Sam’s Jewelry & Watch Repairs – Downtown – Los Angeles, CA
address:
637 S Hill St
Ste F9
Los Angeles, CA 90014
Neighborhood: Downtown
TEL: (213) 817-6001
Hours:
Mon-Fri 9 am – 5 pm
Sat 10 am – 5 pm
About This Business:
Specialties
Custom Jewelry Designs
Jewelry Repairs
Ring Sizing
Laser welding
Platinum Repairs
Precious Stone Replacement
Necklace & Bracelet Repair
Pearl Restringing
Jewelry Cleaning
Watch Repairs
Watch Battery Replacement
Custom Engraving
Eyeglass Repair
we buy Gold -silver -platinum – watches
History
Established in 2002
LA Times on may 2,2010
Jewelry repairers who are worth their weight in gold
By Emili Vesilind
Sam's Jewelry and Watch Repairs
Jeweler Sam Boktor starting working in his father's jewelry store in Egypt when he was barely able to see over the front counter. That may be why he's not afraid to touch broken and bruised pieces that other jewelers deem "unfixable."
Boktor's 8-year-old repair shop — located in the center of downtown's teeming jewelry district — is known for taking on problematic pieces and for its slick, made-to-order jewelry. The friendly proprietor, who moonlights at his new store, Galleria Jewelry and Watch Repairs at the Glendale Galleria mall, made bracelets for singer Jason Mraz's 2008 world tour and once crafted a custom wallet chain for Ricky Martin.
Prices range affordable, and Boktor often doesn't charge for routine cleanings and "simple things."
Meet the Business Owner: Sam B.
LA Times on may 2,2010
Jewelry repairers who are worth their weight in gold
by Emili Vesilind
Sam's Jewelry and Watch Repairs
Jeweler Sam Boktor starting working in his father's jewelry store in Egypt when he was barely able to see over the front counter. That may be why he's not afraid to touch broken and bruised pieces that other jewelers deem "unfixable."
Boktor's 8-year-old repair shop — located in the center of downtown's teeming jewelry district — is known for taking on problematic pieces and for its slick, made-to-order jewelry. The friendly proprietor, who moonlights at his new store, Galleria Jewelry and Watch Repair at the Glendale Galleria mall, made bracelets for singer Jason Mraz's 2008 world tour and once crafted a custom wallet chain for Ricky Martin.
Prices range affordable, and Boktor often doesn't charge for routine cleanings and "simple things."
Reviews
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He did an AMAZING job with my rings. His work is better than I expected and his service is so kind and sincere. I would highly recommend him for any of your jewelry repair needs. I got 2 rings resized, on needed the tips redone to secure the diamond (old 1940’s piece that was my Grandma’s original engagement ring – HE DID AN AMAZING JOB, maintained the original design and feel of the ring), he also dipped my engagement ring which was 10k and I evidently needed 14k to avoid skin allergies. THANK YOU. I will definitely be highly recommending your services to friends. As a side note, I imagined an older gentleman, Sam is a youngin, couldn’t be older than 35. Good job for really mastering your craft.
After wearing my engagement ring for a couple of weeks, I decided it was too tight in hot weather and wanted to get it resized. ?Of course, I couldn’t find anyone I would trust close to home in the valley, so expanded my search to the greater Los Angeles area. ?Endless thanks to Yelp for guiding me to Sam! ?My fiance called and made an appointment just in case and we drove on down. ?He works out of a small room in a building full of jewelry sales counters. ?We were confused about where to go at first but finally saw the F9 on the right side towards the back. ?I gave him my ring and told him I needed to go bigger. ?I wasn’t sure what size I wanted to go up to and he had me try on different sizes on the ring sizer until I was confident and answered my questions on how a ring should fit, stressing that my comfort was the most important criteria. ?He cleaned it first until it was so shiny I hardly recognized it and then began the resizing process. ?He could tell I’d never seen a ring resized before and explained to me what he was doing and why. ?He had me try on my ring, making sure it was perfect before letting us leave. ?I was worried that my ring would look different, that I’d be able to see where it was resized, but that wasn’t true at all! ?It looks even better than before! ?I only went up half a size, but it made such a huge difference. ?I am very glad I found Sam. ?He took care of my ring and the price was so good, I felt like I was taking advantage! ?Will definitely be back for any jewelry needs in the future.
