Mercurius

It was so fun to work with Dave on custom jewelry!
I’d had a ring design in mind before getting engaged, but never found anything close and started off with a super simple little Etsy number instead. For our five year anniversary this spring, we decided to ask Dave to custom-​make what I’d envisioned. We met a few times and exchanged emails to draw pictures and talk options, and at each step Dave was super calm, helpful, creative, and easy to work with — not pushy about opinions, but offering great suggestions of various options when needed. The result is so perfect: somehow exactly what I’d imagined, but even better at the same time. The creative touches that he added were so well thought out and special. It feels really good not to have to settle with what’s out there when what I actually wanted didn’t exist.
Thanks, Dave!

David designed a beautiful, unique wedding ring for me. He listened to me and created a piece of art that has so much meaning for me and my future husband. I couldn’t be happier, and I highly recommend him.

Dave is an excellent jeweler and a pleasure to work with. Having little idea of what I wanted I booked an appointment for me and my fiancé to discuss a custom wedding ring set. The friendly dogs running around helped to set the relaxed tone so that I had ample time to mull over possible stones, settings, metals and designs. Dave showed me a number of pieces and drew some sketches to clarify various ideas. For the band we chose an embossed poppy flower pattern, for the diamond we took a stone from my grandmothers’ cocktail ring, and to flush it out we added two Andalusite stones which exhibit pleochroism, i.e. they change color in light. To pair with my ring my fiancé chose an oak leaf pattern that was embossed on a thicker band. I was very happy with our vision but I guess it was a little tricky to actually make. Dave tried a number of methods and fortunately had great success in the end. They both turned out beautifully! Dave also took the time to explain jewelry care, gem sourcing, and the pros and cons of different metals. I even heard about his grand 3-​day wedding and got to know his wonderful family. I highly recommend Dave and Mercurius for unique and special pieces.

I found Dave through Etsy and contacted him about an engagement ring I wanted to make. I met with him and showed him the rudimentary design I had made after a month tinkering with a CAD program I had downloaded. In 30 minutes, he remade everything I had done, and added the things I wanted to do but lacked the skills for. We iterated on the design a bit, and then he made a really nice wax model, which I used to propose. My now-​fiancé loved it, and Dave finalized the design and 3D printed the pieces. I wanted to be involved in the process as much as possible, and Dave let me pour the yellow gold into the case (which included a short tutorial and a practice run on an old piece he had). Dave then put all the metal pieces together, carved the red jade I had found, sourced and set he perimeter diamonds, and resized the ring twice. The result is a ring we will cherish for the rest of our lives.
Dave is super nice, down-​to-​earth, and extremely reasonable in his pricing. An amazing jeweler, and a more amazing human being.

Dave is the truth. He has earned every five-​star review on here. My (then) fiancée and I had a conflict when discussing rings. She wanted something more traditional, flashy and expensive. I wanted something simpler and imbued with more meaning. We ended up sitting down with him and he designed the engagement ring and both our rings in ways that met all of the criteria-​both classy/​elegant and reasonably priced. The rings he created incorporated symbols and designs important to us and were more beautiful than anything we could have come up with on our own or picked from what was available in any jewelry store.
My (now) wife and I love our rings. Not only does Dave do good work, but he is warm and personable. A good business makes you feel like you got way more for your money. A bad one makes you feel like you got ripped off. Mercurius is definitely the former. Anything else would have felt like the latter. I recommend David to all future newlyweds.

We hired David to design and create an engagement ring for my wife, and then again for a matching wedding band. My wife has a unique and particular sense of style, so this was not an easy task. But David did it. We started by showing him photos, and he came back with pencil sketches. Once he had one we liked, he fleshed out the design with CAD modeling. After more adjustments, we got a lovely unique ring that we both liked, with one large stone and a handful of smaller ones. Though his prices pushed our budget, they were reasonable and below the market rate for what we were getting. Throughout the entire process, we found him pleasant, straight-​forward, knowledgeable and very skilled at his craft.

Dave us awesome! We got our engagement stone on our vacation and worked with Dave to create our engagement ring. He walked us through the process, gave us multiple sketch ideas, etc… The ring is amazing, and we will have him create our wedding bands too.

