David Allen Designs

Overpriced, and the owner was very rude and condescending.
We went in to shop for a wedding band for my fiancé, and when the jeweler asked what size, we said we didn’t know yet and asked if he could help us figure that out. He automatically had an attitude with us and said, «So what, you’re just trying to get me to size your finger and then you’re gonna go buy your ring somewhere else?» We were completely taken aback by his rude assumption. He then went on to lecture/​guilt trip us about how he has to be careful about people using him and then not buying anything, and made it clear that he was not going to size my fiancé’s finger for free. We never indicated that we weren’t planning on buying from him. I don’t understand why he treated us that way. It was ridiculous.
So basically, unless you can commit to spending money on his overpriced stuff, don’t bother shopping there and expecting any kind of customer service. Not recommended…

We are fortunate to have a quality local jeweler in David Allen. I consistently find affordable pieces that garner interest and appreciation. I bought a white gold cross that, while small, has a big presence. Kind of Celtic, very elegant. Later, I had David set a gorgeous aquamarine, and he was able to enhance its light with a simple presentation that drew attention to the stone, not the gold. He understands what I want and will go the extra mile to make it right.

David did a great job creating a platinum and diamond wedding band to match my custom engagement ring. The band is really well-​made, fits great, and is exactly what I wanted! He seems to know more about platinum than most jewelers I have spoken to in the past.
His personality could potentially rub some people the wrong way, but it didn’t bother me much. It seems like a one-​man operation, so some patience may be required in the shop and waiting for the final product. My band took about 3 weeks and the price was in-​line with what I was expecting based on other jeweler quotes.

My fiancée and I selected David Allen to make our wedding rings because he is local, independent, makes fantastically beautiful fine jewelry, and we really like his personality. He gave us tons of personal attention and ensured we were happy with all the details. David is kind of perfect for Sebastopol, because he is an expert artist of his craft, and he comes off as open– hearted.
We came to his shop with vague notions of what we wanted, and he steered us into the most perfect jewelry for us. I appreciated that he was very direct about what would work AND saved us from ourselves when we had terrible ideas. David was conscientious of our timeframe and kept us in the loop through the process of creating our rings.
When I began shopping, I was so disheartened by the wedding rings available from mass producers, especially in men’s rings, which seemed SO boring! We loved our rings so much that we even bought another one for my partner.
During the process, there was a miscommunication about one aspect of my ring that caused it to be different from my vision. David was incredibly gracious in making sure I ended up with exactly what I wanted, down to every detail, on time.
I find our custom designs to be far superior to the current mall trends, and somehow, this cost us less than we would have spent for rings like everyone else has. David even stuck to the lower end of his estimated price.
For the arrangement of some of the small details, I left creative license to David. If you get the opportunity, I highly recommend you do the same!
As a purchaser for my employer, I encounter tons of sales and service people. David’s quality, service, and value are unparalleled. Now I just need to get married so I can wear the damn thing!

This guy is a creep! The last thing he said to me when I made my purchase was «If anything isn’t right, just return it». Well, when my wife found the piece of jewelry which she had lost, and I had replaced; I thought ‘great, he’ll take it back’ (it was not a custom piece, just something off the shelf).
WRONG! When I suggested that I’d like a refund, he told me that it was ‘your fault for buying something so soon’ and that I should have noticed that all over his store are signs saying «NO REFUNDS». Made me feel like an idiot I ended up not returning the piece… just because I did not want to see, speak with, or in any other way, have contact with this JERK.

I LOVE my new tanzanite and diamond ring and David Allen’s incredible instant sizing service. Meeting David Allen and getting my gorgeous ring made our trip from Hidden Valley Lake worth the drive to Sebastopol. Thank you!

I want to add my review to the others that say this jeweler is unbelievably rude and arrogant. He actually yelled at me. I can’t say I’ve ever had worst treatment in any retail establishment.
My husband bought me a pendant necklace for Valentine’s day from this place and the chain was too short. I wanted to exchange the chain and pay for a longer one. I admit it took me a while to do this as I rarely get to Sebastopol. The chain also was in a knot unbeknownst to me as it had been in it’s box in my purse for a while.
I was treated so badly — told why would I expect to exchange this so much later, you can’t exchange a car later etc., etc. So insulting– I actually wanted to spend money in this place. The rudeness was astounding, that he would actually yell at a customer who was being polite and respectful is mind boggling. I only lost my cool as I walked out the four and stated I would never return and would warn others to do the same.

I went into this shop today hoping to find some help from a professional. The jeweler was rude, arrogant and wanted to charge me $ 5 for a moment of his time. I was shocked by how I was treated and walked out.

David made me a custom ring for my daughter with my stones from my wedding band and other family stones. The end result was amazing and she received it on her birthday as promised. Thank you David. She absolutely loved it!

