I had a very concerning experience with Galati Jewelers. I brought my wedding ring in to have it stretched. The owner seemed nice enough and explained the process, telling me to come back the next day around 4:00 pm to pick it up. When I returned the next day at the time he gave me, the store was closed. I called multiple times, but there was no answer and the voicemail box was full. I went back again the following day -- still closed, even though the hours posted online and on the door indicated the store should be open. By chance, another person stopped by while I was there and told me that the owner frequently does not follow his posted hours. At that point I became extremely worried that I had been scammed out of my wedding ring. The stress of thinking I might have lost something so meaningful was awful. Businesses handling valuable and sentimental items like jewelry must operate professionally and reliably. Not being open during posted hours, not answering calls, and having a full voicemail is completely unacceptable. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this business. If you value your jewelry and peace of mind, I would strongly advise going somewhere else. read more

Stunning work!!!! Worth every penny. Going back absolutely. My 30 year old beautiful diamonds are back, sized to his recommendation at a glance he knew what size I was and yep he's right! read more

Galati Jewelers - Jewelry Near Me - San Mateo, California

Good things come to those who wait. My review is going to be a unique one. See, I purchased a pair of costume earrings that I absolutely loved! However, they were changing color from skin contact, and developed a rust color. I went to two jewelry shops asking if they could just coat the earrings in gold? Every time they said, no! A girl working at Shane Co told me there is a guy in San Mateo, Galati Jewelers does custom jobs. I went in March of 2022 and picked them up in December of 2023. Ed is a one man band. He has a LOT of customers. Works all night past his closing time. If you are the type that needs things now, don't go here. If you are patient and believe in something magical, go now! To find a real jeweler is hard. Just to give you appreciation, Ed made a mold out of my original earrings, then used that to create what my vision was. Amazing! Some tips for success. Give Ed a call from time to time. Make a point to be in downtown San Mateo and pop your head in to ask about the progress is going. It's a journey with a beautiful reward at the end. read more

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Bruno was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable when it came to getting an appraisal on some jewelry I brought in. He was very thorough and took the time to explain what he was looking for and how it would affect the value of my items. At the end, the price he charged was more than fair for his time and service. Thanks again Bruno! read more

Please give me back my 2 rings, one of my deceased family member and one offered by my husband, and a pendant . You had these since October /November 2024!!!! I have not heard from you. You don't respond to phone calls, you don't call back. And you are not opened during your own opened hours. I am worried that I will never see my jewelries again read more

Well it took longer than expected, I think it was worth it. The repair of my cufflinks and silver bracelet were spot on ! Great work.

My ring has been finished. They got back to me. Really good people. Very knowledgeable. They were just slow.

A diamond fell out of my anniversary ring that I've worn for 27 years without removing. Ed had to cut the ring from my finger and re-size it. The repair workmanship is excellent and well worth the wait. Addressing other reviewers commenting on delayed response: this is currently (2023) a single-person business with occasional part-time counter help. If you want superb craftsmanship, bring your business here. Just, be prepared to wait for it. read more

His time is flexible but he knows what he is doing and he is so entertaining. A really great fun guy.

Everyone here was so kind and friendly! I had a slightly broken chain on a necklace, and rather than charging me for a new clasp, they were able to fix the clasp at no cost in a minute or two. read more

I'm concerned about this business. On August 9, 2024 I stopped by to get a battery changed in my watch. It was working fine, but the battery was over a year old. After he replaced the battery with a new one, he could not get the watch to work. He said perhaps he had a bad batch of batteries and asked if I could leave the watch overnight, and he would stop by Safeway to pick up a fresh battery. I told him I could not be in the next day, but would stop by shortly. I came by a few days later and his store was closed. I have now stopped by several times, called over 10 times, left messages, and I've gotten zero response. I see the mail piling up on the floor to his store, and noticed that somebody is picking it up. Not only that, someone has been changing the display case in front to decorate it for Halloween. On Saturday, November 2, I stopped by the store again, and met two other people who had dropped off jewelry to be repaired months ago, and have not been able to get it back. The voicemail box for the store is full, so we can't leave messages. No one ever calls us back, anyway. I wonder if something has happened to the owner. I wish I could get my watch back! read more

