I’m writing this review to warn others to be extremely cautious when dealing with Bradley’s Jewellers in Harrogate after what became a five-month ordeal involving my late father’s Rolex.In June 2025, I took my late father’s Rolex Oyster Perpetual for a simple valuation. I knew it would be sent to the Harrogate branch for assessment and explained that I wanted an idea of value with the possibility of selling depending on what it was worth. When I spoke with Peter Bradley Jnr, he offered me a price. I told him that as I was at work and didn’t know much about watches (something he later took full advantage of), I would need to discuss it with my family first. After I turned down his offer, he immediately tried to pressure me into a part-exchange for jewellery at nearly twice the cash price, a tactic that felt manipulative and opportunistic. A few days later I confirmed I did not wish to sell, and he assured me the watch would be returned the following week.That return never happened. Instead, Peter repeatedly told me the watch would be back “in two weeks,” over and over, for months. What he never disclosed was that he had already sent it to an outside repairer in Manchester for servicing and refurbishment without my knowledge or consent. I was never told who this repairer was or whether they were Rolex-certified, information I still don’t have. You wouldn’t take a Porsche to a Fiat garage for servicing; the same principle applies here.When I finally confronted Peter Bradley Jnr, after weeks of lies and deliberate silence, he admitted the watch had been sent away “by mistake” and called it an “embarrassing error.” He even instructed me not to contact the original branch, isolating me as a customer and keeping full control of the situation while withholding vital information. I was told I should be grateful because they were treating it as a “free service.” Yet after that supposed apology came a demand: unless I paid at least part of the unauthorised service cost, he would “put the watch in the Harrogate shop window for sale.” Hearing that was shocking and deeply distressing, this was my late father’s watch, and I suddenly felt like I was being held to ransom for someone else’s mistake. He behaved as if the watch already belonged to him, taking decisions and making threats over it without any agreement, paperwork, or legal right to do so.In early October 2025, both Peter Bradley Jnr and Janet Bradley called me. The conversation was heated and emotionally draining. Peter maintained that I had agreed to sell him the watch (something I never did) and Janet backed him up even though she had not been involved in any earlier communication. When I asked where the written confirmation or payment was to prove any sale, there was none, because none existed. Peter then said the watch would only be returned if I signed a “legal agreement” stating that if anything went wrong after collection, Bradley’s would bear no responsibility and that I would agree not to post negative reviews.After months of delays and stress, I finally collected my watch on 1 November 2025. At collection, I was presented with a typed statement from Peter Bradley Jnr claiming that I had booked the watch in “with a view to sell,” that I accepted the unauthorised service, and that I agreed not to write negative reviews. I signed only to confirm receipt and wrote a handwritten note underneath making it clear that my signature did not indicate consent or acceptance of those conditions.To this day, I still don’t know exactly what work was carried out on my father’s watch or by whom. Despite repeated requests, and even confirmation from Claire Bradley that they would provide an itemised list, nothing has ever been supplied.This experience caused months of anxiety, sleepless nights, and emotional distress. I placed my trust in a family-run jeweller, only to be met with dishonesty, intimidation, blackmail, and a complete lack of accountability. What began as a straightforward valuation turned into a nightmare that no customer should ever face.
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For over 45 years Bradleys have built up an enviable reputation as Yorkshire’s leading purveyors of fine jewellery and watches from some of the worlds most iconic and internationally recognisable brands.
