Avant Garde Jewelers

always great service and personal attention combined with stellar craftsmanship!

About a year and a half ago I took a ring in to get sized. Upon advisement of the jeweler I was told I should fix a prong because I was at risk of losing my center stone. I paid to get it sized two sizes in the same 14k gold as the ring and fix the prong. After a month or so I emailed the Brian and said the portion that was sized looked discolored. It’s not even real gold that he used. Now on top of that the place that he «fixed» my prong is changing color it looks dark like when you heat metal. I’m not sure what he did but it doesn’t even look like the same ring. I spent twice as much as expected for horrible workmanship!

It is so refreshing to work with a family owned and run business. We were greeted by their little doggy Niko and her ball on our first visit. My one year old daughter had just started walking and was going a little bonkers. Tamara was great with her! She talked to her, kept and kept her occupied while I worked with her husband Brian to finalize a few details. They were so down to earth and friendly, I felt totally at ease. They helped me to find a couple wedding bands in our price range, one of which Brian custom made. We also had the pleasure of meeting Tamara’s son Drew, very nice young man. If you have any need for a jeweler, look no further, Avante Garde is the place to go.

We came into Avant to have an heirloom ring redesigned. Brian was incredibly easy to work with. He listened to what we wanted and gave insight on how to make our vision come true. Turn around time was only a few weeks (if that) and the price was better that we had imagined! (And much better than we had been quoted elsewhere.) My ring turned out beautifully & I get compliments on it all the time! One even came from a man who was «in the business». He commented on the quality of craftsmanship and style. You can’t get better than that!

I can’t say enough about how happy we are that we met Brian and Avant Garde. He’s an honest man and also very personable and up front. His primary concern is that his clients are happy and everyone is satisfied. He actually talked us down on a ring set up, being more concerned with what would look best over price. I would send anyone to him first and foremost. We had also gone around to 4 other places and his prices beat them by at least 30−40% on some custom work. He’s old school and a one man show. The way it should be.

I’ve used Avant Garde for years. They’re just the best. I first came across them several years ago when I’d put off ordering my now-husband’s wedding band until the last minute. Not only were they able to help me pick out a great ring, but they (miraculously) got it to me on time. I’ve also had them clean and resize my engagement ring (at which they did a flawless job), repair a few watches, etc. Every time the customer service has been stellar and the work has been exceptional. They’re really great at taking the time to talk you through different options. Again, this isn’t just one experience, this is over the course of the last five or so years. Avant Garde isn’t just some run-​of-​the-​mill jewelry store, it’s a family run business by true jewelry professionals. Can’t recommend them enough.

After visiting Diamonds Direct, I just felt like there was a better option for engagement rings in Austin. After giving Brian a call roughly two weeks ago, I picked up the ring today.
I don’t have enough nice things to say about Brian and his team. He is truly a humble jeweler with a heart of gold with a fun personality to match. Brian’s prices are not only fair, but the quality of his stones are top notch. It’s rare you feel this good after walking out of a jewelry store haha
tl;dr Brian is the most amazing jeweler this side of the Mississippi. Go see him. Now.

I broke a prong on my engagement ring, and needed it repaired. Obviously, I wanted to make sure that whoever I took it to would do a good job, and I was nervous about it. I found Avant Garde through Unilocal,and I’m happy I listened to the other good reviews. Brian was great. He took a look at my ring and explained how it would need to be repaired. His estimate was spot on, and the ring doesn’t look repaired; it looks brand new. They polished the gold band, so 13 years of nicks and scratches are gone, and shiny smooth gold is left in it’s place.
Other people have complained about phone calls, but I had to leave a message, and my call was returned promptly. When I went in to pick up my ring today, Brian even asked if I got his message.
Next time I want something new or need something repaired, I won’t hesitate; I’m going here. Avant Garde is my jeweler in Texas.

I’ve had nothing but amazing experiences working with Brian over the last couple of weeks. The store is fairly easy to get to with ample parking.
The first time I came here was to fix my wife’s watch. My wait time was short and I had a great experience as his bed side manner was great. I was happy I was treated equally with the same attention as a customer looking for an engagement ring. It turned out I needed a new battery, which he replaced and ensured worked to his satisfaction as well as mine.
I had to come here again yesterday, because my wife had another watch that needs a new battery. The service was better. This is great being a repeat customer. Brian was busy working on big project for a client he paused his work to change the battery my wife’s watch. I was very satisfied with the prompt service and attention I got.
I would recommend Avant Garde for jewelry repair as well as for new jewelry purchases, because he has a good reputation in the neighborhood. Next time I need some jewelry I’m looking forward to making this a first stop!

We designed my wedding ring with Brian in 2010. I wanted my step kids stones on either side of my diamond. Not next to the diamond, but built into the side of the diamond so you can’t see it from the top (if that makes sense). One is an opal and the other day I noticed it had fallen out. It is very small and I went back to Brian to fix it. Not only did he fix it at no charge, but he had ordered 3 extra opals for me back in 2010 because he knew it may be an issue for me in the future. However, he also knew it was important for me to have the opal and didn’t want me NOT to have it just because it is so soft. Talk about great service. Thank you Brian!

After much shopping for a wedding ring, my wife had the idea of taking a cheap ring she had and having it recreated in white gold and with real diamonds. Brian thought along with us, ordered several diamonds for us to choose from, and in the end made a beautiful ring at a price that I consider very reasonable.
Warmly recommended for quality of work, pleasure of dealing with him, and value for money.

