William Penn Jewelers & Engravers

I brought in my gold ring to have a new shank placed on it. I offered to supply the gold they would need to make the shank. Tina told me very patronizingly, "Oh, you don't understand the process, do you? We CANNOT USE OLD SCRAP GOLD. We remove the original gold from your ring, and replace it with a brand new shank to fix the ring. WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 40 YEARS. WE ARE EXPERTS!" A few hours later, I called and told them I expected to receive the gold they were removing form the ring, worth about $200. They never called back. I picked up the ring. Asked for the gold they removed from the ring. Tina now said, very patronizingly, the EXACT opposite of what she said, "Oh, no, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! We used that original gold to make the new shank!" I told her this was a blatant contradiction to what she said 48 hours ago; that they could not use old, scrap gold. Now she was saying this is exactly what they did?? Then, very nervous, she said she didn't know what her husband, Michael, had done. (!!?!?) So first, she's an expert who knows everything. When confronted with a lie she's telling, she backtracks and says now she has no idea what they're doing.

Here's what they did: They cut off $200 worth of gold. Kept it. Used a new shank. And then lied to me about using it so they could keep $200 OF MY GOLD. I know. I consulted other jewelers about the process. Who also said they should return the gold to me, or reduce the price of the job. So the price of that new shank is now about $440.

December 2020 review. Skilled jewelry repair worksmanship and friendly and gracious customer service in a beautiful old-fashioned jewelry store filled with both the modern styles plus interesting vintage and estate pieces. This is no cookie-cutter Jared at the mall with employees who don't know anything about jewelry but are just looking to make a commission off of you. I have gone to this store for a few different reasons, first to get some watches repaired then to get an old broken cameo that belonged to my grandma transformed into a beautiful new pendant. Yes repairs take some time, especially when someone is taking care to do it right. This is not a drive-thru service. Marshall, the owner/operator, has been there every time I've gone into the store and he is very knowledgable and kind. He advised me truthfully about the quality level of everything I have ever brought in there (sometimes things aren't worth the cost of fixing them and I wound up saving money by not wasting it on stuff that wasn't worth it), and the way my grandma's cameo was transformed is amazing. In a world where these kinds of shops are replaced by Starbucks, this shop is a little jewel tucked away in Squirrel Hill. I recommend you visit if you love these kinds of places too.

I bought A cuckoo clock and a watch to this jewelry store for repair my watch maker of 25 years unfortunately had passed away so I was looking for someone new . The watch is a Tag Heuer with a standard ETA movement . All parts are readily available however about two weeks after dropping the watch off the jeweler called to tell me that parts were no longer available ( which I knew was untrue) and that he would have to hand-make new ones ! He then quoted me a very high price for the repair .Luckily as a collector I am knowledgeable about watches and clocks so I told him that I did not want proceed w a repair .I subsequently sent the Tag to another jeweler and it was repaired at a very modest cost . Unfortunately I did not ask for a repair estimate when I dropped off the cuckoo clock . When I picked the clock up I was shocked when told that the repair would cost $ 500 for a clock that I Purchased new for $300 I paid the $500 but vowed never to visit this store again i've seen reviews with the same backstory and I do not recommend that anyone visit this jeweler

Terrible experience. I have taken watches to these guys over the years because I believe in supporting local business. I have never been totally pleased with their work, but it has been acceptable in the past. Recently, however...

I took a mechanical/automatic watch for repair, was given an estimate of about 200-250, and a time frame of 10 weeks. Twelve weeks later I called to ask for the watch. I left a phone number to be called back. Three days later, I called again. Same story. Finally after the 5th attempt the watch maker called me to tell me that he had not been able to find the parts to fix the watch, that he will have to "make" them himself, and that it is going to cost me between $650-750. I retrieved the watch because it was not worth that much, and sent it to a reputable watchmaker in Cincinnati. This is cut and paste from the email I received from the Cincy watchmaker:

"Sounds like he really had no interest in doing the job. I'm not aware of a single part that anyone would have to "make" for a basic 7750 like this...virtually everything is available. Some of it isn't cheap anymore, but it can be obtained.

I didn't find anything obvious upon disassembly."

The watch was fixed, no new parts were needed, total cost: $150.

