Chas Schwartz & Son Jewelers

I had a wonderful buying experience at Charles Schwartz & Son. Paul and the staff were very attentive and listened to my needs. What a great education on what to look for and how to buy jewelry. I thoroughly enjoyed some really interesting stories on some magnificent estate pieces. Not only did a get a great price for what I was looking for, but I was able to find a truly one-​of-​a-​kind piece of jewelry you cannot find anywhere else.

Ok let me begin by saying I make sure I write just as many good reviews as I do bad. Most people feel when they’re not number 1 or someone feels differently they seek reviews to get out there emotions which unfortunately hurts company’s based on one persons hurt feeling or «the I didn’t get my way complex». I read a review for this company and laughed at how polar opposite their experience was then mine and for that matter several of my friends and families feelings towards this company.
I began my relationship with them through my grandparents. That being said my hard headed grandfather only trusted his pieces with them and only felt comfortable getting what he wanted at the best value from them as well. «You get what you pay for» attitude (and 2 granddaughters were the apple of his eye so we have some beautiful things to cherish and wear in his honor). Every Christmas and birthday I as well as my sister received a beautiful necklace, ring or my most memorable diamond earrings when I graduated medical school.
I continue to visit Chas Schwartz as well as others for there attentive and personable staff and more importantly quality pieces. I could go on and on about the many items they’ve sold, repaired or bought from me and many others. Instead I will let them tell their stories.
I recommend them and wanted to make sure people hear both sides to all reviews.

The Chas Schwartz staff are all wonderful. You get a nice warm greeting when you enter. They are very knowledgeable about estate jewelry and have some amazing pieces in their collection. If you’re looking for something specific they have access to many designers that they will call pieces in for you. This is a real customer service oriented store. It’s run the way more businesses should be run today. So happy I found them!

I offered to help my 82 year old mother-​in-​law sell her diamond engagement ring. Paul at Chas Schwartz first quoted me $ 8,000 for the ring. I returned a few weeks later and Kirk, the manager I think, quoted me $ 5,000 (actually, «cinco» he nonchalantly quipped), saying Paul had missed some inclusions. Today I sold the ring to Circa Jewels in Bethesda for $ 8,200. I am so grateful for the honesty and professionalism of Lee Siegel at Circa. I will definitely not waste my time with Schwartz (or Boone and Sons, who also offered $ 5,000) in the future. To quote my NC mother-​in-​law, «you gotta watch out for those city slickers.»

I just had a shocking experience with the owner of Schwartz & Son, Paul Pastor. I explained that I was seeking him out regarding several jewelry questions because I had heard very good things about him.
The first question was about an antique ring, which presently has a temporary ring guard in it. I wanted to explore some options for making the ring smaller. He explained he could put in a permanent guard or cut a small amount out of the shank. I asked him about putting small gold mounds or bumps inside the shank, which I’ve seen done on other rings to take up extra space. He said people found the bumps painful. I tried to get a little more information about the technique and he refused to continue the conversation. When he said that he wouldn’t do it, I said that was fine and that I accepted it.
I asked if I could go on to consulting with him about the other pieces of jewelry I had brought, including a necklace I wanted to have shortened. He said, «I’m not interested in helping you.» I said I was sorry if I had offended him. And I asked if one of the two sales people in the store could help me. He prevented me from approaching them and said I should go elsewhere.
Weird and shocking for someone who is supposed to come highly recommended.

A long overdue review… we designed our engagement ring with John, the jeweler, along with my wedding band. This review is for the wedding band. John initially recommended that we design both the engagement ring and wedding band together however, I was too anxious for my engagement ring so we did it first. Several months before our wedding, we met with John to discuss my wedding band – a concept that I had seen at Mervis. The end result was a straight edge band of impeccable craftsmanship with top quality princess cut diamonds in a burnished setting. He did an amazing job of designing it so that it perfectly compliments my engagement ring. I get compliments wherever I go and a sales associate at Cartier even mentioned that the quality of my ring (of similar style to one they sell) was superior to theirs. I cannot recommend the team at Chas Schwartz & Son Jewelers enough, they truly go above and beyond!

My experience was excellent when I took gold and silver to Chas. Schwartz and Co. in Mazza Gallerie.
Recently we were going through some old boxes of jewelry and there were a number of broken pieces, rings that had the stones removed, old watches, etc. Once we pulled out the items we wanted to keep, or give to family members, there was an odd collection that were basically ready to be turned in for the value of the metal.
I saw recently an ad in the Washington Post that Chas Schwartz and Co. purchased gold and jewelry, and the fact that they were nearby, and not a fly by night salvage operation in a suburban shopping mall made me think I should take the items to them.

Though I felt odd dragging this mishmash of junk metal into a fashionable high end jewelry store to sell for scrap value. Once I got in there I was quite pleased with the experience.
The owner Paul, greeted me and took an interest in what I had, commenting in a nice way on what I had brought in, saying much of it looked as if it had come from the mid-​west. Turns out he grew up in Ohio and learned the jewelry trade there, so he identified with some of the designs.
I felt he gave me an honest assessment of what I had, he explained what he was doing, the process and made me feel comfortable during the process. And gave me what I felt was a fair amount for the items.
I like doing business with local small businesses, and this was much better than just putting stuff in an envelope and shipping it off never to be seen again, not knowing if I would receive anything in return.

