Frank’s Jewelry & Watch Repairing

It is well worth the wait. I went on a Saturday afternoon and waited about 30 minutes but when it was my turn they were very respectful and took the time to see what was up with my (several) broken watches. I had gone to another watch repair store in the loop where they put on a strap that was not the right size, and Frank’s took the time to properly measure my watch and have it fixed right. I highly recommend coming here instead of any of the repairs in the loop where they rush you and just want a quick buck

I am so sorry that Frank’s Jewelry is closing. I love the family so much and always enjoyed looking at the beautiful things while waiting to have things repaired.

Just FYI, Frank’s is closing for good after this month. Letter posted on door says they will only be open Wednesdays and Saturdays til then. Sorry, I forgot what their hours will be on those days.

I brought in my Michael Kors watch in pieces in a baggy. I had dropped it, and then my boyfriend had taken it apart to try to fix it and couldn’t even get it back together (bad idea). Needless to say, I thought it was hopeless. I brought it to a few places on jewelers row, and they all turned me away saying it would probably cost more than the watch to fix it. I’d have to leave it, they’d charge 20 – 30 for diagnostics and then it could run over 100 to fix. I thought I’d give it a final shot with some good old fashioned Unilocaling, which landed me at Franks. (Thanks Unilocalers!) ANYWAYS, they took my watch baggy in back and brought it back in 5 minutes reassembled and working. I got out my card to pay, and there was no charge! I got back into my car (parked in 15 min parking with my flashers on) with my watch as good as new, and my faith restored in humanity. I wrote this Unilocal review before even starting my car, and I will definitely be back!

Dropped in for my first visit on a Saturday around 5 — only 2 people ahead of me so there wasn’t a long wait. It only took a few minutes for them to remove 3 links from my watch. $ 5, fast, and easy. Please don’t waste your money going to any major retailer in the city to get your watch repaired!

An avid Unilocal user, I am elated to be able to write my first official review for Frank’s. I had been looking for a place to get my boyfriend’s Michael Kors watch fixed. A simple fix, the long pin on the piece connecting the band to the face was broken, but the Michael Kors store where I bought it gave me the runaround and handed me a card to call Fossil and send in the watch.
I found Frank’s on Unilocal and had to come after seeing such rave reviews! We parked outside with the hazards on and went in and were pleased to see the quaint shop. We waited only about 2 minutes, and the woman (Cheryl?) took the pin out, walked back and fixed it within about 3 minutes. Within that few minutes, a line formed behind us. She smiled, charged us $ 2, and we were on our way! Not before stopping to check out some of the vintage jewelry, and read the newspaper cutouts from great customer service reviews from the 70’s!
Quick, cheap, friendly. We are going to be back any time we need a watch or jewelry repair and will be sending all family and friends their way. Great service!

This place is the best! They are super sweet and take great care of your watches. I have been using them for years. Whether I’m going in to have one of my antique watches cleaned or getting a battery for my one of my wife’s quartz watches, they always deliver. Prices are very reasonable and they are a local company that needs our support. They give great service so please support them!

No fuss, yet effective service. Very reasonable pricing for watch resizing. Also sells many interesting watches (modern to vintage) for a little jewelry shopping while your watch is being fixed. Great neighborhood — while doing your watch repair errands you can come out for a good stroll.

Perfect Everything! We went in to get two watches serviced on a Saturday… One needed a battery replacement, and the second one needed to have the clasp fixed on the band so it could close properly. There were two very nice ladies taking care of the store when we arrived, and both were busy. We didn’t call them before we arrived, but both watches were still attended to magnificently, with a smile, with amazing speed, price and kindness. What a wonderful time! And in the 10 minutes we were there, my wife used their crayons and paper that they provide to draw a picture for their wall. You would think you find this kind of place in a small town, but this was Chicago!!! Long live Franks!!!

