Ben Bridge Jeweler

I am glad that we didn’t read the reviews posted on Unilocal before we went into the store and in hindsight I do not understand the bad reviews at all as our experience was simply amazing. We worked with Carol Adra who was truly awesome. We had visited several stores in our venture to find the perfect wedding band and the reception was mixed when we walked in with pictures of what we were looking for. Carol met the challenge head on, initially showing us what was in the store and acknowledging that it was different than the pictures. She went on to show us options from several different catalogs and honestly spent a great deal of time with us talking about the different designs and materials. This was a much welcomed interaction after our previous encounters of ‘no we don’t have anything like that in the store’. Carol not only got that sale but she has won our business. We have been back in for several other things from watch repair to ring cleaning and re-​sizing and the service remains outstanding. Keep up the great work Carol and we will see you next time.
Bill & David

I previously posted about my horrible experience with trying to repair my engagement ring at the Ben Bridge Jeweler at the Domain. As I technically had their stone in my ring, I decided to give their Barton Creek location an opportunity to correct the other store’s mistake.
I took my engagement ring to Ben Bridge Barton Creek in early December. The Ben Bridge Domain location had replaced my ring with the wrong stone and charged me $ 200 more than they originally quoted.
I worked with the manager at Ben Bridge Barton Creek and he promised to correctly set my ring with a 1.0 carat princess-​cut aquamarine stone (charge me for that only) and refund me for the incorrect emerald, 0.08 carat aquamarine stone. Here is how it worked out:
1) It took more than a month for the manager to track down a 1.0+ carat aquamarine princess-​cut stone. He assumes this is why the other store put an emerald stone in my ring without asking since they are easier to find.
2) The manager had me come in and look at two different grades of aquamarine stones and gave me slight price discounts on each. The Domain never even told me there were different kinds of grades in aquamarine stones. Though more expensive, I decided to go with the higher grade, slightly larger stone because of the clarity and blueness of the stone.
3) The manager told me he would expedite the stone and should have the ring back in a week. He called me in the middle of the week to confirm the stone, carat, etc and asked if I wanted basket or prong-​setting. We decided prong-​setting since it would fit better against my wedding band and was more affordable. This was around Valentine’s Day so of course it took two weeks longer and the ring came back in late February.
4) I went to pick up the ring the day it came in (this store is almost as bad at the Domain on calling and I always had to call and leave messages to check in on the progress). The ring was incorrect for the 2^nd time in my experience (and 1^st at this store) because they put the stone in a basket setting and it put a 1″ gap between my band and the engagement ring. After 3 months of waiting, spending significantly more than I originally intended, and picking up 2 «wrong» rings, I was visibly upset. The salesperson responded by being short and rude to me, refused to call the manager to ask why the ring was wrong, then apologized and gave me a Starbucks gift card and asked me to wait 15 — 20 minutes (was actually 45 — 60 minutes) for the manager to arrive.
5) The manager «expedited» the ring back to the jeweler, asked them to correct the setting, and offered to discount me for the stone, work, and pay for the shipping himself. After almost 4 months of having the ring back and forth between two Ben Bridge Jewelers, two mistakes, countless conversations and frustration, I finally picked up the correct ring at the beginning of March. It took me a few days to get used to the 1.08 carat princess-​cut aquamarine stone but it fits perfectly against my wedding band and compliments it as nicely as the original pearl did.
It took a lot of patience, phone calls, and mistakes but the Ben Bridge Barton Creek did finally correct my ring. It was a very stressful, frustrating, emotional experience, but I do appreciate the Barton Creek manager finally getting my ring corrected and being so generous with the pricing. He should relocate to a different jeweler that actually gets it right the first time.

Jewelry falls into a scary area of shopping. You could spend $ 1000 on something worth $ 50 and possibly never know it, unless of course you got an appraisal on it.
Ben Bridge is a national jewelry chain that I have been pretty loyal to for about 6 years now. Every time I decide to treat Mrs. L to something shiny I look at other options and almost always end up back there.
Their products range in price from inexpensive to 5 figures with lots in the middle. Their quality is better than that of a Zales or most other places in the mall, but falls below a Tiffanys. Their staff tend to be knowledgable and are always helpful which is the key to why I’ve been back.
I once had an issue with a pair of earnings and they immediately handled the situation. Best of all, I heard one term that nobody has ever said at a jewelry store to me. «This is negotiable.» What? But it has a tag with price? I didn’t know that? But, my wife’s wedding band wasn’t negotiable that I bought at the place by the Brookstone, was it? Oh, crap!
Yes folks, jewelry is negotiable. This was the first place to tell me that, and that’s really why my loyalty lies there. If you do your research and come in with a fair price, these guys will work with you.

I took my watch to Ben Bridge for its normal service check-​up. The watch was sent to the centralized location, and 9 weeks later was returned to me apparently serviced and ready to wear.
My first jump into a swimming pool resulted in immediate fogging. After ~18 hours the fog had dissipated, and I returned to Ben Bridge to have it evaluated. The expectation was that a fix could be done in store and the watch would be returned inside 7 days.
After more than 30 days, a broken crystal, and bent dial I have my watch back. Two complaints…
1. During that 30 day period there was zero proactive communication to me about what the status of my watch was. I initiated each conversation through either a visit to the store or a phone call. In each of these conversations I learned of a new problem, that should have been disclosed in the prior conversation.
2. There was no offer of compensation after this mess was complete.
I can’t stress enough that if you require customer service when interacting with a store — this isn’t the place for you. I found out during my 30+ days without a watch there are plenty of places in Austin to purchase and service luxury watches with GREAT customer service.