In town for the weekend and contacted Dave after reading the reviews on Unilocal.I had several heavy African bronze/​brass metal bracelets that needed to be sized to fit my wrist. I called him and was fortunate enough to be able to schedule an appointment with him that day to show him the bracelets. He was very approachable, knowledgeable, friendly and helpful and let me know what the pros and cons were in working with that type of metal. After our discussion, he sized one of the bracelets on the spot. I was very pleased with the work that he did and would highly recommend him to everyone. Very personable, reasonable and professional.

Love, love, love the earrings that Dave custom-​made for me. I wanted to wear special hoops with my fiancé’s name and mine on them for our wedding day. They turned out AMAZING I’m so pleased with the look, the weight, and the size of my new hoops. They are going to look so great in pictures and with my dress. If you need anything done, please go and see Dave. Super awesome, personable, and professional!

On a recent trip to Egypt I splurged on a gold charm of my favorite god Set. However when I got him home I felt like he was too fragile to wear. Dave and I worked together to find the right backing on which to put the charm. He really went the distance to find the right piece of lapis and he anchored the charm securely so that now I can wear it with confidence. I really enjoyed working with Dave. His prices are reasonable too.

Dave is amaze-​balls. The end.
Ok, maybe you need more details: Dave designed my dude-​wife and I’s wedding rings (almost 2 years now!) and the process was fantastic, easy, exciting, and surprisingly affordable (especially after visiting those shmarmy custom jewelers on Piedmont — ack!) Hands down recommend working with this super sweet and super talented local artist — in fact, my BFF is having her wedding rings designed here based on our recommendation.
Here’s why we loved him:
— worked with our (rather small) budget and never ever once made us feel bad about that. Jesus, that’s reason enough to love him!
— the fit like a DREAM. This is a huge deal, that I had no concept of (having never had custom designed rings before) and something Dave was very intentional about the entire time. But seriously, I have never worn a ring and forgotten that its even on — really, this is an unexpected and amazing aspect of having rings made to fit my (chubby little) fingers.
— He took our weird ass specific, not exactly matching ideas and actually created two unique but compatible rings. They’re different but go well together, surprise!
Finally, did not bat an eye on the gay thing — sure, its the Bay Area, but after having planned a big gay wedding, you’d be surprised. So, when someone gives no fucks about that, I’m thrilled. Because seriously, we have more important things to talk about… like how awesome his yard is!
Thanks again Dave!

I comissioned David to create a custom charm for my wife’s charm bracelet. There are some animals out there — in this case a Maori Wrasse — that are just impossible to obtain any other way. Anyhow, David at I had good, solid discussions about what I wanted, and we discussed the pros and cons of sculpting the charm versus creating it wih 3D software and making a 3D print. (He is skilled at both.) He was very open about his process and really included me and my input into the process. In the end, what we got was perfect. I enjoyed working with him, and his price was also very reaonable. I’d would recommend his services and would definitely use him again.

WOW!!! All I keep saying is WOW! I had been wearing and loving my engagement ring for over 5 years but unfortunately the band was very thin and diamonds kept falling out. I got tired of paying for replacements and decided it was time to make my ring more stable. I found Dave on Unilocal,sent him a message, heard back the very next day, made an appointment, met at his home to discuss, and 3 weeks later my ring was ready. Dave was wonderful to work with and I am completely blown away by my ring. It is just stunning and I am so glad I found Dave. I would highly recommend him! I could not be happier with my experience.

Dave is rad! If you want unique, one-​of-​a-​kind jewelry, Dave is your guy!!! He made our wedding rings and every time I look at them I fall in love all over again. The design process with Dave is uniquely personal (which alone is worth the 5 stars!) and really brought out the best intention for what we wanted.
My husband and I didn’t really know what kind of rings we wanted at first but Dave helped guide us with his vast jewelry knowledge to rings we both love! He met with us and just starting talking with us to brainstorm what elements were important to us. We were using the stones from a very special family heirloom and ultimately, with Dave’s great eye for design, we developed my bands with elements that honored the original heirloom! After meeting with us, and sketching out several ideas based on our conversations, Dave created a mold for the rings we decided to move forward with.
Every step of the way, I was really stoked with Dave’s honesty and understanding about our wishes. He was never pushy but listened and worked through the design with us. His expertise with materials and his amazing eye for unique elements made for our most beloved wedding rings. I can say more and more, but just go to Dave!!! It was a wonderful experience and worth every penny to have such one-​of-​a-​kind, meaningful rings! Thanks, Dave!