I’ve been going to Frank’s for years. They’re super nice people and honest as can be. Case in point: my Tiffany brass shelf clock stopped working. Took it to Tiffany’s where I was told it wasn’t the battery and they needed to send it out for a repair quote. The quote? $ 163.50. Thanks, but no thanks. Picked it up today. Ran over to Frank’s. The price to repair it? $ 4. That’s why Frank’s will ALWAYS get my business. Not so sure about Tiffany’s…altho I do love the little blue boxes.

I found this place because of Unilocal.What a find! They take great care with their customers and my only complaint is that I had to wait, but its because they really do a good job. Plus the price or a battery replacement is he best in town. They have a new, loyal customer!

I went there just to get some watch batteries replaced and they were able to replace batteries for 4 watches while we waited. I was also in the market for an antique engagement ring and they had 3 or so that looked nice though they were a little smaller than what I was looking for. There is also, on display, plenty of other antique jewelry and some really nice watches like waltham, elgin and omega. The person I dealt with seemed very knowledgeable so I’m excited to see what they can do with my automatic watches when they’re due for service.

Hard to beat the price of watch batteries. And staff is great.

I had to come here due to the fact Express does not service the watches they sell. They do not take the links out of their own watches and they sell the women’s watches with the same amount of links of a men’s watch.
The woman at the counter in Express referred me to this spot to have the watch links to be taken out. First of all, you have to knock on the door to be buzzed in and sometimes they do not always hear so knock a little hard. Once inside the place is pretty narrow so not a huge waiting space. Due to the fact hat they have two people working there, it could be a bit of a wait and they can get pretty busy. They are pretty good with getting the links out and looking at your wrists to see how many needs to be taken out. They charge $ 5 for the service and you will need a minimum of $ 10 to use credit/​debit. You can also buy jewelry here.

I can’t believe people complain about having to wait in line at Frank’s. Sure it can happen, but that’s a small inconvenience. Look, you’re getting quality and trustworthy service. You’ll stand in a ridiculously long line for a new iPhone, iPad or chocolate cupcake, yet some have complained about waiting in line at Frank’s. Gimme a break. There’s a good reason people, and an impatient person such as I, are willing to stand in line at Frank’s, it’s because they do good work at a fair price. Enough said.

I can’t think of what more I would want out of a watch repair shop. The ladies behind the counter (I presume kooky sisters since this detail makes my hole-​in-​the-​wall find even more of a gem) are fascinating and genuinely appear to love watches. I overheard a rather knowledgeable conversation concerning detailing on X brand of ladies watches and the changing styles over the years. The convo was clearly over my head, but just the type of discussion you want to hear from your watch repair ladies, and not the depth of discussion you would expect to hear when your watch ladies are only charging you $ 10.
Fast. Cheap. Friendly. The «Sisters» are whizzes with watch batteries. Plus, when you wait you get to look at the shop’s clutter of watches, jewelry, and random antiques while catching up on Wheel of Fortune playing in the background.
Last time, I brought in two watches that I presumed needed battery changes and wasn’t charged anything for the second watch that merely needed the battery to be re-​secured. How nice. I also tried to tip, but was denied. I wish this shop wasn’t limited to jewelry and watch repair because I think I would trust these ladies with other items like my vacuum cleaner, computer, or car.
Who is Frank, though?

Got charms put on a bracelet. Service was very cheap but well done. Even fixed other loose charms free of charge! — Will defiantly make my stop for repairs.
Actually abeyance is a little shady; very rustic and crowded. I wasn’t drawn to the jewelry selection. — Would not make an actual purchase here.

