David of California – Goldsmith

Thanks Unilocal for the great recommendation! ! I had a sterling silver cup that somehow got a noticeable dent in on one side and a giant scratch at the top. I took it to him to see how it could get repaired and he told me it would likely not be perfectly symmetrical again but he’d try his best. Two business days later I just picked it up and you would never know it was dented and scratched. To top it off he charged a VERY reasonable $ 35 for the repair. BTW I agree with the other reviewer that his store is set up in a very haphazard manner however his work is impeccable so who really cares?!? He definitely won my future business!

I just picked up my ring and it is fantastic. It needed sizing and the prongs renewed and I did not like the way the ruby looked so dinky and unimportant. While I was on vacation, David found a nicer ruby for me. I came in to check it out and it was perfect. The diamonds and ruby sit high and look so classy! I have been coming to David for ten years and he always does a great job! I don’t care that his shop is not fancy. David is a craftsman, not a decorator! I just care that he does such nice work. I have never been disappointed in all the years. Thanks so much, David!

I took David two inexpensive silver rings for resizing, to make them smaller. I made a HUGE mistake and didn’t ask him what he would charge to do this work. I trusted him because I’ve had rings re-​sized many times at another jeweler’s (Eclipse on University) for about $ 20, so I figured he would charge about the same. I also trusted him because he had made a ring for me a few weeks earlier at a very fair and reasonable price. Was I ever wrong to trust him this time! I was shocked when I picked up my rings and was given a bill for $ 119. I accept that it was my responsibility to get the price before leaving the rings, but, still, I will never return to David. (Oh, and by the way, when I picked up the rings, they were three sizes too small, even though he measured my finger quite carefully and wrote down the size.)

David has fixed a variety of pieces for me over the last 5 years. He recently recreated a pair of earrings for me where I had lost one of the two. They look great. He truly is a craftsman! And, unlike other jewelry shops, David does the work himself right there in the shop. I am so glad that he is there!

My mom had her wedding ring designed here over 20 years ago. Recently, my dad purchased a tourmaline stone which we decided we wanted to turn into a ring. I had a vision of what I wanted to with the stone and he created it perfectly! Thank you David for your amazing work, we will be back!

Searching for an engagement ring that you will have on your hand for the rest of your life is important to say the least. I was looking for something that was unique, a one of a kind. One of my friends told me that a goldsmith in Old Town would listen and between us create a design that he would bring to life.
David is an artisan who has honed his skills for over 40 years, it shows in his attention to detail and the perfection he demands of himself.
I have arthritic fingers with large knuckles but amazingly David was able to build a ring that fits perfectly and stays in place using a couple of tricks in design.
If you are looking for an old world craftsman who really cares about satisfying his customer, look no further, David will design and build you jewelry that will take your breath away.

I visited David of California after searching high & low for someone that could fix my grandmother’s necklace. He was the only goldsmith in San Diego that would take on the task. He is a skilled craftsmen! He repaired the necklace and then I commissioned him to make earrings. Not an easy task since the necklace is intricate and vintage. I gave him full rein on coming up with an earring design that took my breath away! I was so taken by the earrings that I started to cry. My grandmother would be so happy to know that now I can wear her necklace and the wonderful earrings. This project and my experience was both positive & rewarding.
You can’t go wrong with visiting his shop. It’s nothing fancy but it is a working studio. It’s great to know the artist that actually did/​does the work!
KUDOS to David of California…

top quality work!!! 20 years ago we had david design our wedding rings and we are so proud of both of them! we get comments about them all the time. when our son was born, david added a 3^rd little dolphin to my ring-​his work is fabulous! i highly recommend him!

I’ve been a customer of David’s for about a year. He is simply fantastic. I had a number of items that needed cleaning and appraised. He did a very thorough job on cleaning and repairing various items and did some custom work for me as well. He is a true craftman. He was meticulous in keeping track of all of the pieces I brought in. I trust him completely. His prices are very reasonable and he’s a nice guy to boot. I highly recommend him!

I’m not at all impressed with David of California Goldsmiths. His shop is small and very disorganized with crooked pictures on the wall. Everywhere you look there is disgusting candycorn in little glass dishes — who knows how long its been there — yuck!!! His disorganization is scary — he has random peoples’ jewelery just laying about and doesn’t seem to remember who had what.
We had David make our wedding rings and he never quite got mine right… It was supposed be curved to fit around my engagement ring. I left my engagement ring with him on several occasions so he could get the proper design and fit (I was scared leaving it with him as he was so disorganized — I thought I might never see it again)
When I came back to look at the wedding ring it didn’t match the engagment ring — I explained how I wanted it look — and what needed to change — we did this several times and he still couldn’t get it right — so finally I got tired of the back and forth and just took the best he could do.
Just today (a few months later) — my wedding ring broke — it disconnected at the sauter point — needless to say I’m very upset — under no circumstances should a ring that is not even a year old break!
So my advice is to avoid candycorn and avoid David of California Goldsmiths!