Michael's is the king of lapidary shops in orange county. Anyone who has lived here for a long time…read moreand loves cutting stones, making jewelry, and learning about the proper use of materials will know this place. It came straight from the rock hunting craze of the late 50s and early 60s, and continued to the present (although in a different building). It's been handed down from it's original owners, who knew more about lapidary and metal working than just about anyone you could ever find. I remember what the store owner taught me 30 years ago about jewelry when I first became interested. He said, "glue has no place in jewelry". Contrast that with the "other" michaels (the big chain), and you'll find glue as the starting point for some of the jewelry making projects featured on their web page. If you want your jewelry to be beautiful and last a thousand years, this is the place to check out.

was calling around looking for gem rough for lapidary, but they have no answering machine, and are…read moreapparently not open mondays or tuesdays by noon, which is when I gave up. was directed by Reynoso Lapidary & Supply (who didn't carry what I needed) to try Jewel Tunnel Imports, who are wholesale only, who then kindly recommended I try Burminco Rocks and Minerals. am just leaving this note here to help others who are searching YELP for "lapidary"

Cute little shop with creative items. One of my favorite places for buying unique gifts. Lovely,…read morecreative jewelry and even some air plants in nice holders.

I hoped to express my personal experience with Stacey, in a repair of my pendant she graciously…read morehelped me with. I was planning a trip to the area, and was researching places that could help with a repair. Yelp came through again, and I got in touch with Stacey prior to my trip. She asked if I could text her a picture of my pendant. When she saw the picture, she felt as though she could provide me with some help. I met with Stacey this past Saturday afternoon. Her setup included a trailer of her custom made jewelry on display, and a cozy table and chairs outside. There was a pleasant and relaxing warmth to meeting and talking to Stacey in that environment. I showed Stacey how I hoped to reincorporate a jade that previously broke away from my pendant. I haven't worn this necklace in over a year. She could tell how much it meant to me to be able to wear it again. She took her time to remove the residual clasp, taking great care not to snip away at my pendant. She then found another clasp in her collection that blended in nicely with my pendant look and theme. She further went so far as to ease my concerns about the clasp by securing it with super glue, carefully applying it with a wire to avoid excess. I do not know if Stacey typically performs repair work on existing jewelry. It may likely be case by case, and I would highly recommend checking in with her first. I just wanted to highlight my experience in working with her. If I weren't so careless with my jewelry, I probably would have purchased a backup pendant that she can make with this beautiful leather that had this worn-in look to it. Thank you, Stacey, for all your help.

This week I took my 13 yr old grandson, who is very interested in rock hounding and loves gems and…read moremineral collections, to Burton's. My grandson got to meet John and his family. We spent 3 hours with John, his daughter Carrie and the staff. What an amazing visit. They were so nice! knowledgeable, and kind. They gave Sawyer a complete tour of the shop and shared the wonderful history and stories of many of their products: Gems, minerals, rocks, stones, meteorites, hand made Jewelry and much more. The Knowledge the folks at Burton' Gems shared was "beyond Epic" "very cool" according to my grandson. John is a living legend in the industry. They were so kind to give their time to Sawyer. We had visited The LA Zoo, Disneyland/California Adventure, and Magic Mountain this week. Sawyer was so impressed and in awe. We had a great time but I had such joy in seeing a 13 yr old young man being so excited for 3 hour, this was The most "Epic time he ever had". I loved the day as well. So cool to hear John's history and visit a truly amazing shop. To be treated so kindly. Just a wonderful day. If you are a geologist, love gems, jewelry, rocks and minerals. This is THE place to visit. as Sawyer said many times: "Epic" !!!!

What does it mean to be a hidden gem? It's an expression that we all use flippantly as we go about…read moreour busy lives that are increasingly commercialized and standardized. Every so often, you stumble across something so unexpected that it leaves a mark on your day. This gem shop was exactly that. My daughter likes gems and I was looking to surprise her with a unique outing so I yelped a gem shop and stumbled across this one. From the moment we stepped in, we were greeted warmly and regaled with stories of everything in the shop. It felt like a museum that was for sale. They had everything from the affordable $1 "babysitter" bin of rocks to keep the kiddos entertained, to the essentially priceless (and everything in between). The highlight for me was the vintage jewelry pieces. They were so unique and stunning in a way that modern jewelry stores simply cannot compare. If you're looking for a nice piece of jewelry to surprise someone, they can definitely help. The owners were happy to discuss details of every stone and encouraged questions from my daughter like she was on a class field trip. They delighted in letting her hold and touch things that were clearly out of her price range. My husband enjoyed the fossilized dinosaur poop, because... poop. They also carve their own stones, and do repair work! If you have been meaning to stop in here, then I encourage you to do so as soon as you can. If they don't have it, I'm betting they can get it. We delighted in the stories and the gems, and cannot wait to return to hang out with these lovely folks.

