Ben Bridge Jeweler

There are so many terrible reviews for this place, but I have been going there for years, so I went today to get new batteries put in two fairly inexpensive fashion watches. One of them was an eco-​friendly watch with a bio-​degradable battery. The employee closest to the watch repair corner greeted me with a smile and asked what he could do for me. I handed him the watches, and told him about the eco-​friendly one. He asked the guy doing the work if they had that battery, and he smiled and said, «of course, no problem». This was at 11:30 am. He told me they would both be done and ready to pick up today at 2 pm. I was out of things to do downtown at 1:30, so I went to check on them. They were finished and both work great! $ 30 for both. For the service and helpful people, it was well worth it! Thanks BB!

I brought a Tiffany & Co piece to add a simple silver clasp.
Wanted to charge me more than the actual piece.
My suggestion is to come off your high end high horse and charge decent prices. I understand mark up. I also understand a rip off.

My engagement ring experience has been a disaster! It all started with the wrong ring. The sales person knew which ring I wanted. My fiancé accidentally ordered the wrong ring # and I was disappointed that this wasn’t caught. The ring fell off my finger. I waited a week for it to be resized. I called to see if it was ready early and it was. I asked them why they hadn’t called me and he said they process too many rings to call each customer individually. That same day my optometrists office called to say my glasses arrived earlier than expected. When I picked up the ring, it fell off my finger again. The sales clerk said we’re going to go down more than a quarter size this time because they would charge me if I had to come back again. I expressed concerns about going down that far, but I trusted their judgment. I picked up the ring the next day. This time the band was warped. I wore it for a few days and I can’t get it off my finger. I’m taking it to a professional jeweler now where I’ll either have it resized for a fourth time or purchase a new ring. You couldn’t pay me to go back to Ben Bridge.

I went in to look at diamond alternative engagement rings and the sales person I worked with said my dream ring was 100% possible and she would look into ordering it. My boyfriend and I were ready to buy it as an engagement ring. After a week the sales gal called me and told me it wasn’t an option because the stone would be too soft and made an appointment to show me alternatives. When I showed up for the appointment she wasn’t there and another gentleman helped me. I found a ring I loved and I brought my boyfriend in to see it. The original sales girl was there and after whispering to her coworkers she finally came over to us to help. She barely apologized but at this point we were so excited to be ring shopping we didn’t care too much. I excited showed my boyfriend the ring and she promptly told me the ring was a bad choice. This is a ring they market as an engagement ring in their bridal section, the diamond alternative bridal section. She walked me away from the ring I had fallen in love with and once again tried to sell me a diamond ring and continued to up-​sell me and inch further and further away from the original budget we set.
By the end of all of this we were so frustrated we walked away from the ring I had fallen in love with. I did a lot of research on these stones she said were «too soft» and they would have been fine. This experience nearly ruined the excitement of engagement ring shopping and I don’t plan on ever going back there. In the end we went to Zales and we found a ring I can’t stop staring at that is 100% in our budget and is so lovely.

Was super unimpressed. The salespeople acted like they didn’t believe me that I was engaged. When I mentioned I wanted to try on a 9 mm wide stone to see how it looked, she incredulously said to me, «That’s almost 2 carats.»
Um, yeah. And I’d like to see it on my finger, please.
In a time where internet shopping is king, I had hoped to have a positive interaction with a human in real-​time.
She did check the size the ring I was wearing, though, which I appreciated. But I would absolutely never buy something from here.

I will never ever set foot in another Ben Bridge as long as I live.
I have been going to the Alderwood BB for years and each time u leave there I feel even more like crap. The staff is ok but never super knowledgeable and basically as far as I’m concerned, the only thing they’ve done well for me is is size a ring which I could have done anywhere.
1) I took my 16 year old engagement ring in to look at possibly upgrading. The ring was purchased at an upscale Seattle jeweler and was by designer Joey Clapper, 18k gold and platinum with a solitaire, the same ring was purchased by a Seahawk player for his fiancé and there were only a few made. After looking at my ring, the BB employee told me my ring was likely a mistake and why on earth would someone make this. Was told I should probably just modify it and then she was basically done helping me. I left embarrassed and feeling like garbage for no reason at all.
2) Took another ring in to have appraisal, after about 25 minutes, guy concluded that the lab my paperwork was from was «likely a 3^rd party lab» and after that told me they wouldn’t do an appraisal. Again, left feeling like garbage.
3) Went to look at pandora charms for my mother in law, I never really know what I’m looking for and basically just want to be shown charms in a certain price range, again, this proved too difficult for the sales person to handle so I left, went to the pandora store, walked out 5 minutes later with a purchase.
4) Took a Bulova watch in for repair because it stopped self winding, after 20 minutes was told they couldn’t handle it and to send it to Bulova direct… which actually turned out for the best because it was warranty work and I’m sure BB would’ve screwed me on price and still not fixed (assumption based on previous reviewers experience).
5) Took a 15k solid 18k gold Rolex in for band repair and was treated like the watch was a piece of crap because it was probably 20 years old. Heaven forbid they have to touch something that old. Again, left feeling like garbage.
I highly recommend people take their business to smaller businesses who actually care about what they are selling and have people working for them who care whether the company succeeds and the customer is happy. I’m not even sure why I gave BB so many chances to be decent. Take your business elsewhere and warn all your friends to do the same.
I would give them negative stars if I could.