Thanks to Unilocal for helping me find this place!
I damaged my tension-​set engagement ring, and after a frustrating experience with a fancypants jeweler in the Loop, my husband reminded me of Frank’s, which had fixed his watch earlier in the year.
We wandered in on a Saturday afternoon, and was given an estimate of $ 20, which was great. Service was friendly, and no attitude about the fact that I’d chosen a synthetic diamond (dear other jewelers: I don’t come into your store and give you crap about the ethics of the diamond industry, because I think buying a stone is a personal decision. Please extend me the same courtesy).
They had to send it off because it was tension set, and they said it would probably be done the following Saturday. My husband phoned them on Friday on the way home, on the off chance, and it was ready to be collected.
The woman explained that the man who had done the repair had to add a small bridge as the metal was really twisted, and so they’d been charged $ 40. Would it be ok to split the difference and charge $ 30? He said $ 40 was reasonable, and insisted, and handed the card over. She charged $ 30! He didn’t have any cash on him, but couldn’t believe how nice and honest they were. She said she didn’t like to go over estimates, which I respect a lot.
So I am impressed with the quality of the work and also with their price, and the fact that they try to be honest with their customers. This place is a gem (pardon the pun), and was worth traveling across Chicago for!

Handsome Boyfriend inherited a watch from his Grandfather. His Grandfather was beloved… he still wears the watch, even though it had long since stopped working. It also had a battered band, scratched face and the date function froze far, far back.
I have been waiting for a chance to take it for repair for over a year now. Think about that. A YEAR! If I thought I could pry it off him while he was sleeping and get away with it I would have…
Finally he went out of town for a week! I stealthily snuck watch over here for repair. After reading reviews on Unilocal,especially during the
Holidays I was prepared to be camped out here for a week or better! This was NOT the case… Cheryl popped the backing, replaced the battery, cleaned the watch, updated the date and even replaced the face in less time than it takes to order a latte, It was awesome. I briefly debated engraving, but decided that really wouldn’t go well on a family heirloom.
When he opened the box, he and his family thought it was brand-​new watch. They were all very excited to see it, talk about it, and admire both the watch itself and his Grandfather. It could not have been a better present. Cheryl didn’t just polish a watch, she polished the memories of an entire family!
I should add my favorite part of the place wasn’t the speedy service, the affordable price or the gorgeous shopping options (check out the contents of those polished cases!) My Favorite: the adorable drawings on the wall from the children of the owners. I will definitely be back!

So, this time around, I took in a necklace for repair to the clasp. I took it in on May 20^th. I got it back on Sept. 9. The cost was $ 5.00. The clasp does work now. And I’m disgusted.
I originally called to check on the progress of the repair in early June. I was told that they were waiting for the clasp to come in. OK. In mid-​July, I called again; at that point, I was concerned because the claim ticket says that Frank’s was not responsible for items left more than 60 days, and it was getting perilously close to the 60-​day mark. They were on vacation. And by the way, the answering machine does not take messages at any time, so you can only call during business hours and hope that someone picks up the phone.
In late July, I reached someone. I was told that I would receive a call when the necklace was ready. More silence. In the first week of September, I called again, and said I was inquiring about the repair for ticket number whatever. The woman answering the phone said to another woman, this lady is asking about this ticket number, and I heard, «Oh, THAT one!» I heard #2 say to #1, it should be ready soon. Don’t call us, we’ll call you. Lovely. I debated with myself whether I should just go over and get the necklace, forget entirely about Frank’s, and find someplace that would make the repair before the next global ice age began.
About a week later, Frank’s left me a phone message on Saturday afternoon (MY phone takes messages!) that the necklace was ready. And I got there as soon as I could. And a miracle occurred — there were 2 people working, and no customers in the store besides myself. I paid up and hustled myself out of there.
Now, Gentle Reader, before using Frank’s, you have to ask yourself: do I feel lucky? It’ll cost very few dollars. But do you want to put up with a possible wait of months? Literally, months? For me, I’d rather go somewhere else, maybe pay a little bit more, and actually get my repair made in a reasonable amount of time. This little adventure cost me a lot more in angst than it saved me in dollars. It’s a shame, because I’d like to see more family-​run, neighborhood places stay in business. But geez, 3 ½ months? For a clasp? Unbelievable. And unacceptable.