Bear Claw

I’ve been coming here for over ten years for all jewelry repair! Recently had two necklaces that needed to be fixed and she did it in 5 minutes!!! Highly recommend for repairs!

I’ve been relying on Bear Claw for so many years that I can’t remember how long it’s been. I’ve received nothing but high quality service, done in a timely fashion. And the charges have always been less than I expected to pay. I rely on this service. It has always been good to me.

Do not trust this jeweler. I dropped off some of my mother’s vintage clip-​on earrings and a pair of 14 karat cuff links from my deceased father to be made into pierced earrings with the understanding that my brother would pick them up for me while I was out of town. The 14 karat cuff links were replaced by cheap gold colored discs. I have filed a police report.

After trying 10 different stores to get links taken out of my watch I tried here. I live right down the street so very convenient. All the stores before wanted 20 dollars to do what takes 2 minutes. The lady here was very kind and easy going. She took out the links for free and wishes me a great day. Very good place with great customer service. I will be recommending this place for any jewelry repair!!! Thanks

I like small businesses.
I like low prices.
This place is both — and I still don’t like it.
They carry cheesy, plastic jewelry which has come in handy a few times for theater but other than that most of the jewelry is to be desired.
It’s usually pretty dim in there, and the owner always smells strongly of stale smoke.
She posts photos of shoplifters she caught on the wall — whereas I understand what she’s trying to do — it makes me feel weird.
And to be honest, the owner is… well she’s rude. She seems to think she’s doing all of us a favor by BEING there — which I suppose is true. Her prices are ROCK BOTTOM for cheap watch batteries, and simple jewelry repair. But at this point in my life, I’d prefer to pay a little more for better (less pungent) service.

I found Bear Claw through Unilocal as the closest watch repair near my office. I am a concierge for a law firm, and one of the attorney’s needed 2 watches sized. It was done quickly while I waited, and she charged me less than 10 dollars for both. When I got back to the office and the attorney tried on her watches, one was too small. I brought it back to Bear Claw and she added a link back for free. I then went to Bear Claw a couple weeks later when my boss needed a battery for her watch, and in less than 5 minutes she had it changed, and only charged me 5 dollars.

I love Jo and this place. It is the best hidden secret in Central Scottsdale.
Whatever you need you will receive an honest opinion from the delightful owner. Her prices are more than fair!!! She replaces all my batteries and sold multiple items of sterling silver and gold. She also has interesting small items in this quirky store.

A friend recommended this little shop many years ago. I own a lot of watches and when I need a battery change or a link taken out of a new watch band, this is the place to go. Jo has been here for years and knows most of her customers as they have been repeat customers for years. A previous reviewer mentioned the Brighton watches. Yes, they can be a bit more difficult to open, but I own 2 that Jo has changed the batteries just fine. I also have more expensive watches that I have never gotten a scratch on (I’m very detail oriented and would have noticed) and she just took out some links on a new watch 2 days ago. Fast, easy and so reasonably priced. Great neighborhood find.

If you’re looking for a cheap battery replacement for that old beater watch you’ve been wearing for years, you’ve found the place. While customer service is… ahem…restrained at this overgrown gift shop, you won’t find a better deal on watch batteries.
That noted, do NOT take any timepiece more valuable than a Timex here for any sort of repair or battery replacement. In the course of replacing batteries in two of my Kenneth Cole watches, one was returned missing a hand from a subdial, the other stopped changing the date. After locating a reputable watch repair shop, it cost me $ 95 in repairs to fix them. Naturally, I would have preferred spending a few dollars more for the batteries to forego the repair tab. Nonetheless, I did find an excellent repair shop called Gem Time nearby.
As a side note, I was advised by what appeared to be the owner of Bear Claw that the watch repairman only works on round-​faced watches. This would seem to be a fairly serious handicap for such a trade. I had to chuckle.

Once a year I go to Bear Claw to replace the batteries on my watches. Jo may not be talkative, but will muster a few words if that’s what you need. After she takes the battery cover off, she’ll take the battery and check to see if it really is dead by using a battery tester, or if there’s something wrong with the watch itself. Once in awhile, she’ll find that the battery still has some juice left and immediately reaches for a dirty toothbrush (cringe) to clean off whatever dust may be preventing full contact. After replacing dead batteries with new ones, she replaces the covers with an old pill bottle altered to allow her to apply pressure to the covers with minimal to no visible scratches. Be aware that the covers of Brighton watches always seem to take more coaxing to detach and re-​attach. If your watches are new, or you’d rather not chance the occurrence of scratches, take them elsewhere, but I’ve only noticed a scratch, or two after visiting Jo at Bear Claw over the last few years.
$ 6 for one battery, or $ 5 each when you bring three, or more!
p. s. Bear Claw seems to sell gently (and not-​so-​gently) used clothing and other items. I haven’t stopped to actually study what she does sell, so I can’t tell you what you may find. Years ago, the scent of the place reminded me of the food and/​or fish sections of pet stores, and at other times, of used cat litter, or perhaps of a musky dog in need of a bath, but that was before, and now the place just has that old musty-​attic scent that lingers over gently– and not-​so-​gently used human and pet articles. Anyway, I just go here to get my watches working again, and Jo always sees that they do!

Hannah is the best.