I’ve been meaning to write this review since November 2012. Dave made our wedding rings and we love them!
Hammered finish bands really suited my husband’s complexion/​hands. But he wanted a titanium ring for durability and affordability. All online and brick-​and-​mortar jewelers told us that you couldn’t get a titanium band with a hammered finish. But Dave did it! And it looks great.
My husband wanted me to wear his mother’s 1960s platinum band. It was pretty scuffed up and worn out. Again, all online and brick-​and-​mortar jewelers told us that we couldn’t use the metal from his mother’s band to make one for me with a design that suited me. But Dave did it! And I love it!

Mom’s emerald cut wedding diamond had been stored in my safe for almost four years.
Just waiting for me to reset it.
Mom wore this diamond every day for almost fifty years of her life.
When I searched for the one to reset Mom’s diamond,
Dave came up on Unilocal with five stars on every single one of his Unilocal reviews.
Intrigued, I set up a consult.
Our conversation revolved around Mom, how much she meant to me
and, eventually, my love of orchids.
I am known as Brian, the orchid guy, after all.
Dave is without a doubt, one of the most amazing, kind, creative, intuitive and gentle men I have ever met.
We worked on several revisions of our concept and then cast the ring with gold and sapphires from a bracelet
my mother was wearing when she died.
It is the most beautiful piece of jewelry and I will wear it every day of my life.
I look at it hundreds of times a day and can feel that Mom is with me.
Thank you, Dave. You have done what I could not have imagined and I love this ring.
It is more than special, so much more.
I recommend that if you are looking to create a special, magical and meaningful piece of jewelry– Dave is your man.
Thank you, Dave.
Love is a circle.

Dave is an amazing jeweler and artist.
We found Dave on Unilocal and met with him to help design and make our wedding rings. He was patient and had excellent suggestions. Just as important he heard us and worked with our suggestions as to the design of our rings.
We 1^st met with Dave only a month before our wedding. None the less he hand crafted our rings and had them done on time.
On top of being a great at his craft he is a pleasure to work with and is professional.
Great pluses for an artist.

David is a lifesaver due to his talent and professionalism.
My most very favorite earrings from back when I was a teenager finally broke and David fixed them perfectly, shined them up, and got them back to me in a matter of days.
And for so little money, I felt compelled to give him a little more!

David is a true master.
My engagement and wedding rings were butchered by Poon’s Jewelry (San Francisco). By the time I found David, I was filled with hopelessness. I didn’t think anyone could save my rings. I was wrong…
David carefully examined the items and explained in details how he could repair and revive my rings back to their beautiful state.
Seeing how upset I was, he was gentle and compassionate with me. I really appreciated that!
I am happy to say that he has succeeded in bringing my rings back to their beautiful selves!
If you want to work with a MASTER, David is the one.

David made our wedding rings and my engagement ring, and we love them. Mine were platinum and white gold from my mother’s and grandmother’s rings. My husband’s ring was made from two gold rings– his mother’s and her late husband’s. My husband is a kind of «macho» man who said he wasn’t going to wear his ring. He thought he’d wear the ring at the ceremony, then keep it in a drawer ever after… Once he put it on, though, he didn’t want to take it off! My husband never takes his ring off! He sleeps, showers, and works with it on. David knew that my husband works hard with his hands all day, so he made the ring perfectly shaped to the finger bone. It’s a brilliant design. I love my rings too– classic and simple to my liking.
It’s also awesome that David is a certified green jeweler. I have referred David to every bride and groom-​to-​be that I know! Several have used him and are very happy. He really knows his craft.