Galati Jewelers - Never open, even during posted open hours. What's going on? - Jewelry Near Me - San Mateo, California

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We had a gold chain that had a broken link. Brought it in for repairs...was promised to be done within the next day or two. Went back to get it but the shop was not opened even though we waited per the sign saying when the owner will be back. We tried calling...no answer. Called multiple times thereafter, for two weeks and left voicemails...no response. We finally were able to get our chain when we just happened to be in the store's vicinity and found it, to our surprise!, to be opened. BTW, no apologies from the owner for his non-response. After a couple of weeks, the same chain broke again!!! Exasperating!!! Should have gone to Steiners, only a couple blocks away. read more

Item was fixed very quickly. He checked my diamonds in ring setting and cleaned my ring! Very reasonable!

I have never written a bad review. It's not the energy I want to put out in the world. And.. Simply stated, this business is way too busy to take on new clients (yet they continue to daily!) and cannot catch up to service their existing clients. The entire endeavor was a waste of my time and unfortunately they were so rude to me in the end, that I felt compelled to write this review. I dropped off 2 bracelets for repair. I checked in 3.5 weeks later, was told they were ready and to come in. I came in. I waited 35 minutes to be helped. It was not ready. Then I waited another 2 weeks, called, was told the bracelets were ready, came in, the first bracelet was ready but the second bracelet was not only NOT ready, but Ed, the jeweler, had NO IDEA what needed to be done to it, even though I went over it in painstaking detail in person with Crystal during our first meeting! I went over it again with him. To be fair he said he normally doesn't do this type of work, but he would do it for me! (It was a beaded bracelet that needed magnetic clasps to be added to it. The bracelet was not expensive but sentimental (hand beaded in costa rica), and I was quoted $50 for labor, $30 for the claps, which I thought was outrageous, but I stuck with him because he said he would do it). He said it would take him "2-3 days, and he was very sorry for the inconvenience". I came back 2 weeks later. It was not ready. He offered to do it on the spot, but I could see that it would take hours because he was SO swamped and had a full store of people. So I asked for a refund, and decided to take the bracelet elsewhere. No big deal, right? Except I paid up front for the work when I picked up the first bracelet, and when I asked for a refund, I was BLAMED for not having the tiny credit card receipt, even though they had the Original Hand Written Receipt! I was actually never given a credit card receipt! But In any case they had the actual receipt (hand written by Ed/Crystal) and they COULD NOT issue a refund until they found the credit card receipt. Then things got VERY WEIRD. Ed ignored me entirely and went back to work. Crystal started frantically flipping through dozens of hand-written notebooks looking for the credit card receipt. I waited for 20 minutes. There was a huge line of people waiting behind me. There is a large clock on their wall, so I really did wait 20 minutes. Then I asked if they could just write me a check or give me cash? And Crystal said, "I could, but I don't want to overpay you by even one dollar!!!" - WTF?! They have the receipt. They hand wrote it. They charged me. I paid. They didn't do the work in 7.5 WEEKS?!?! And now they cannot issue a refund? And this is somehow MY FAULT? Then Crystal ignored me entirely for several minutes and went to help other customers, at which point I got upset. I told her is was not ok to waste my time, that I was fair in asking for a refund and it was not ok to help other customers while I continued to wait for the refund. All in all it took 45 minutes to resolve this, and she wrote me a check for the refund. And here is the kicker... When I was leaving, Crystal and Ed said, "Good luck finding someone to do this job for you! Not everyone has a master jeweler! You're going to have a hard time finding someone to fix this!" - Ummm, guess, what, I walked over to the next block and found a lovely jeweler more than willing to help me. Do I believe Ed is a nice person? YES!!! Is this man completely over his head and swamped and underwater? YES! SO....STOP STRESSING YOURSELF OUT AND TAKE FEWER CLIENTS, so you don't disappoint people all day long! It's not fair to waste people's time. It would be wise to avoid this business for a long while, until maybe they dig themselves out of being so swamped. And then, be ready to deal with Crystal, who is extremely rude. read more

Always friendly and helpful service. Thanks for taking great care of my jewelry needs over the years!