Sam does excellent work!Thanks Yelpers for guiding me to Sam’s. The setting, stone included, on my wife’s wedding ring somehow separated itself from its band. Luckily the setting was found in her jacket pocket. ?I took said pieces to Sam who made the necessary repairs. He also did an expert job of cleaning the stone/setting/band. Exceptional work Sam! ?My wife was quite please to say the least. Thank you.
Sam is honest and a true craftsmen. I’m glad I went to him for watch needs. I couldn’t recommend him enough! His shop is in F9 all the way in the back right hand side. Thank you!! :*)
Sam’s Jewelry & Watch Repair is a gem in itself. I took my engagement ring to be re-sized here because of the great Yelp reviews (and fellow yelpers were right!). Although I knew my ring size, Sam had me try a ring sizer to double check. He re-sized my ring perfectly. I also gave him 3 gold bracelets to fix (latch) and not only did he fix the latches on the bracelets, ?he polished them to look brand new! ?Very good work at affordable prices. I would recommend Sam’s to anybody who needs a trusted person to work on their jewelry.
Love Sam! He is honest, fair, quick, and I completely trust him with my jewelry. His work is flawless
Sam did an expert job at restoring a vintage watch that i had brought to him. ?His charges were very reasonable. ?he was extremely pleasant and courteous and the restoration was completed within a week. ?I was so pleased that i brought him a mechanical watch that needed servicing. ?Once again I was extremely pleased at the reasonable cost for the service. ?the watch was serviced within a week of me dropping it off. ?I highly recommend Sam. ?I only regret that i do not have more items for him to repair.
I yelp’d for a good shop to resize a ring and replace the batteries for a few of my watches, and decided to go with Sam’s shop.I brought in a silver ring that my friend had hand made to have resized along with 3 of my watches. Sam welcomed my friends and I in and asked what services we needed done. After filling out a little sheet, he asked when I needed my things by and I responded with whenever but the sooner the better.My friends and I decided to wait around the shop so Sam told me he told get started on the ring and watches right away. He asked me if I wanted to get the ring I was currently wearing (a matching ring to the one I needed service on) polished, and, why yes. Yes I did!I believe she was an assistant maybe of Sam’s but she started on my watches right away and Sam worked on the rings.When I got my finished rings back, I was surprised with the work he had done with them. Not only did he do the requested service to the (obviously hand made silver rings, that were not professionally done). He had made them look brand new, professional, and beautiful.The rings had significance because of the small initials that were stamped on the rings when they were made, and Sam had some ink fill it in so that you were able to see them more clearly.I’m more than happy with the results and I would recommend going to Sam to anyone. Not to mention, Sam’s pricing is extremely reasonable and he takes precision in your requests. Thumbs up!!!!