Excellent, excellent service. Serviced my Breitling B1 and diamond wedding band in less than 3 hours. Friendly, honest, professional service. Jeannie and Matthew were true professionals and a great help. Will be doing business there in the future!

Ben Bridge should really remove the advertisement for watches. I brought a brand new ceramic watch in to have links removed, which should have been relatively simple, no?
Apparently, it was too much for whoever worked on it. After I got it back the pins kept falling out, which meant the watch would just fall off my wrist without warning, so I had to take it back to them. Got it back again, and this time some of the pins had been placed backwards… seriously?
I showed the watch to a real watch repair shop (Andy’s in Factoria Mall in Bellevue) and the first comment they made was that these particular pins on these certain links should never have been removed; normally those links are not touched in band adjustments. This other watch shop didn’t want to handle the watch, and said it was risky trying to handle it again after the two previous fail attempts by Ben Bridge.
Oh, and BB charged me $ 15 for ruining my watch. Andy’s only charges $ 8.50 for a band adjustment, and the work is done in 5 minutes.

Bought some nice jewelry there a couple of years ago and everything seemed OK. At the same time I brought in two antique watches I inherited for refurbishing. The first came back after several months and several hundred dollars and then it promptly broke. They told me the second watch would take more time. Every time I went back they had no record of the second watch and now I just figure it is ‘lost’ or ‘disappeared’, it has now been several years and no record of the watch.
I will never do business with them again…

Very good experience buying an engagement ring here. The staff is very pleasant to work with, not pushy and very matter of fact. Also, we’ve found them all to be very attentive in general.
In fact, I brought my special lady back to the place for us to buy our wedding bands there and she came away with the same impression.

Nice store. Friendly (commission hungry) sales people, quality stuff and quick turn around times on watch service.

I worked with a nice lady named Nina. She helped me with an engagement ring resize. It took about a week and Nina was very responsive. When I picked it up, the ring was cleaned and just the right size. She even gave me a box of holiday chocolates. Thank you so much Nina!

Alex was just amazingly helpful and professional. And who doesn’t love high quality jewelry!

Everyone’s super nice and helpful but the Rolex guy answered one question then I ask another he doesn’t answer and proceeds to make a phone call!!! Little does he know… I have plenty of money to buy a Rolex he’s a profiling moron!!!

I sent this letter of commendation –for Phil Foss– to Downtown Seattle’s –Ben Bridge Jewelers Corporate Office–
June 11, 2013
Good Afternoon,
This commendation, for your jewelry repair professional –Phil Foss– is long overdue. At your Downtown Seattle Location –Phil Foss– has been the man of the hour (no pun intended).
I’ve been having various items fixed, bands adjusted, batteries switched and so on –for a few years. I was just there today –having a new battery put into my trusty old Bulova, and as usual, Phil did the work –in less than 20 minutes– with a smile and made my day.
More to the point, though –about a month ago– I brought in a different watch (one of sentimental value only) that Phil had replaced a battery –evidently, back in December. The watch stopped working –so I figured I’d lost track of time, and it just needed a new yearly battery put in.
The watch, however, had lived its long life and was no longer workable. The young man (not Phil) who gave me the bad news –did so, and sent me on my way. Just then –as I was walking out the door with the bad news– Phil appeared and instructed the young man to refund the money I’d spent on the replacement battery –of which, Phil installed– back in December!
Can you believe that? I was so pleasantly surprised –I’d forgotten all about the death of my sentimentally cherished watch –in lieu of receiving a refund– for a three month old battery!
So, there you have it –Phil Foss, the man of the hour– made my day once more.
Thanks Phil –and thank you Ben Bridge– for hiring true professionals like Phil Foss.
Sincerely,
Chris LaRue

I’ve never purchased jewelry here, but I’ve come in twice to have my diamond earrings get their bi-​monthly cleaning. The staff has never been overly helpful, but they’ve never been rude to me. Maybe I don’t give off that ‘i’m here to buy lots of jewelry’ vibe.
The most recent trip in, I had to approach a sales person to request my cleaning, so they definitely aren’t eager, but it was a chill Saturday, so I wasn’t bothered.
I don’t know if I would make this my first stop for when I do want to purchase more jewelry, but we’ll see. They do a lovely job cleaning my diamonds, and they are fast.