When I went to other jewelers to have my ring resized they refused to because of the gems in it. They referred me to Galati's Jewelers. I found out it is a one-man jeweler shop, with inconsistent assistance. Hence, the reason it takes a long time for repairs. Edward took over two months (and not the 1-2 weeks he said) to resize my gold wedding ring of 20+ years. I called multiple times and left messages, with only a couple return calls. Finally, the last time I called he said he would be done (though I still had to wait over an hour) and he was. AND my ring fits exactly how I wanted it too, AND the stones were not harmed (soft gems), AND the entire ring looks wonderful. So, the price and the ring resized and prongs replaced was as specified. Which is 5-star. The wait and constant checking is 1-star. Would I go again? Yes, for something like this! Thank you, Edward! read more

Stopped in yesterday for a quick and easy jewelry repair and Ed kindly fixed it while I waited, for a very reasonable price. He was friendly and helpful, a pleasant experience altogether. Thanks, Ed! read more

I had a really bad experience with the owner and I'm not the only one. When I was waiting in line to pick up my jewelry I spoke with two others in line who had similarly bad experiences. He denied basic facts about the estimated completion date, which he kept pushing back and when i finally showed up on that date, the work wasn't completed. I told him I didn't mind that it would take a long time, what I do mind is that I wasted my time based on his word on when it would be completed. I even called many times to confirm the work was completed because I could tell he might be flaky, but I could never get through to anyone on the phone. My voicemail was never returned. So all I could do was show up when he said. Other people in line said they had similarly gotten the runaround. read more

Galati Jewelers was very quick in fixing my sterling silver necklace chain. It was done in less than 15 minutes when I walked into the store for $45 (very reasonable price for the speediness and quality of work). Ed and Natalie were both very kind and attentive. It's the only place I found nearby that does silver repairs! Thank you so much for the great repair and friendliness. New customer gained! read more

It's hard to find a store on the peninsula that will replace a watch battery. I tried several jewelry stores before finding Galati Jewelers yesterday. I was so impressed with them! The gentleman I spoke to was so pleasant and also very quickly replaced the battery in my watch. Their prices are very reasonable. I will definitely come back and, based on my experience, I highly recommend them! read more

I can't say enough good things about Karen and Edward at Galati Jewelers. I needed to have an important piece of jewelry (that I lost) reproduced and they did a fabulous job. I gave them a photograph of the item, they went over the dimensions and specifications and cast it in the lost wax method. It came out beautifully. I went to other jewelers before who were not able to accomplish what Galati did. Reasonably priced too. I am a fan for life. read more

Received a call back after a few days. They had been closed for the week. I may or may not follow through with going to see them. I still wish there had been a sign on the door, like "Away on Vacation". read more

Called about getting an appraisal. The person who answered said to give a call before going as to ensure the appraiser is "not on lunch and available for you". Another day comes and I am ready. Called multiple times, no answer. Figured I drop in anyways since I was gonna be in the area. If someone is there, cool. If not, whatever. No appraiser there. Set appointment for another day. I come back for my appointment. Appraiser is not there. Person behind the counter called the appraiser (I assume Ed is the appraiser based on the conversation) and it didn't even seem like the appraiser was on premise at this time. Asks me to wait 20 minutes (seriously bro, so you can hop out of bed?). Ed, if you're reading this, you're not in the jewelry business. You're in the waste other people's time and gas business. read more

If you're like me, with a phobia of used car lot and jewelry store sales people, then this is the jewelry store for you. Ed made me feel so comfortable that even after business was done, I stayed and chatted for almost an hour. He was kind enough to tell me the value of some loose gems I had and taught me quite a bit about gold and gemstones. I would not hesitate to recommend them to my best friends. So Yelpers, here's the recommendation!! TIP: The public parking lot around the corner is 25 cents an hour. read more