Chuck & his amazing jeweler AN are the last of a tradition of caring, skilled artisans…read more I brought my great grandmother's engagement ring here for the last five years, and they take care of it as if it was in their own family. Even though Im no longer married, I often wear my wedding and engagement ring. My ex-husband (who is one of my best friends) couldn't believe how beautiful it was. They rebuild the whole Ring brought the diamonds up and made the whole thing Shine better than you. I can't recommend this place more. Make sure you visit and support the small business. Lisa Cohen

It really pains me to write this review because I wanted to support a small business, and I've held…read moreoff for a long time. But I also don't want other people to go through what my husband and I experienced. My husband and I purchased my engagement ring and both of our wedding bands here. We were excited because we believed we were buying a real diamond engagement ring and gold wedding bands. Sledge told us it was a diamond, and it was also written on our receipt. I wore that ring every day, took our engagement photos with it, and made so many special memories leading up to our wedding. A few days before our wedding, we went back to have our rings cleaned since Sledge had told us he offered free cleanings. I even brought our receipt just in case he needed proof that we had purchased the rings there. He looked at my ring and commented that it was really dirty. Then he suddenly said, "This isn't a diamond." My husband and I actually laughed at first because we thought he was joking. We knew what we had paid for, and our receipt clearly stated it was a diamond. But then he tested it with a diamond tester again and repeated that it was not a diamond, it was cubic zirconia. We were completely shocked. We had paid over $1,000 for what we believed was a diamond ring, only to be told it was actually a stone worth a fraction of that. To make matters worse, this happened just days before our wedding. When he looked at our receipt, he admitted that he had sold us a diamond. Yet instead of taking responsibility or offering a solution, he suggested that someone must have removed the stone from my ring and replaced it without me noticing. He even suggested it could have been a housekeeper. I'm 22 years old. At the time, I lived alone and absolutely did not have a housekeeper. My ring was dirty because I never took it off. The suggestion that someone secretly swapped the stone was honestly insulting. To this day, I don't know whether we were scammed or whether a mistake was made somewhere along the way. What I do know is that we left feeling devastated, confused, and without any real resolution. My husband and I were just starting our lives together, and spending over $1,000 was a huge investment for us. We chose to shop small because we wanted to support a local business, but this experience left us heartbroken. I'm sharing this not out of spite, but because I think others deserve to know what happened to us. If you purchase jewelry here, I strongly recommend having it independently verified as soon as possible. I truly hope no one else has to experience what we did.

Great service! Thank you for accommodating me on a Sunday. The owners are Professional and…read morepassionate about what they do.

I had some vintage jewelry from my grandmother that I wasn't sure what to do with. I found this…read moreplace online and made an appointment. The whole experience was easy. They took their time looking over each piece and explained everything clearly. I never felt rushed or pressured. I ended up selling a few items and felt really good about the offer I received. If you're looking to sell vintage jewelry, this is a great spot--private, honest, and easy to work with.

A family owned business where the gems seem to be blossomed from their heart. Each pice of jewelry…read moreis designed by the son and mother. The service provided is one with compassion and love. This is my favorite place to buy stones and jewelry! The ambiance is a must see at least! The view from inside the business is just as radiant as each piece of jewelry glittering inside the store.

Not just stunning high quality jewelry but incredible women working here! I purchased a ring here…read moreseveral years ago I absolutely love and never failed to receive complements on it so I made the long drive to pick another and I couldn't be more impressed with the level of care coming from such genuine owners. Thank you Penelope! Rien

Wow, I just found a new personal jeweler…read more This is a small, out of the way, jewelry store that a friend recommended to me. I was happy with my old place, so was not really thinking I would change, but after taking, and then buying, from Tina, I will never see my old jeweler again. The prices were better than I was paying and the quality is higher. If you are looking for that special thing for that special person, I highly recommend you talk to Tina.

This is a great small personal Jewelry store…read more They don;t seem to stock a lot of stuff, but this is fine with me, as they can quickly get any of the off-the-shelf items you see around and customize it for you, or, like I do, go in with an idea of what you want and they work with you to have it make. The part I really like, is that the prices are much less that you would find someplace else. Well, I guess this is more secondary to me, as I get exactly what I want, made the way I wanted it, with the stones I want. If you are looking for a small jeweler, that will treat you like a VIP, I would highly recommend Anaheim Jewelry.

Choose Mokumeganeya to make your rings if you want something unique and meaningful for your wedding…read morerings! Location is within a corporate building so need to make an appointment in advance. We had our showroom appointment with Phi and he was such a pleasure to work with. We were honestly not ready for how many choices we would make to create our rings but it made the journey fun and we were eagerly waiting to see how they turned out. They were high quality and absolutely perfect. The whole Mokumeganeya team including Alfred and Manami are wonderful and excellent with communication with us. We couldn't ask for more out of our ring shopping experience.

Very interesting offering for their Sakura signature diamond. Fair and transparent dealers. Lovely…read moresettings. If you know exactly what you want and the price you want, this is a great place.