I would give David 5 stars, but it took a month to get this ring. See photo of amethyst with topaz ring. He made the setting. I wasn’t bothered so much by the time it took as I was by his lack of communication with me. If you can be very relaxed about the time frame without updates on progress, David produces beautiful jewelry.

What a lovely store. I enjoyed looking at the BEAUTIFUL rings and earrings. It is pleasantly not over crowed with junk like so many other jewelry stores. I felt inspired by the uniqueness of the custom made jewelry. It will be my first stop next time I am in town :)

David Allen is a true craftsmen. My wife and I had our wedding rings made with David and it was a pleasure working with him. We sat down and designed the rings together which was a real treat to get his design input. Beautiful hand carving and choice high quality gems. We couldn’t be happier to wear these rings for the rest of our lives. He is very professional, and open to share his ideas and experience. We are very lucky to have such a great jeweler in our community. I would highly recommend David Allen for anyone who is looking for high quality jewelry and service

I was reading the reviews for this shop when read Joni S’s… Im not one to write reviews here but I feel that Joni has 100% wrongly represented this shop.
I have been going to this store for almost two years now. Not ONCE have I ever, EVER experienced anything close to what Joni describes. First of all, there is a sign right next to the check out counter… which, in bold text, describes very clearly the shops return policy. I might add that it is much more reasonable than most other policies that I have seen. he gives you up to a month to decide whether you would like to keep or return the item that you have purchased.
His personality reflects his return policy. Absolutely reasonable and very diplomatic. I have a unique perspective of the way he runs his business and the quality of his work as well as the work that he chooses to offer in his place of business because I, myself, am a jeweler of over a decade. I can say with total confidence that everything that David represents is above par. He is a shining example of how a small business should operate. His work is the culmination of 36 years of experience and it shows.
I am all about calling out businesses when they are operating in a way that is bad, dishonest, less than enjoyable and certainly if they not reasonable.
Im not sure how Joni had this experience unless she is making this up or is just trying to be negative. Its hard to be in business for three years let alone over three decades acting the way that was described. Im sorry, it just doesn’t add up.
If you are thinking about checking this shop out, do it. You will be met with a smile, a beautiful shop and you might even learn a thing or 50.

Hello! Did not see this coming!
We have been a customer of the previous owner for 15 years. Assumed the same friendly service existed. The object was to purchase two wedding bands because they keep breaking or getting lost! Hence the request was a «robust band» and a «dress band». The owner assured me that the Stock Titanium band would NOT scratch.
After the first day, found the ring uncomfortable and went to make a return. First thing the owner did was bring out his magnifying glass and exclaimed that it WAS scratched! The ring looked the same as the day it was purchased.
He had no intention of offering a refund and indicated that other jewelers do not offer refunds. (This is NOT true.) At this point voices were raised and after he uttered a swear word, decided that this was ridiculous.
We appreciate that refunds on custom items is not acceptable, however this was a brand new, off the shelf, stock item. Hence my advice is: a) verify the return policy and b) compare prices.

We bought our wedding rings here and could not be happier. David Allen pays so much attention to detail. Be prepared for a learning experience. He really takes the time to listen to your needs and then takes the time to really educate you about the piece and goes into detail about the precision of the diamond cut. Interesting stuff.
I will go to David Allen again because I trust him and I know I’m getting a perfect piece for the perfect price.

Wow! Did not see this one coming!
I’ve been looking for an engagement ring for weeks now, and have been up and down all of Sonoma County. I didn’t find this one at all, until I was walking through Sebastopol looking for a birthday present for my unsuspecting soon-​to-​be fiancé.
Shame on me! This place is great!
I walked right in when I saw the sign out front, and was pleasantly surprised. I was greeted right away by the owner and jewelry maker himself, who did not make any effort to force me to buy anything. He was happy to talk about anything and everything, whether it was about his products or not.
No hard sell, no «Oh, you don’t want that,» nothing.
I told him what I was looking for (which he didn’t carry, but he was happy to point me to someone who might) and we talked about the jewelry he did carry while I took the opportunity to take a look around.
The shop is small, but well-​lit and not crowded. The displays, and a lot of the jewelry, are organically inspired. Most of it is organized by gemstone, and is all simple and classy. David is willing and able to do custom work, and from the work I’ve seen, he’s very good.
One thing that really struck me about the place is the he doesn’t carry any lab-​created gemstones, and doesn’t want to work with them. Personally, I really like lab created gems because they don’t support any blood feuds or volatile regimes. That said, I definitely admire a real purist and understand the sentiment.
All in all, great experience, great jeweler, and great products! I’ll be back there soon to get the engagement ring I did wind up finding resized.

David Allen is a true craftsman. I loved the gorgeous ring he created for me. I gave him 4 rather than 5 stars, however, because I could not get the ring appraised with him. I finally had to go elsewhere to get it appraised, after trying and trying with him. You won’t be disappointed in the fine attention to detail that he gives to his. We have sent many friends his way and ALL of them have been VERY satisified with his work and his fair prices. A+