After about a week of intensive research on Yelp of everywhere between Pacific Palisades to Pasadena and Long Beach to Burbank- I knew all there was to know (second-yelp-hand) about resizing an engagement ring. or fixing a watch. What I wanted to know is who would resize a set of stacking amber rings? And do it while preserving the amber (which can’t handle heat) and preserving the distance of the locking sections?After realizing that the search “ring resizing” would be a fail as people keep referencing engagement rings, I started searching for “jewelry repair” for someone who could potentially resize my rings without messing them up. I made a list of 18 stores in LA and Orange County to call during my lunch break with Sam’s Jewelry being on top thanks to sixty five wonderful yelpers before me. My first question would be if Sam could resize amber rings, it was an immediate and assured answer regarding his having the correct equipment. I asked for a price and it was very reasonable, so I actually didn’t even call a single other shop after Sam’s confident response and the reasonable price of the ring resize. [I wanted a reasonable price, because I was hoping this would be a trial run for finding a go-to jeweler for me and the rest of my transplant friends.] I bravely drove into DTLA on a weekday afternoon just to see him, I have not driven in DTLA in the last decade- so this was a testament to my faith in Sam. After my nightmare that was parking, I found Sam in the back of the jewelry mall as other yelper’s had stated (ty fellow yelpers!) and he was very nice. Sam answered a lot of my questions in my frazzled state and made me feel comfortable and secure. I looked around a bit as he resized my three amber rings set in silver, another silver ring with a gemstone on top, threw in a complimentary polish on a silver bracelet that was previously thought to have been purposely darkened- not just tarnished, and steam cleaned a silver necklace. While I waited. Seriously. I wouldn’t have let anyone have precious care of my amber rings away from my care since they were a gift from my mom, so I was very appreciative of Sam taking care of it right away.However, here is the kicker- this is why I was on the phone raving compliments about him for the last three hours when my usual phone time on a Tuesday night is the four texts to ask people about getting dinner at the last minute—- drumroll please—Sam spent a full hour with me answering all the jewelry questions I have wanted to ask, but have always been too afraid to ask because of fear of looking ignorant or setting myself up to be duped. I had read a lot about jewelry online in the last week for my hunt to resize my rings and my new year’s resolution to absolutely update my jewelry box. Anything that didn’t fit was going to be altered to fit and anything I didn’t like- I wanted to melt down and remake to something I would like… We talked about a lot of options and I felt comfortable with him and his answers and will no longer yelp to find someone else. Additionally, we came up with a variety of ideas for a custom bracelet for my mom’s birthday. It was a spur of the moment idea, but incredibly disjointed and Sam was incredibly patient, knowledgeable, understanding— it was like wikipedia became a person and gave me a hug before suggesting links I would find informative when furthering my search.Sam was amazing about being honest about cost and helping me stay within a range I felt comfortable without being condescending. I can honestly say that has never happened in a jewelry store. I think that was the main reason I stopped buying jewelry. I am now going to spend hours combing the internet to find the perfect engraving so we can go make a custom bracelet for my mom.Additionally, this is my first post in over 100 that I’m going to post photos so people can see resizing on delicate stones (is amber considered a stone, since it’s made out of tree sap?)PS Sam is a serious gentleman, he walked me out of the building after it had closed and offered to walk me to my car.
Great service, same day pickup. They really know what they are doing.
If you live or work Downtown and you need to replace the battery in your watch, go to Sam. It’s in the heart of the jewelry district. ?Convenient. Fast. Easy.Sam is great. ?2 watch batteries replaced at $5 each in less than ten minutes.
If you’ve never been to Sam’s shop before, it’s tucked away in Suite #F9 in the back right corner of ?637 S. Hill St. (not to be confused with Sue & Sam Jewelry at the same address).I originally found out about Sam through an LA Times article (http://moourl.com/opfxs) and through a friend’s Yelp review (http://moourl.com/42bas).My mom gave me her old engagement ring as a gift for when I proposed to my girlfriend. I didn’t know my girfriend’s ring size, so I looked for a jeweler who could size the ring for her immediately after I proposed, so she could wear it that day! Sam fit the bill perfectly. After I proposed downtown, my fiancee and I walked to Sam’s shop, and within about half an hour, he had re-sized her ring (for a good price, too)!About a month later, my fiancee decided the ring was actually a little bigger than she wanted it to be, so we went back to Sam. He adjusted it for free ?: )It’s always a pleasure to sit in his shop and watch him work! Sam is always nice and very patient. He works quickly and always does an amazing job. I highly recommend his work!
Been back to Sam’s a couple times and I’m still so happy with his great sevice! What a nice talented guy! Keep it up Sam!