I love this place & I love the people that work here. When I go to Chas Schwartz & Son I usually see Paul Pastor or Ashley Robinson (they’re wonderful) to get the batteries in my watches replaced or if I need something fixed.
I used to work in a watch store in college and we could never guarantee your watch would be waterproof/​resistant after replacing the battery, but at CS&S– it’s like you’re getting it new from the factory again! I also have an old Ebel watch I used to send out when the battery went bad and it would take a month to get it back, but when I bring it here– it only take a couple of days!
They really do a great job here and even when I was living in California, I would wait until my next trip to DC to bring my watches in. I’m a Chas Schwartz & Son customer for life!

I came in last year to get 4 delicate rings re-​sized. They quoted me in the thousands, and I was floored. This ended up costing around $ 60.00 on Jeweler’s Row in Philadelphia. This was completely unethical and absurd. Bottom line… watch out and avoid getting ripped off. If they thought they had to completely re-​build the rings or something, they could have told me that, instead of thinking I was a younger/​naïve customer.

I have mixed feelings about this place. It’s a shoebox, but has a good location, and is crammed with stuff (they’re not wasting money on rent here, folks). They have a good selection of designer settings, including Hearts On Fire settings (which is why we came here). If you’re looking for setting ideas, this is a great place to go.
The selection of diamonds was a bit lacking, however. We were looking for a cushion and had no luck with the local jewelers so far, so we were surprised when the lady said that of course, she could get some for us to look at it.
We told her our specs, emphasizing that we would consider anything better than our specs, but not worse. In particular, clarity had to be SI1 or better. Also, we has a very good sense for what prices should be for a cushion because we had just taken one to an appraiser and he showed us the Rap Sheet (wholesale diamond price list) and told us what the average retail markup was in the DC area. So we knew that our specs were comfortably within our budget.
We were surprised when she emailed us back (after 2 – 3 follow up emails on our part) and said that she had found 3 diamonds with clarity lower than what we had specified as our floor (she found SI2s, which are less clear than SI1s) — at a higher price than we thought we should be paying.
So four stars for setting selection, and two stars for diamond selection.

Pros: Very knowledgeable and design oriented associates.
Cons: N/​A

So if you’re in the market for either a top-​notch, one of a kind, beautifully effulgent, brilliant glistening, Bling-​Boom-​WOW diamond at an equally amazing unbeatable price… I have 2 words for you, Chas Schwartz! These guys are the best of the best! Chas Schwartz was just one of almost a dozen places that my fiancé and I went to in search of my dream engagement ring!
Of course, just like EVERYBODY else my man and I were on the hunt for both an amazing deal, a reputable dealer, and obviously an amazing diamond! We were so lucky to have found Chas during our endless straggle! And we just totally fell in love with Ashley at Chas. She was very helpful, educated, warm, informative, unpretentious, and accommodating! Ashley blew us away! This was an ALL new high standard of customer service for both my fiancé and I!
Most (meaning almost ALL) of the other diamond retailers we went to were either just down right arrogant, rude, and snooty! They had more attitude than anything! These diamond store people treat you like, «you’re not good enough for them, if you can’t afford a $ 75,000 rock!» I mean some of them didn’t even ask us «if we wanted to see anything!» Or better yet their prices were just horrifically astronomical! Then when we’d ask, «well why is something comparable selling for $ 15,000 less?» They’d start talking fast, using pedantic drivel! Or my favorite, when they ignore your question, by answering it with a question! And they’d try to bamboozle you into that hustle phrase, «all diamonds are unique, they can’t be compared!’ Its a TOTAL crock! You can always find a diamond with similar carats, color, cut, and clarity for the same price! So that’s why after going to a few other places, my future husband and I decided that both Chas Schwartz inventory, price, reputation, and Ashley’s customer service were just by all standards of comparison, the BEST!
Besides, Chas is the ONLY retailer in the area who has the REAL AUTHENTIC «Hearts on Fire» diamonds. I’m sure everybody pretends that they have them too! But if its a hearts on fire diamond, whether its a .50 carat or 50 carat bolder… You can tell its a Hearts on fire! This kind of diamond is like the crème de la crème when it comes to the 1^st of the 4 C’s rule, Cut, Clarity, Carat, and Color! Regardless of what size diamond you buy, when its a Hearts on fire diamond, you can see it from a mile away! I mean this is the Bling-​Booom of the Bling-​bling! Besides, who would you rather buy a diamond from, a family who has been specializing in the trade for over 100 years, or some over-​priced, joe-​schmoe blood diamond smuggling chain?
And its funny that all these retailers now try to say, their diamonds are «conflict free» or «not blood diamonds». I’m pretty skeptical! Because most of these retailers have only been around a decade or two! So how the hell would they know where their diamonds are coming from? They just see the expedited address package on the UPS box when they open it! But we trust Chas Schwartz because they have their own diamonds from the mines in Canada, NOT Africa! And they’re a 100+ year old family business! If they were ripping people off or selling pathetic inventory at wily prices, they’d been out of business a long time ago!
So next time you’re in the market for a engagement ring, wedding band, loose diamond, a beautiful piece of estate jewelry, a beautiful necklace, diamond stud earrings, a special gift for that special person, OR whatever Bling-​Booom-​WOW floats your boat, don’t get hoodwinked and don’t spend a dime before you stop by Chas Schwartz, and talk to Ashley! She’ll not only get you the BEST deal, but more importantly she’ll get you the BEST diamond that will put a smile on both your faces for as long as you own it!

I have been here twice so far and plan on returning again. The staff was really friendly and helpful and let me take my time picking things out.

Terrible service here, overpriced diamonds. If the diamonds are overpriced, you provide good service, it’s that easy.