I wanted to write this review because I read a lot of the negative feedback about this store and it almost made me not go in to get my fiancé’s engagement ring resized; however, I’m very glad I ignored it!
I bought the ring at another store, but misjudged the size and was not able to get the work done at the other place (geographical problems). I walked in to Ben Bridge to ask them about resizing it, and the manager himself (an ex-​master jeweler) came out to discuss the potential problems with the ring. He suggested that the best course of action was to return the ring to where I bought it and purchase it in a different size (it’s a pave ring so there’s a danger of the side diamonds popping out), but I told him that wasn’t really an option at the time. He then took the ring back to the jeweler and talked to him about what they could do for us. He came back and said they would be happy to do it, and would do it in a way to best protect the ring!
Got the ring back two days before it was scheduled to be done, and for about ¹⁄₃ off the quoted price. It looks great, and she loves it, which is obviously the most important! DEFINITELY RECOMMEND for servicing, and it looks like they have a great selection as well! I will be back in when it comes time to buy the band!
Thanks BB!

This place is great. Nice selection — recent remodel and very pleasant staff. They’ve rotated folks through different stores recently, so a few new faces but consistently gracious and professional.
I am always drawn to the timepieces and they’ve expanded their lineup and reserved a section which has been turned into a Rolex ‘Boutique’. Very nice like you find overseas. And the onsite watchmakers round out Ben Bridge’s watch offerings to a full-​service shop.
Stop in and check it out and tip your hat to Phil and Dale at the benches in the corner.

I started looking for Pandora bracelets for my mom and sister for Giftmas. I went to another local store who didn’t carry any and they suggested I try Ben Bridge.
Upon walking in I was greeted by Sheila /​Sherrie? I’m bad with names :)
I told her what I was looking for and she spent the next hour pulling out every Pandora bead they had in stock and creating two of the most beautiful bracelets ever.
She was both patient and helpful with my questions and indecisiveness.
A couple of beads were out of stock and she ordered them. She called me a few days later when they were in stock and even put them both together and gift wrapped them. As an added bonus she gave me an extra promotional Pandora ornament so they could each get one with their bracelet.
Top notch service!

I can’t think of a more damning review than to just tell you my experience and let you decide.
This place is hard to rate, I may have just had an unlucky streak. Honestly, the people I worked with were awesome but the company and the product left a lot to be desired.
So we we found just the engagement ring we wanted there about 2 months ago and I went ahead with the purchase. It was going to be a special order and take about 8 weeks, which was fine. The ring arrived in about 7 weeks, so far so good.
I popped the question, she said yes, hooray!
Within AN HOUR a stone fell out. We were floored. Really?! As a side note, this was the second time that ring was made by their «vendor» (read: China) and the first one was rejected. This was the more acceptable item. But I digress, I won’t begrudge them the retry since they delivered on time. So this one was quality checked, so they say, and a mouse fart would have knocked that stone out.
I called, a bit upset, and they apologized profusely and said that can happen with pave. They also promised to fix it ASAP.
I brought it in, and here’s where the most egregious part happened, the lady who took the ring informed me that she’d be right back when she figured out how much the repair is going to cost. I almost had a s**t attack and fell in it! She was seriously going to charge me.
I regained my composure, asked to speak with a manager and he made it right. He was all kinds of apologetic, nice, etc. He told me that he would have it repaired as quickly as possible, told me to come back Friday at 5 pm, apologized once again and sent me on my way.
Guess what? It’s Friday, I called to make sure it’s going to be there when I pop in and I was just told that, no, it won’t be ready today. I didn’t get an answer as to when it would be ready but to expect a call back within an hour while they figure that out.
(update: removing one star, making it a 1)
got a call back, they said that the ring likely can’t be repaired and will need to be reordered; I would have been better off getting her a ring pop.
(Update #2)
They reordered the ring, they informed me that this one is also damaged. They’re offered to refund our money or try again, it’s been a month and they still haven’t made this right.