Sam’s great!!! His little repair shop is at the end of the floor with other jewelers. I was a little confused at first since i was expecting a storefront, but i am unfamiliar with how jewellery district works.i brought in my mom’s vintage rolex (from the 1930s) with a gold rivet bracelet where the the center link and one of the sides fell out (SEE PICTURES), but the rivet end was still attached. i took it to a watch repair who told me to go to a jeweler so i took it to a jeweler/watch repair with 5 star reviews on yelp, and he told me i was missing pieces and that there was NO WAY he could repair it! I panicked and was about to go to rolex to see if they could fix it, expecting to drop a ton; thankfully, yelp and Sam came to the rescue! He told me it was no problem and he just had to find a spring? for it. He did say he won’t be able to make that one link stretchy again which wasn’t a big deal to me. He gave me an estimate after 2 business days (and i was expecting $100 if i was lucky, but it only came out to be $50!) he promptly called me twice, once for the estimate and once when the watch was ready! the watch was fixed in one business day after i okay-ed it! I also wanted the links to be moved to reduce the size of the bracelet and he did it in one minute! ***Tip: Try to street park $2 every hour…otherwise parking is like $4 for every 15 min or $4 flat rate after 4pm. Cash onlyFavourites: Super fast! Actually called me. Was able to fix what others said they couldn’t! Do not want: hard to find parking…Last words: Fast & professional
Stopped in for a quick watch band replacement and Sam immediately found something cool and sized it for me while I waited.
Definitely, Sam’s is as good as it gets. ?Thank you Yelp for another great find. ?I took Sam a watch, a pair of white gold rings, and a pair of earrings. ?Watch needed a battery and I got the Yelp discount so it cost me $5. ?One the earrings need a backing and both needed cleaning and one needed some repair. ?The rings needed to be dipped in rhodium and cleaned. ?All for a bargain price. ?Work was done while we waited. ?Rings and earrings came out sparkling white and looked as good as new. ?Sam is trustworthy, fast and professional. ?He’s very personable and just a cool righteous dude. ?If you need your jewelry fixed, cleaned, or watch repaired, Sam’s the man.
Sam fixed my watch for about a third of the price that was quoted to me at another shop and it was ready in a couple of hours. ?The other shop told me it would take them 10 days to order parts for my watch. ?Glad I found this place!
My fiance gave me his grandmothers beautiful vintage platinum ring when he proposed last January. ?I LOVE it, however, it was a full size too big. ?After making call after call to jewelery stores to get quoted about resizing, I began to get frusterated. ?Every place I called said it would take a week to get my ring resized…a week?? Really? ?There was no way I was leaving my precious ring in someones shop for more than a few hours, let alone a whole week! ?I’ve heard horror stories about that!And then, thanks to Yelp, I found Sam. ?I called up Sam on a Saturday and made a same day appointment. ?My fiance and I drove to DTLA and met Sam who was very kind, friendly, and hard working. ?He resized my ring in about 25 minutes and cleaned it for free! ?It looked like a brand new ring after he was done with it, I couldn’t stop looking at it! ?Sam is a true professional and provided excellent customer service. ?I recommend him for all of your jewelry repairs/needs. ?My fiance is having Sam fix his watch band for him as we speak. 
Went in for a battery replacement for my watch that I had been putting off for too long. I was going to do it myself but came across the reviews on yelp with this watch repair shop located near my work. Mentioned Yelp and got the replacement for $5…the battery alone is pretty much worth that! Highly recommend as was in and out in 5min and he definitely knew what he was doing. I’ll be back and not because the battery goes out.
Did a very nice job for a great price on resizing a ring that others said they couldn’t do. ?Would recommend this place to anyone.
Sam is really fantastic.I have had a necklace and a watch repaired here. ?The necklace was done within an afternoon, and Sam actually fixed some things on the necklace that I hadn’t even noticed before bringing it in, without extra charge. ?The watch was fixed for $20 less than what the watch manufacturer quoted me.He works quick, and the work is good. Cash only, btw.
I needed to get my rings resized, but there was no way i was going ?to leave it for repair for a few hours or let alone over one week! So I yelped around to see if there were any onsite repair shop where i can wait for the resizing. I found Sam’s Jewelry thanks to yelpers. I called and took my rings for resizing. Sam was very nice and resized my rings in like 30 minutes while i was there watching him work! The ring was beautiful and looked like new!! He also offered to clean my necklace~~ I would definately recommend Sam to everyone looking for a Nice job and good prices too!
I brought my engagement ring to Sam to take it down a full size and I couldn’t be happier with the results. Someone else had mentioned their ring looking better than when they first got it and I totally agree. My ring was dropped in champagne and wasn’t cleaned after that. You can’t even tell it was resized and when I got it back (I waited for about an hour) I fell in love it all over again. He’s located in a jewelry plaza so make sure you go to F9 since there are two Sam’s. I’d recommend anyone who’s looking to resize their ring to go here.
