San Francisco Provident Loan Association

We’ve been to Provident twice and both times were very pleased with the service and quotes, which were fair. There are so many things that a jeweler takes into account when pricing jewelry. I feel like we were treated well — very nice people, everyone we talked to, so pleasant.
This company has been around for 100 years so don’t let the huge, expensive looking bldg fool you — they built it from scratch. My advice, if you want top dollar for your old, tacky gold jewelry — resist buying said jewelry and buy real estate instead. :/

Don’t do business with this place they want you to hold your check until it clears and then they will give you your items very inconvenient, you give to go there twice just to get your items and manager is not helpful at all, and if you want to pay with your ATM they charge you a fee. I had done business with provident before, a customer for over 5 years and they always took my personal check as a form of payment to retrieve my items except this time and the joke of a manager they have there tried to tell me is their policy when I had done the same before, oh well they just lost a customer.

Do not come here with your gold and jewelry. The reason I went there was the great Unilocal reviews. But wtf. I brought in easily $ 700 worth of gold and maybe $ 200 worth of silver. After waiting 45 minutes of them sorting and checking authenticity, the lady came back with an offer of $ 500 for everything. I wanted to laugh but was so insulted by jester of trying to take me as a fool. She seemed like a nice person but shame on them. I later went to the tenderloin and sold half the items for an easy $ 500 bucks and sold the rest in another pawn shop in Chinatown for $ 500. Total 1 grand!!!
My advice check around first before dealing with them. I’m glad I didn’t give up.

I sold a small box of scrap jewlrey. I took to 4 different places around SF. Provident gave me the best price by far. Also, they were able to buy a lot of the jewlery that the others separated as «not buyable.» I am confident that this is the best place to take scrap jewelry, or has to be in the top few in S.F.

Very professional, and respectful despite of petite transaction. The building is very secure and clean. Feel very comfortable while I were waiting for a quote.

I went in to sell my ring. The lady who helped me was very kind and friendly. She inspected the ring and told me she wouldn’t be able to give me very much for it but a consignment store might pay more. She recommended some local consignment stores. I appreciated her candor and helpfulness.

I want to thank Marcus Chait for the most incredible engagement ring. I was recommended to Marcus from my friend in the San Fran area. I am located in San Diego and was a little apprehensive not being able to meet him and see the jewelry in person. This is a big investment… right? Not only financially but for your personal happiness… LOL
I asked my girlfriend what she like and she said «I am not particular». I was like ok. I mentioned that to Marcus via email and he just laughed. This is for sure not his first rodeo. He said Patrick don’t let her fool you, go back and ask what she wants. Thank you again Marcus… she all of a sudden had a cut and style she just loved. Hummmmmm!!!
He then told me to go the website to check out a few rings and pretty much guaranteed me the ring she would pick out. Well he was right! We got an amazing price and a quality product. Marcus’s group is also making two custom bands to go in front and behind the engagement ring. I have seen the one and it matches perfect and I can guarantee the second band is going to rock (no pun intended).
I cant thank SFPLA enough on how easy they made this process. My now fiancé… thank you… is super happy and thinks I am the best ever.
I would highly recommend this group!

I cannot say enough good things about this establishment. Mr. Chait helped my fiancé (still feels odd to call him that!) pick out the perfect ring. I really wanted my fiancé to choose a ring (rather than me helping to pick it out) and Mr. Chait was very patient and helpful in offering a selection of settings based off of a few inspiration photos. I absolutely ADORE my ring and cannot stop staring at it, it is beautiful and unique (No cookie cutter mall rings here!) and I cannot say thank you enough!

Wonderful collection of gold product, watch and diamond really be the choiceable to anyone and be happy from purchasing here from my experience. the arrangement of that very nice. the product of diamond with numerous design keeps me logged here and I found two serviceman are unbelievable friendly awesome as their collection.

I needed to get some jewelry appraised for insurance purposes several months ago. I’m embarrassed it took me so long to write this review!
Ben couldn’t have been nicer and I could very quickly tell that he is a true expert in his field. He walked me through what he was doing, explained where he was getting his numbers from, and taught me a few things about my diamond rings and earrings etc. I’ve some experience in buying and selling jewelry so I was really impressed with how knowledgeable Ben was.
I had lost one diamond earring and Ben gave me a very reasonable quote to get a replicate earring. I assumed I’d need to turn the earring into a pendant so I was very thankful for his suggestion.
Ben was helpful, gracious and is a super nice guy. If I’m shopping for new jewelry or need another appraisal, I would definitely come see Ben again. This is a gem of the city. I highly, highly recommend working with Ben if you’re in the market for buying, selling or getting your jewelry appraised.

Ben is what made my experience great. I had to sell some jewelry that i inherited and hadn’t done so before. I called a few places, visited a few, and was underwhelmed. Then I went to Provident, and worked with Ben.
THere is a feeling you get from someone you trust. They make eye contact, they don’t rush you, they consult books and others as they make their determination. Ben did all of these things, and was a gentleman to boot. No pressure, all professionalism. Thanks Ben and I will be back!