Avant Grade resized my engagement ring, the wedding band for my husband to be (both family rings we inherited), and custom created my wedding band to compliment my engagement ring. We could not have been more pleased with the work done as well as the interactions we made with Brian and his staff. Everything was done exactly as expected, if anything came up then we were quickly notified, and our rings look amazing. They also clean my engagement ring each time I have gone in for free whether or not I have asked for it. They truly want the best for their clients and go out of their way to make sure they are satisfied. I would recommend them to anyone looking to have any jewelry work done — resizing, creating, or browsing their shop items.

Owner was rude when I took my daughter (who drove here from out of town) to the jewelery store. We went there because I told her what a great place it was. Won’t go back.

Having been a previous customer (I spent $ 5000 on custom guards to match my wedding ring), I returned to inquire about having a ring fixed that I purchased online: a $ 2000 retail Amrapali brown diamond hinged ring with silver and 14K gold settings and pave diamonds throughout. Brian was in an adjoining room with a customer so the lady I met with said she’d show it to him to see if he could fix it. From the adjoining room and in front of his employee and another customer, he told me that he could not guarantee that that the stones wouldn’t come out. He proceeded to insult my ring, saying that it was not high quality and that the diamonds were cloudy and some of them were chipped. I told him that the ring was not cheap and that it’s my understanding that they’re raw diamonds and not meant to be perfect diamonds. He said that while it may not have been cheap, he could fool someone with paint and a canvas and copy a Picasso. I did not ask for his rude opinion of my ring, I merely asked if he could fix it. Needless to say, I won’t return. I certainly won’t give business to anyone who goes out of their way to embarrass and disparage a potential repeat customer. And I will also warn anyone about shopping here.

The man who runs Avant Garde has beautiful jewelry at reasonable prices. We bought my engagement ring online through Brilliant Earth, but decided to get a coordinating wedding band from AG. The price was reasonable and the ring was delivered within a day. He also offered to re-​plate my engagement ring before the wedding for free!
Now for the star deduction: My voice message to him the week before my wedding about re-​plating my engagement ring was never returned. My husband finally just showed up to ask about it, and they had no idea who he was. They finally remembered and took the ring, but filed it under my husband’s FIRST name. We never received a call that the ring was ready, and again, voice messages were not returned, so finally my husband just showed up to ask about the ring. This is where the filing comes into play: they couldn’t find my ring. When they did find it, they blamed my husband for their filing mistakes!
A friend of mine also used AG for her ring set, and while we are both thrilled with the jewelry, everyone was left with a bad taste in our mouths about the customer service. We won’t be back.

I’m a 5+ year customer of Brian. I don’t buy often, but when I’m in the market, he’s always my first stop. Brian came by the recommendation from multiple close friends. I first went to him to design a custom engagement ring based off a Tiffany’s design. The process to design a custom ring was so easy and fun. Having the ability to self-​select the stone (and bezel stones) was awesome. At one point, I probably held $ 100k worth of stones in my hands as we went outside to see which one shined just right in the sun light.
Shop around all you want, but when you’re all said and done, come back here. You’ll receive better service for a custom product at a great price.

My fiancé bought my engagement ring here, and I had to go in to get it resized. Brian could not have been warmer or friendlier — he told me all about how my ring was custom-​made, how he and my fiancé discussed every detail, etc. I was especially impressed because my ring is quite modest compared to a lot of the jewelry on display here — but still, Brian treated me like a valued customer, and I know he did the same for my fiancé.

Working with Avant Garde was so easy and quite educational for my engagement ring. Brian is kind, courteous, and honest. He informs you about your jewelry so you know exactly what you are paying for and why. He also gave us a great deal on a golden band that I bought for my husband. I originally bought one at another jewelry store, and he sold me essentially the same ring for MUCH less. He fixed up my fiancé’s grandmother’s ring for my engagement ring and did a beautiful job! We couldn’t be happier. He also has some beautiful pieces in his display cases. I highly recommend Avant Garde.

I can see why Avant Garde has so many 5-​star reviews: They’re great, friendly, no-​nonsense people.
I popped in to get my watch bracelet resized (i.e. removing some links), and it was done about 3 minutes later. I then asked about smoothing out some deep nicks on the edge of my titanium wedding band. Brian told me the prognosis on ring (can be grinded/​resurfaced but material is lost), and then he did a quick grind on it that made it mostly smooth without leaving a flat spot. He said there was no charge for the ring, and that if it got more scratched up over time, he’d do the whole thing for $ 5 – 6. Then when I told him that I found them on Unilocal,he said there was no charge for the watch, just to keep spreading the word. Obviously I was happy to oblige, and I’ll definitely be back when I need more significant repairs in the future.

I brought in my grandmother’s ring here that I just received to get it refurbished and fixed. Some of the prongs that were holding the rubies were a little wonky, and I wanted to find out how many carats the diamonds were.
I brought it into Brian and within five days I had a shiny new gold, ruby, and diamond ring. He wasn’t able to fix one of the ruby prongs because someone had done a botched repair decades ago, but all in all, things went well.
He also installed a new battery in my fossil watch for me, and using the Unilocaler discount, I paid only $ 30.
Jewelers aren’t something that you need a lot, so in doing your research, I’ll hope you’ll consider Avant Garde.