Just had my watch batteries replaced. ?While I was waiting, I asked him if he could do anything to make my engagement ring and wedding band look nicer. ?He made them look brand new…even better looking than when I first got them. ?He’s very nice and prices are reasonable. ?Will definitely be back for other jewelry repairs.
Wow, Sam is incredible. ?I asked him if he could take a couple links out of my watch. ?I had tried to do it myself for about 3 hours last night, and failed. ?He was friendly, quick, and efficient. ?He was done in about 10 minutes.When I asked Sam how much I owed him, he said he would feel bad charging me since I had worked on it myself for a little while. ?He refused to take my money! ?The next time I need help, I’m definitely coming back here.
This is a great establishment. Sam is a very nice guy and an expert in his field.A couple of months ago I had a watch band replaced and he did the job perfectly. He also fixed a few other issues with my watch at no additional charge. He is a great worker, very friendly, and I couldn’t have been more satisfied.Sam also did me a huge favor by letting me film a student film there. He even participated in the film and was incredibly generous with his time.I wouldn’t take my jewelry anywhere else! Sam is the best.
Sam did it again! I had been gifted an old-fashioned ring with a one-carat diamond in it. It was not my style, neither the setting nor the ring shape nor the color gold. I was hoping to take the stone out and get it put into a nice, classic bezel-setting. I came to Sam with a picture of a pretty, bezel-set ring that looked like what I wanted. Sam met with me, discussed my tastes, and proceeded to make me an even prettier version of the ring in the picture. He made it from scratch, and it is just breathtaking!!! The craftsmanship is amazing, and Sam is a champ! He even gave me credit for the scrap value of the old gold. Wow! ?And seriously, he couldn’t be nicer. I would give him six stars if I could!
I have taken 3 watches to service with Sam and he did a wonderful job with all 3. ?1 was a complete restoration of a 50yr old watch given to me by my grandfather. ?I trust Sam to service all my watches and recommend him to all my friends. ?Very friendly and does more than asked of him.BKS
Sam and his staff were great! He amazing work on an engagement ring I was having “made” ( It was my mother’s ring…replaced the entire band). Sam was very personable and let me watch the whole process. While Sam was busy finishing up the ring, a regular customer came in and said to me in private, “Sam is great. I dont trust anyone else with my jewelry”. That says a lot to me. So much so, that I wont go anywhere else.Thanks again, Sam!
After dropping my Omega Seamaster, I was pretty sure that I would be sending it off to the Omega service center. ?After doing a search, I heard that Sam was a local watch maker who could repair Omega’s and offer a warranty on the work. ?I am glad to say that he fixed the watch quickly and even polished up the scratches on the band. ?Thanks Sam!
Came here to get my wedding band sized down and Sam did a great job working with me to get the band sized exactly how I wanted it. At first I thought it was good but then after a few minutes I realized it was too tight so I went back and Sam gladly sized it for me several more times to get it just right. Really great work and plan on going back for some other things I need done!
My engagement ring belonged to my fiance’s grandmother, and it’s all a girl could ask for: a big, shiny, not-*too*-cruel diamond (well, it’s vintage, right?) set in an beautifully detailed, intricately-designed band. ?However, the band was also about four or five sizes too big, and after hearing some horror stories, we were really worried that some of the detailing would end up getting warped, squashed, or removed altogether in the process of resizing the ring. When we took the ring in to be resized, we chose Sam’s–and discovered that there was absolutely nothing to worry about. ?Sam cleaned and resized the ring in about half an hour without altering the band’s design at all. ?We even got to watch the whole (vaguely alchemical-looking) process: Sam soldered the pieces together by holding a blowtorch to the ring–and when he took the blowtorch away, the ring burned green for a good few seconds. ?I won’t lie, it was kind of awesome. ?It made me feel like I was getting the One True Ring. My precioussss….The long and the short of it is that I can’t recommend Sam highly enough. ?He’s very nice, his prices are more than reasonable, and he does quality work. ?I’ll definitely be back.
