I feel compelled to leave a review regarding my experience with selling gold here. You can see my other reviews, I have been selling scrap gold for 15 years or so as a way to finance new jewelry I want to have made for myself. I had about 16 grams of scrap 22K gold I had to sell a few months ago. The gold was worth about $1100. I met with Kevin when I entered and as he was weighing my items (I also have a professional scale and weigh everything before submitting), he told me he only works in Pennyweights and would not be able to tell me the conversion to grams as he "does not know how the conversion works". I have never encountered a bench jeweler who would say that. He is extremely rude. Let's say he really doesn't know about conversions, a simple google search could correct that (which is what I did). He offered about $500. Being new to the area which is a smaller town and about to leave on vacation in a day, I accepted the offer, but later when I compared the receipt he had given me along with the weights in pennyweights, they didn't align with my measured weights once I converted the values I had written down. At this point I could not do anything, but felt a bit crappy about the whole transaction. Skip ahead to last week when I took a well measured pouch of 22k gold jewelry as a test, some of it scrap, and was again given an extremely low-ball offer. Here is some perspective: it was 19.585 Pennyweight or 30.36 grams. The baseline value of the gold at the worst rate is $1980. He offered me $915, which is about $700 less than the best offer I got from another local buyer and about $500 less than the worst offer I got from a local pawn shop. Needless to say, I did not sell my scrap gold to him. This is not someone I would want to work with in the future nor would I consider for selling any gold in the future. I would consider his lack of clarity during the buying process to be highly suspect and think this has probably been the most unpleasant experience I have ever had selling gold. I have received low-ball offers before, but at least those people have been upfront about their business model. I can't say the same here. Condensed version: Rude, unprofessional, doesn't give clear explanations, and gives the lowest prices in the area for any jewelry or gold you will want to sell. STAY AWAY! read more

I wish I could post no stars for this review. My mother brought my great grandmother's canary diamond ring to Kevin Bear to have the band changed and resized in November. He did not give her any kind of claim ticket or documentation showing that she had dropped the ring off. When she went to pick up the ring she noticed that the sides of the ring where the new band had been inserted was VERY obvious. She took it back to Kevin and he agreed to try and fix it. Since it was a Christmas gift I didn't have a chance to look at the ring until Christmas. When I tried the ring on, I noticed right away that the center stone was loose. It was not loose when we dropped it off to have it resized and we were kind of confused why he had even altered the setting because we only wanted the bottom part of the band replaced. Upon further inspection I noticed that not only was the center diamond in danger of falling out of the ring, but the one side of the setting had also been melted. It was evident where he had soldered the new band on the ring and there were indentations on the side of the ring where he attempted to meet the original and new metals. There were also areas where the new metal had not been smoothed completely and it appeared lumpy. I feel like I could have done as good if not better job if I had attempted to fix the ring myself. I didn't want to wear the ring with the center diamond loose. We were so upset about the setting being melted since it was a family heirloom. My mother took the ring back to Kevin to see if he could adjust the price he charged since it was such shoddy work. (He also charged her an additional $50.00 for rhodium plating without even calling for her approval.) He REFUSED to do anything about the price he had charged since he said that he "had done the work." If I was a jeweler, it is not work that I would want associated with my name. He also told my mom that it was "not a problem" that the center stone was loose. We expected to receive our "repaired" ring back in wearable condition. I guess that is not the case when you are working with Kevin Bear. We took the ring to Mountz Jewelers in Carlisle and they attempted to repair the ring. When we went to pick it up, it still didn't look right and the wonderful jeweler there told us that was the best he could do trying to fix the work done by Kevin. He also told us that Kevin had used white gold when the setting of the ring was platinum and the two metals did not match at all. Mountz Jewelers ended up fixing the setting and restoring the band to its original platinum. It looks amazing and you would not even know the ring was ever worked on. We are beyond thrilled. We were so disappointed in not only Kevin's lack of professionalism, but also his lack of jewelry expertise and his awful customer service. We really wanted to give our business to a small local jewelry store and we really thought Kevin Bear fit that bill. I had previously brought watches to him to have batteries changed and did not have any problem. I would not recommend his services for anything even remotely more difficult than battery replacement as it is out of his skill set. You would be better off trying to fix your jewelry with a blowtorch at your own home. There were many tears and a lot of frustration, not to mention wasted money ($435.00 to be exact) over our experience with Kevin Bear and I cannot stress enough how much we would NEVER RECOMMEND HIM. Seriously, do not trust his motto "The Trusted Jeweler" and take your business elsewhere. I really wish we had. read more

This is an update. Kevin Bear is my Go-To jeweler for new or estate jewelry as well as resizing, repairing, Restringing, Or remaking any kind of jewelry. He is friendly and explains what he can do and why he can't do something (wrong metal for example), I've never had a problem. He has the knowledge and expertise to work with my inherited pieces as well as more recent purchases. He also has a nice selection of new and consignment / vintage pieces, which I always check out and often shop from. Kevin and his assistant Beverly are friendly and helpful, and the small shop is bright and comfortable. Highly recommended! read more

Myself and my husband have gone into Kevin Bear Jewelers several times and have always been satisfied with the service we received. Beverly, who works there, is very friendly and helpful. If she doesn't know the answer she checks with Kevin to be sure that she is helping you correctly. It's great to have a local, reasonably priced jeweler in Carlisle. I like that they sell some beautiful pre-owned & consignment pieces. And I like that there is a place in Carlisle to get my watch batteries replaced for a reasonable price. If you are looking for a unique piece of jewelry, including wedding rings, stop by Kevin Bear Jewelers and see what he has. read more

I have known Kevin for over 20 years and can say, without a doubt, he is one of the most honest, trustworthy & friendly individuals I have ever had the pleasure of doing business with; both as a customer and as a service provider. He goes out of his way to offer suggestions, ideas and what "not to do's" to help guide you with a purchase you may be planning on making. His dedication to his craft is beyond reproach and shows in the attention to detail he provides with each and every transaction he is involved in. You will not be sorry in seeking his advise, help and direction when purchasing any type of jewelry from his business. Guaranteed!!! Linda B read more

We brought my wife's watch in for a battery towards winter's end. Recently, it began losing time & I wondered if it was the battery or something else. We brought the watch in & provided a full description of what was going on. The young lady, Beverly, said she would have Kevin check it on Monday & let us know if it was the battery or other issues. We even discussed the possibility of possible repairs & estimated costs, to which both my wife & I had no issue with. We got a call telling us the battery was changed & the watch was keeping correct time. Upon picking it up, I inquired about any other issues the piece may have had. Kevin then said that he replaced the battery; upon pressing the issue, I found that no checking had been done into the watch's operational parts & that the battery was changed ONLY. I asked if it was normal for a battery to have a 4 month lifespan & was told they should last a year. Again, asking why this lasted only 4 months, the reply received was (paraphrasing) "the battery should last a year; if it doesn't, it's the watch". Asking again, if this was looked into more deeply, I was told the battery was changed. I paid for the battery & left. Long story condensed, I brought a ladies' watch in for service (battery or more, if needed) & NOTHING WAS DONE. We are now looking for a quality jeweler in the Carlisle, Pa area. read more