Moral: don't go there if you need a watch fixed.

I have used the William Penn Jewelers in Regent Square, and I am nothing but happy with the work they have done. They created custom engagement & wedding rings for me, and they turned out better than I ever thought it would. The prices are fair for the work they do. Unlike the other jewelry store in the area, you don't need shoes that cost as much as a car to get some one to help you. I once waited for 25 min. at jelery store on Forbes before I left without a single person talking to me. That is why I use William Penn will only give them my business.

Disregard what people say about the time it takes. Quality takes time.

Be cautious about reviews if someone goes there to "replace the battery in my watch," then they say, "my watch was wound" they might not know too much about watches, or if someone claims to know how "easy" a project is when they a probably have never done it them selves. Taking pictures seems "relatvely easy" too, but ask a professional photographer how easy it is.

I also like that they allow me to bring my dogs in!

The necklace was fixed within the two week period they promised, though they never did contact me when it was ready. I had to be proactive and call them. A final wrinkle was that their weekday hours (11:30am -- 5:30pm) are really inconvenient for people who work.

The restringing job was ok, though right now the beads don't line up straightly. They said that this is an artifact of tightness from the restringing and that it should go away. I hope they are right.

They put on a silver clasp, which surprised me a little because I had assumed it was going to be gold (the old clasp was gold). We didn't discuss it before hand, so I don't think they did anything wrong. Still, my overall experience was not entirely satisfactory.

2.5 stars.

I found this place after doing some Google searches for watch repair in Pittsburgh. I had a really nice watch gifted to me a few years back, but I didn't find myself wearing it very much, as it was a little too big. Since it's 2012 and we all need to step our game up, I decided to have some links taken out of the watchband and replace the battery in the watch.

I choose this place because, it was the most convenient location for watch repair that I could find. I took my watch in about an hour before the end of the day on Friday. I thought that the job could have been accomplished easily and quickly, but the owner told me I would have to come back the next day...

A word of caution, my watch was wound and working and several links had been removed as promised. However, as I tried the watch on I noticed that one of the pins was not in place properly. It just seemed a little off center. If an untrained eye could note this, a master watchmaker certainly should have been able to do the same. Had I not noticed this, my very expensive watch would have most probably met with a most untimely demise as it plummeted towards the nearest sidewalk. The owner was quick to fix this error, but did not seem very apologetic.

The price, $20, was fair and the work acceptable in the end.

I went to the Squirrel Hill location to have some jewelry repaired and was appalled by the treatment I received. When I explained what I wanted, the man working there was extremely rude and condescending, accusing my jewelry of being fake and refusing to work on it. Aside from being amateurishly incapable of identifying a real gem versus "glass", the man then rudely refused to even perform the very simple adjustment I asked for regardless. Since then I've found another jeweler who was very willing to provide the adjustment and clearly recognized the jewelry for what it was. I would strongly recommend avoiding bringing your jewelry to this store where the staff are so laughably uneducated that they do not understand even the basics.

Very disappointed in this shop. Are friendly enough but are never open on time. They have had an antique bracelet my husband got me for my birthday for over 4 months. I have called repeatedly getting very little satisfaction when asked when it would be ready Was always at the other shop or some other excuse. I am speaking of the Regent Square shop. I finally demanded to have my bracelet back. I'm sitting here in a cafe waiting for them to open. It's now 11:30, supposed to get open at 11

I am going to have to concur with the previous reviewer on this one. Although I think they were perfectly friendly towards me, I certainly also had to be proactive about getting my jewelry back, and I was also surprised at the cost.

I had two clip on earrings converted to posts, which I would consider to be a relatively easy thing to do. They told me they would call me to tell me when to come and pick it up, and gave themselves a window of two weeks. I finally called after three weeks, and they told me it would be done in a few days. It was almost as though if I hadn't called, they would have forgotten to do it, but because I called, they remembered. I thought that was odd.

That being said, the quality of the work is superb. The guy seemed genuinely interested in whether I was happy with his handiwork, so that was nice, but I agree - the pricing seems unreasonably high, and the service does not convey a concern for the customer. The hours are also nonsensical. I MIGHT come back again, but I might not.