So disappointed – my Timex Triathalon just needed a new battery and it seemed really difficult to replace while I waited. ?There was a hard time getting it open and a really hard time getting it closed again. ?Upon returning to my office and setting the watch again all of the alarm functions (which I use for Running) no longer make any sound. ?No alarm function means the watch is now junk to me. ?I’m bummed and won’t go back!I am updating my experience to 3 stars because Sam contacted me personally to try to remedy the problem with my watch. ?I had already spent time online and at home figuring out the problem myself because I needed the watch for a long run the next day! ?I will try again with Sam in the future.
Simply amazing. ?We walked in at 10:48am and were back out the door at 11:20am even though Sam had one customer ahead of us. His work was flawless. I am going to go back to Sam to see if he can bring back a 1939 watch from the dead. Sam is a very nice young Egyptian man who has been in business on his own since 2000 and who began his profession at the age of TEN. ?You gotta love guys like that!!!
Sam is great! He is Extremely friendly and very fast. I will definitely be returning.
This week I decided to finally cowboy-up and get my antique winding watch repaired. I had gotten some quotes some time ago which were quite flooring ($130+ to fix the hairspring!!) and made me seriously consider buying a Swatch. But I LOVE my little antique store treasure, so I thought ?”Screw it.. at least if I check with Sam I’ll get an honest assessment.” When I told him my concerns about price, he gave me another option that others either didn’t or wouldn’t mention to me: I could put a modern mechanism in the housing for a FRACTION of the cost of repairing the damaged hairspring.VICTORY!!! I got to keep my watch, most of my money AND I no longer have to worry about winding my watch all the time!
Sam and his staff are honest Men’s Jewelry, reliable, friendly, fast, reasonably-priced expert craftsmen. ?What more could you ask for? ?I have taken four vintage watches here for cleaning and repair and he has fixed them all to my complete satisfaction. ?He is the first and only person I have met who would undertake to repair one of those metal diagonally-expandable bands from way back in the day – every other watch repair shop I had visited over the years said it could not be done. ? I unreservedly recommend Sam’s. ?As other reviewers have stated, cash only.
My engagement ring had been stuck on my finger for upwards of six months. Considering it’s theoretically supposed to be on all of the time, I ignored the problem, occasionally making some unsuccessful attempts to get it off. Today was one of the hottest days of the year so far, and my fingers were more swollen than usual, spurring me to take action. A quick Yelp search yielded Sam’s Jewelry & Watch Repair, and I took my fat hand Downtown. Sam carefully clipped off my overly clingy ring, and gently slid it off my finger. He did a quick repair, resize and cleaning for just $20. The ring looked better than it ever had, and I could not just keep on the ring — but take it off (a key, hoped-for feature in rings). Quick note: Sam’s shop is in the back, right corner of the showroom.
I discovered Sam’s through Yelp and am so glad that I did. ?He is an excellent craftsman and very knowledgeable about any type of watch. He repaired my Movado and it looks brand new again at a fraction of the price I would’ve paid elsewhere. Will definitely be recommending to other friends and going back again soon with my other watches.
I love Sam! He fixed two necklaces while I waited and cleaned my rings for free!
My fiance gave me his grandmother’s engagement ring made in the 1920’s. ?After a year the diamond started getting loose so we took it to a jewerly store in Manhattan Beach and the lady said this ring is in such bad shape and I should get a new one. ?I was so depressed since this ring means the world to me. ?I took it to Sam and he fix it in a week and it looks like new. ?His work is unbelieveable!!!!! Soooooooooooo thankful!
Sam is amazing. I received a Christmas present of a bangle and I had worn it out in three months time. ?I took this bangle to a jeweler who said he could fix it but it would break again after some use. ?And, I took it to a silversmith who was going to charge me $175.My friend referred me to Sam, and he fixed it with this amazing machine that does laser soldering and won’t heat or damage the rest of the bracelet. ?I stood there and watched him fix it in 15 minutes. ?He proceeded to polish it like brand new and showed me by stressing it, that the bracelet would not break easily anymore. ?I took it home that same day.Sam is worth it. ?Unless I move, I will only use him for future repairs.