I forget how I found this place. Was it word of mouth, from a coworker? Nah. Did I drive by and see it? Nah. Oh snap! I found them on Yelp!!! That's how I find almost everything I need to find. Went in and spoke with Karen, who was sweet as a Georgia peach. I told her about the Yelp offer for battery replacement and she said "thank you so much for mentioning that, some people don't" and I thought to myself, you don't know that I have a shiny red badge, do ya??? I've done the watch repair numerous times in the past and almost always it's "come back next Thursday" which for an impatient I want-it-now type such as myself, is weak. Karen got to work immediately and made pleasant conversation to boot. The price was right on the money, $10 (That's the Yelp offer) and without the Yelp offer, it's just $13. I was in and out in less than 10 minutes, which means that this is a good spot if you are an errand runner on your lunch breaks as I am. Super friendly, super sweet and cost effective. That right there is a 5 star review ladies and gents. Spread the word and let's support local businesses. read more

They did a fantastic job repairing my watch and replacing the band. The watch works great and is was thoroughly cleaned. They also took my old clasp and put it on the new band I ordered read more

Back to Galati!!! ;) Our wedding is done!!! and we Love our custom-made wedding bands!!! We didn't want to spend too much money and wanted to make our wedding bands Last Forever! and very meaningful! So what we did is go back and trust Galati ~ Ed and karen! power couple! ;) So we brought in our white gold promise rings, and old jewelry with diamonds from my mom (divorced, and hopeful for a great marriage for us) and also from my grandmother (who raised me, but passed away... and didn't get the chance to witness our wedding.) Ed created a custom band for me and my husband, and even has a wax mold ready to complete the set for our anniversary!!! SUPER CREATIVE GENIUS! and SUPER THOUGHTFUL!!! I don't have formal pictures yet, but here's a video!!! (much better that pics right? ;) https://vimeo.com/48856127 read more

Galati Jewelers - Wedding ring! perfect! - Jewelry Near Me - San Mateo, California

If I could do NO stars...I would. One star is generous. I came in with 2 chains. I wanted 2 new clasps and the box chain was to be repaired. I came in on 12/21 and he gave me an ETA of about a week to have them sent back to me. I also paid for him to send to me as I am out of the area. About 2 weeks go by I have heard nothing from them and I call. No answer. I send email. No answer. A friend of mine finally went to the shop yesterday to find out what's going on and he assures her/me that he will send it out "today" and text me the tracking info. He even verified my cell number. He apparently also said he was on vacation after the holidays. That should have been mentioned when I asked for an ETA and leaving me hanging for 3 weeks. Did he send me the tracking info. NO. I did receive my chains today and there was one clasp done and the other clasp that was replaced is complete and utter crap and already broken. So he owes me a refund. I went to this store as it is a small family business and happy to support. Will I ever go there again - NO. There is no customer service. No follow-up. No follow through. They need to answer phones, respond to emails, respond to online requests. Act like a business that cares about making money and making customers happy. I have yet to receive ANY response to the over dozen various communications I sent to them. This was the worst experience I have ever had in working with a jeweler. Go anywhere else, but do not go to Galati. Ed may be a nice guy - but I need a professional. Professional with customer experience skills. read more

Very disappointed. Been coming here for YEARS for jewelry repairs. This time not only did they take twice as long as promised, but I was quoted $25 for a repair via phone by Ed himself and they wanted to charge me $110 when I picked it up. Because I didn't want to deal with them anymore, we settled on me paying $70, but that's still double what I was initially quoted. Turns out they did not do the repair that I agreed upon but a way more expensive one. Needless to say, they lost a customer today :( read more

What a waste of my time! Not open today like advertised on Yelp! Get it together galeti jewelers! read more

Galati Jewelers - Epic fail! Not opened as advertised!!! - Jewelry Near Me - San Mateo, California