It’s not often I get to walk into a shop and state that I’m here to sell gold. In some cultures giving a baby gold jewelry is a tradition. I can honestly say I don’t understand why but surmise it has something to do with a gift/​blessing/​good fortune? In most cases the jewelry is very high quality gold and also very ugly. In most cases this jewelry goes into a safe deposit box never to be actually worn. Why is it that people hoard gold? Yes, it’s shiny and yellow. But I can’t imagine it’s more useful than say whiskey and cigarettes in emergencies. Maybe you hoard gold because you don’t trust paper money. In any case I recently came into possession of my baby gold because my parents quite naturally decided they were tired of hoarding it for me and it was my job to find a use for it. Being a very practical person and knowing that gold was trading at a good exchange rate, I decided to turn it into something I could use — cash.
I’d been to Provident Loan before to hock some ex-​bf jewelry and since it was super close to work — don’t want to walk too far with a bunch of uninsured gold in my purse — I decided to try there first. They were again super nice. You have to be buzzed to let in but I guess I look safe. They first tested the quality of the gold (k and all that) and then weighed it. Luckily I had an aha moment the night before and weighed it myself and did some quick back of the envelope calculations of how much it was worth on the open market. Advice: do this so you have an idea of what you would accept.
Then the owner came down and wrote a quote on a piece of paper. Since it was quite a hunk of money I wasn’t going to go with the first bidder. I told them I was going to shop around if they didn’t mind and could they write down the details for me. They said sure, I should be happy with where and how much I was going to sell it for and filled out a form in case I came back I could still get the price they quoted.
I will say after going to another place highly reviewed on Unilocal that Provident did end up having the best initial quote by about 10%. However, I was able to get the other place to match and exceed the price because they were miffed that they weren’t really offering the best price around as their logo said. I felt a little bad because Provident was so nice and were initially the most generous, but this was strictly business.

So, Ben contacted me immediately upon reading my poor review and offered to write up the appraisal right away as well as politely suggested for me to reconsider my Unilocal review. He said he couldn’t find my appraisal notes and fell somewhat behind in appraisals as they were not his core business.
Although appraisals may not be their specialty, it is indeed a service that is advertised on their website. I don’t think it’s ridiculous of me to expect for it to be completed without my having to chase them down for it several months later. The ring was appraised on May 17^th, and he completed it on Oct. 1^st. I’m not sure what the typical turnaround time is, but this was undoubtedly longer than expected and shall I say, a bit unprofessional. If they can’t do it, then they should tell me. i’m not sure if things would’ve been different if I had purchased items or other services from their store. He did seem to know quite a bit about gemstones and jewelry.

Nothing new to really say, but I wanted to echo the many comments. Ben was very patient and explained everything as he gave me a price that he would be willing to pay for a diamond ring we were looking to sell. Even though the price he gave me wasn’t what I was hoping for, he explained why he couldn’t offer more and gave me a couple of contacts at local competitors that might be able to offer more than him.
As we all know, the jewelry/​diamond game is quite complex and Ben definitely does his part to educate you on the process and what your best options might be for your unique situation.
Highly recommend a visit to Ben for anyone considering selling… even if you just end up learning more about the options.

The many five-​star reviews Ben and SFPLA receive below are very well deserved. Today I visited SFPLA, a year after picking out a sapphire and diamond wedding ring, and once again received amazing service.
A year ago my husband and I decided to get married right before departing for Europe. We didn’t have much time to find a ring, but I knew I wanted something vintage, and something with a blue sapphire. I did some research and clearly, SFPLA is the way to go if you’re looking for vintage rings. And sure enough, I found a beautiful ring that was just perfect. Ben gave us a fantastic deal and was a pleasure to work with, even re-​sizing the ring *twice* (free of charge) to get a perfect fit.
After a year of wear and tear the vintage ring now needs a little bit of attention. I called Ben to see if he could recommend a good place to have it cleaned and adjusted, and he said to just bring it by and he’d take care of it.
I dropped by SFPLA today and again, left very very happy. SFPLA is a great place, with knowledgeable and kind people working there plus an excellent selection of unique jewelry to choose from. I recommend them without reservation.

Ben & Juliana are both excellent at what they do. They are professional, courteous, and friendly. If they don’t want something they tell you why. They don’t make you feel bad, just that they don’t have a market for it. That’s fair and I can accept that. They also know good things when they see it and offer very good prices for them. They take their time to examine, weigh, count everything, so you know that any offer is after careful consideration. I was there for over an hour and received a really good offer on everything. Since I know what my things are worth, I can definitely say their offer is very good. But really, the reason to go to them is because they treat people well.

Ben and team were fantastic. I went in to purchase a diamond ring and they provided me numerous options. They had a lot more than what was online and behind the counter. They treated me like any other jewelry place but didn’t try and sell me something I didn’t want. Meaning, I wasn’t made to feel guilty for trying to stick to a budget. They mounted, cleaned and sized the ring and she said Yes! Then they re-​sized the ring as my guess was way off. This place is a class act.

Ben was awesome. He started our appraisal right when we got there even though we were a bit early. He was pleasant and informative throughout and let us look through the microscope (?) to see what made our possession «unique.»
The appraisal fee of $ 65 was very fair compared to other jewelers we called and we were satisfied with the final appraisal. The layout of the place was bright and airy, with high ceilings and a security guard. Several of the items on display were lovely so I should probably stay out of here for a while. Then again, I have a $ 65 credit to use on future purchases…

I needed to sell a piece of jewelry, and these guys are great. I walked in and spoke to Joey. He was very professional, straightforward and a pleasure to deal with. He offered me a fair price for the piece, took my information, and I walked away with a check about 20 minutes later. I would absolutely go back to this place to buy or sell.
Thank you Joey!

I just left SFPLA and am thoroughly pleased with my experience. The person I made the appointment with, Ben, was knowledgeable, personable and honest.
My appraisal was painless and educational. I’m not a bling girl so I don’t know much about diamonds and jewels and whatnot, but I inherited a ring from my sweet mother and needed it looked at for insurance purposes.
It wasn’t like an antique roadshow moment or anything, but I was happy to see that the ring has some value beyond sentiment.
Since I have toothpick fingers, I’ll have to have the ring sized and I won’t hesitate to bring it back and have it sized by San Francisco Provident Loan Association. And, when I find the need for a wedding band, I’ll definitely be back here. What a great local business!