On Oct. 21 I brought a brand-new 14k gold herringbone necklace to Joseph Jewelry in Bellevue, WA to verify the gold content. I was prepared to pay but they didn't charge me. I also brought an antique necklace for extensive repairs & a pair of earrings for re-plating. The clerk, Willow, took my herringbone out of its pouch, in which it was lying flat, & curled it into a messy figure-8 onto her tray; she pressed it in place w/ thumb & forefinger & took it to the back. She made 2 trips to the back & carried the necklace this way twice.I made a note to check the herringbone before leaving but forgot b/c discussing the antique necklace took ~3 hours. When I got home I checked it & noticed a small bend near the clasp, where she'd been holding it. The bend was small, but the necklace had been in absolutely flawless condition when I brought it in. I left a message w/ them even though it past 6; no one called me back by next afternoon, so I called (Oct. 22). The clerk said I had no way to prove what I said & was very defensive, even though she had nothing to do w/ the situation. I went by in person same day & spoke w/ Willow. She & her colleague handled the necklace & swore they felt no damage (shocking). Willow seemed cold compared to how friendly she'd been the day before. In Willow's shoes, I would have felt absolutely awful - I already told her I'd wanted a herringbone for many years & was finally able to afford one. I had it 2 days before Willow damaged it. She didn't seem to care. I told her you should always hold herringbones flat, not curled as she'd done, but she seemed skeptical. Willow did at least apologise, but it came across as more of a "Sorry you feel that way" apology instead of a sincere "I'm sorry I did that to you" apology.I spoke w/ the manager, Danny, by phone Oct. 25. He said herringbone necklaces are HARD TO DAMAGE. Google herringbone necklaces - they are NOTORIOUSLY easy to damage! They can bend just getting snagged in your hair! I met Danny on Oct. 26 & asked to record our conversation. He refused - fair enough, maybe that was weird of me to ask. I asked him at least a dozen times to watch the store footage w/ me to see how Willow handled the necklace. He kept refusing. I asked him why he didn't want to watch the footage w/ me - he just stared at me. He handled the necklace & said he felt no damage (again, shocking). I said if he thought the necklace was brand-new, why not replace it then? He said he had no herringbones in stock. I said he could order one. He stared at me. I asked him multiple times to teach staff to handle herringbones flat in future b/c I was worried they would do this again, but he refused even this! I asked why he didn't want to teach staff to handle herringbones carefully, & he just kept saying he didn't see a problem w/ how Willow handled my necklace. I noticed, however, that when he himself handled the necklace, he was VERY careful & did not twist it into figure-8s the way she did. Which shows he DOES know how they should be handled & he knows Willow messed up badly here. I asked him what incentive employees have to treat customers' pieces w/ care if any damage they do isn't going to be fixed; again he said Willow did nothing wrong. HIS EMPLOYEE DAMAGED MY EXPENSIVE NECKLACE & HE REFUSES TO MAKE IT RIGHT!He kept saying they checked the gold for free; I responded they damaged my property for free. Besides, I'd offered to pay for the testing!He said in 30 years he'd never had this happen. I said in 20 years I'd never had a jeweler damage my things. NOT ONCE did he apologise.He said he would change store policy so no employee would handle pieces w/o the customer present. WHY CHANGE POLICY IF NOTHING WRONG HAPPENED HERE?? I told him this was an unfortunate situation as his store was really nice & they seem to do good work, but I wasn't going to let them work on my antique necklace anymore. What if something went wrong with it? Obviously I'd have ZERO help from management if that happened, so it's best to go elsewhere. They will weasel out of rectifying any damage they do.
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