow a month or two to get your jewelry back. The other thing that was difficult for me is that his office is located in a beautiful, historic building on Congress Ave. and it was hard for me to get downtown during work hours to meet with him. All in all, I wouldn't take my design services anywhere else. His quality of work is worth the wait.