Ware Designs

Had the opportunity to interact with the owner of the store and what I would like to say is that the way you treat people is so important in life but especially when you own a business because everyone could be a potential customer. You should learn to respect people. Just because you own a business doesn’t make u any more or less important than anyone else. Based of the interaction I had not only would I never recommend this business but I can’t imagine with that type of management that it will thrive!

Stay away… not completely honest at all!
Wants your business at all costs… not ethical. Go to a reputable jeweler… mr. Ware makes jewelers all seem dishonest. He’s friendly enough with a motive.

Awesome! Stephen Ware designed my beautiful wedding ring for my November 2011 nuptials. He was great about staying within our budget and really worked to give me exactly what I wanted. And Stephen was a great guy to work with — very kind and interested in hearing about the details of our wedding. I came in with a photograph of a ring I thought was perfect and he improved the design to make it even better. Now I have a one of a kind ring that I will wear forever. I get compliments on it all the time and I love that no one else in the world has it except me!

This sounds like a great place to have something designed or for engaged couples. Let me just say to all those engaged couples, don’t come here when you have children! When I first brought my husband’s watch in for repair, I had my four-​year old with me. Being a typical four-​year old, he was interested in all the pretty things in the glass cases. He was putting his face and fingers where they would rather not have prints, I will grant them that. However, my son was literally barked at by the proprietor, I assume, two times about not touching the glass and the woman behind the counter once. This store is in a very family friendly shopping center, practically right next to Trader Joe’s. There are lots of people shopping with children in all these stores, and this was the first time in the 8 years that I’ve had children, that I was ever made to feel uncomfortable in a Lafayette shop. As you might imagine, I was trying to conclude my business quickly since I could tell my four-​year old was becoming increasingly distressed and did not notice they did not write the repair quote on the claim tag. I was told that the cost would be $ 40 to fix my watch. Lo and behold, when I picked up my watch today, the charge was $ 50. The woman behind the counter had no explanation for me. And as I had two of my children with me this time, I was in no place to argue about the discrepancy. I will never, never use this store again, no matter how convenient.

Stephen Ware is skilled, professional, warm, ethical and just an all-​around great person with whom to do business. He is not only an expert jeweler, but fair in prices and supports his local community through his leadership in the Rotary Club.
He has resized my husband’s wedding ring and gotten a fine watch that was not working properly to work, as well as having done good work for other members of our family.
He is the best.

Took my engagement ring in to have a prong fixed. Mr. Ware did not charge me and even offered advice on how to strengthen and/​or change the setting. Can’t wait to design something with him!

Wow!
I went into Ware Designs a few weeks ago, not realizing it was the same jeweler who had been located in The Forge.
Back in 2005-​ish, I stopped in to Ware Designs in The Forge. I was interested in having a custom ring made out of a pair of earrings I had inherited. At that point, I thought the owner had been having a bad day, or had a bad hangover, or his girlfriend had just dumped him, or maybe he just really, really didn’t like the look of my outfit. I don’t know, but from the moment I stepped in to his shop, his demeanor made it pretty clear that dealing with me was a pain in the butt.
Fast forward to Fall, 2009. I bought some greeting cards at Papyrus, then decided to stop in to the new jeweler’s shop in the Trader Joe’s/Post Office shopping center. If I had known that it’s the same guy from The Forge, I wouldn’t have bothered. I’m not sure what the second reviewer is talking about, because this guy appears to be rude all the time. I made a friendly comment about the relocation and asked how he was settling in, and based on the cutting look and terse answer the guy gave, you would think that I had committed some sort of treasonous faux pas.
The funny thing is, his jewelry designs aren’t anything special, in fact they remind me of the stuff you see people selling on Telegraph. My advice is to patronize a different jeweler in Lafayette. There are a handful of friendlier ones.

First of all, you must know that I love love love the engagement ring my honey custom designed for me at that place in Oakland where all the couples in love love to go, and I have not a word of criticism for the quality of their work, their customer service, or the experience overall. That being said, when it came time to shop for our wedding bands, something just didn’t quite click for us at that aforementioned jeweler in Oakland. It wasn’t anything tangible, but something made us hesitate. A good and trusted friend heard about our hesitation and recommended a jeweler she and her family had relied on for years (Great!) in Lafayette (errrmmm? me scared.). Well, since it was our good and trusted friend, we put on our «I hella *heart* Oakland» tees and made the trek through the tunnel.
When we met Stephen Ware, it was almost immediately clear why our friend is so good and so trusted. There is something unknowably reassuring about speaking directly to an artist, especially when you’re about to entrust big bucks to the person, and here, you get all the time in the world to speak with Stephen. He offered an plethora of suggestions (necessary, since apparently, my honey had spent all his creative juices on designing my engagement ring), but not even a hint of pressure. All this delivered with a laid back confidence and hilarity that won our trust and confidence that he give plenty of time and attention for our rings. Again, nothing exactly tangible, but our experience made us *want* to get our rings here. Oh, wait. I know what it was. The Wedding Industrial Complex index here is low low LOW. *And* is prices are *great*. Oh, how my heart glows.
So far he’s been an absolute joy to work with. I will update when our rings are finally complete! I hope my honey realizes the kind of love for jewelry this man has awakened in me. :)
Eight months after the wedding, and the rings are perfect. The hubby does lots of martial arts with weapons and whatnot, and the ring is comfortable enough for him to wear through class. Mine fits perfectly around my engagement ring without the two sliding away from each other. Can’t wait for some anniversaries to start rolling around! ;)