Great customer service. Locally owned. The shop is small but the quality and service is huge! I came here for a watch repair and now I find myself going back for a few pieces of jewelry. I've always been greeted with a smile and a handshake. They stand behind their products and all of their products and service are of excellent quality. I highly recommend Galati for all of your watch repair and Jewelry needs. read more

This is a horrible place. I brought my watch in for a simple band. Feb 18th and they said should be a week. I go on a work trip and 2 weeks later call them and they say oh it's being delayed because of shipping. A month goes by and still no band and I have to call them to check on the status of the watch. They never called me even when they said they would. Finally after 2 montha I got fed up with it and went in person to get my watch. Had to go 3 times because even though supposed to open at 11am. They had the door closed at 11:30am 2 days in a row and finally on the 3rd day they actually honored the busineas hours. All they gave me was the yellow copy of an invoice and they said I needed a receipt to get my money I paid them when I first left the watch. Bunch of crooks. I even talked to a local lady who said she left a ring with them in October and didn't get it back til January. Do not go here unless you want them to forget about you and steal your money. Ridiculous business. read more

Karen and Ed are the best! They are now our go-to jewelers! They spent over 10 hours in a week span (and usually after hours) educating my fiancé on diamonds and boy I am happy they did! In stereotypical fashion, my fiancé waited until the last possible second to have the ring made and they over delivered. I am in love with my ring! Their attention to detail is amazing! My fiancé and I live in the city and are so happy we found Galati Jewelers in San Mateo. Sometimes you can get lost in the over commercialized Jewelry market, which is why we like to use small local businesses that you can build a long relationship with. I had a bit of an accident after a long work trip at the airport and jammed my hand and therefore my ring, they took care of me, especially on such a short timeline before I went to try on wedding dress back home in Texas. I have also had them restring my pearl necklace given to me from my deceased grandmother! I wouldn't trust anyone else! We are also talking about creating something for all my bachelorettes as a gift. Karen has given me so many ideas to think about and always conscious of my price range. No project is too big or small for Karen and Ed! Please visit them! read more

Galati Jewelers - No project is too small or too big for Galati Jewelers! Love my ring! - Jewelry Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Gorgeous pieces, lots of variety to chose from and most of all reliable people. I got an amazing ring for a special occasion and they resized it at no extra cost. Highly recommended read more

Galati Jewelers - Jewelry Near Me - San Mateo, California

Well, *I* have had nothing but wonderful service at Galati. Not sure abt the negative ratings, but it's important to understand the context: They're a mom and pop shop with European mom and pop standards, and really excellent work. Yeah, they take a bit of time but you can't have it all considering the individualized, fine detail work in a trade that is kind of dying out... And truly reasonable rates. Out of convenience, I went to a shop in the mall once for a small job. Not only do none of the big stores not do any work in-house, but the price made me laugh outloud. In horror, that is! I had the most tragic experience at a different mom and pop, longtime neighborhood shop in South City. Total heartbreak that no one can fix (ruined). So it's not just size (of the shop) that matters (ha!), it's the quality. Galati definitely doesn't disappoint which really is all that matters to me. read more

Thank you so much for the great work you did on the resizing of my husband ring. The owner is very knowledgeable and friendly. I took my husband ring to get resize and even though he was not there for her to measure his finger, just base on the size we were given from another jeweler, her recommendation fits his finger perfectly. read more

I needed a new watch band and stopped in Galati's. I was sold exactly what I needed and the visit was a pleasure. I will definitely return to Galati's in the future for my watch and jewelry repair issues. read more

Walked in for watch strap replacement after one around the corner who advertised repairs said they didn't and another around the block wanted $25 and to leave the watch. Here a very helpful and friendly woman did the job in two minutes with a smile for $5. You be the judge. read more

They did great job re-doing my beautiful ring. Removing one star as it took longer as expected. But the result was worth waiting! Thank you!

These guys repaired the 6 prongs on my wife's wedding ring. It turned out perfect and looks beautiful. They were super quick and incredibly helpful. Thank you guys! We'll be back read more