I was directed to Sam by Farah Jewelry, which is a jewelry vendor not too far from Sam’s shop (also highly rated on this site). ?They handed me over to Sam because I was looking to adjust an engagement ring I wanted to present to my girlfriend. ?Sam gave me highly personalized service, and proved that he knows EXACTLY what he’s doing. ?He did a really quality job, where I can’t even tell that a job was done on the piece I brought in.In addition to helping me, Sam also showed me a few other projects that he’s done on the side for the musician Jason Mraz — a number of engraved pendants and pins for Jason’s “Fight with Knowledge” campaign, as well as bracelets for Mr. Mraz’s entire crew and accompanying band that featured the names of all of the stops on a recent tour they completed together. ?All from this little room in the back of 637 Hill Street — very impressive!Sam mentioned that he also runs the Galleria Watch and Jewelry Repair stand in the Glendale Galleria. ?I would keep my eye out for that if you’re in the area: if they do the same kind of work, then it’s definitely also a 5-star joint.Thanks Sam! ?She said “yes”!
Upon my recent engagement, I was very nervous about having my grandmother’s vintage ring re-sized. ?We definitely made the right choice in going to Sam!He is extremely friendly, professional, and does astoundingly fine work. ?The price is absolutely right, and we watched him complete the task in approximately a half-hour.All-in-all, it was a better experience than I ever could imagine, and will bring all of my jewelry needs to him in the future. ?Seriously, look no further, SAM IS THE MAN!!
I recently got engaged and, knowing that I wanted an aquamarine, my fiance wanted my input in picking out the ring. ?We first went to two different Tiffany locations and were unpleasantly surprised at the quality (and variation in quality) of their stones, in addition to the quality of the settings. ?(Aren’t they known for their settings?) ?We then decided that we wanted to have the ring custom-made, and immediately thought of Sam, based upon prior experiences with him and upon the reviews we had seen. ?I am SO glad that we went to him. ?We first picked out a stone ourselves and brought it to Sam (although apparently he could have helped us choose the stone, too). ?I had a somewhat vague idea of the type of setting I wanted, and Sam was great at helping me figure out what would look best with my stone and on my hand, giving me pros and cons of each of the various aspects of the setting I was considering (number and shape of prongs, height, thickness, etc.). ?I visited him a couple of times to obsessively tweak things based upon wax models and photos, and in the end I wound up with a gorgeous, perfect ring. ?EXACTLY what I wanted Cubic zirconia jewelry, and exactly right for me. ?Thank you, Sam! ?:-)
I went to see Sam this past weekend and he was so friendly and wonderful! Beware that there are 3 different Sam’s in the same building so make sure you go to Suite F9. It’s in the back right hand corner. I brought him a ring to size and he did it right there in front of me in less than 30 minutes! He even explained what he was doing every step of the way. He definitely knows what he is doing. I would highly recommend him to anyone.
There is no limit to what Sam can do. ?I took my engagement ring to him and was able to reset the prongs, re-size it, and make a custom wedding band that fits beautifully! ?He is an extremely talented craftsman and honest businessman. ?I will only take my jewelry and watches to Sam from now on.
Needed a quick battery installation during my lunch break. Quick and easy…no wait.
I took my grandmother’s antique engagement ring to Sam to be resized. Not only did he do it while I waited, but he was also able to give me some information about the cut of the diamond and everything! He also cleaned it and made it look like it was new. It came out perfect…and he is so nice! I would definitely trust him with any future jewelry repairs i might have. Sam’s the best!
Sam is a very nice guy and his work is very fast!I brought my necklace there once and he fixed it right away.But after that, I did something stupid and needed it to be repaired again.(It was totally my fault…)So I brought it back and explained what happened, and he fixed it for free!Also he did it in 5min!!
Great service! Sam stayed late to accommodate my schedule. Thanks so much for your help!
Just got my watch battery changed for an amazing price. Quick service too.
Very nice and very quick. I just had 2 watches, one nice, one not, that needed batteries. He replaced them in 10 minutes while we waited and gave me the Yelp price of $5 per battery, including the work. $10 and 10 minutes later I finally could wear the watch that had been waiting uselessly on my dresser for months. The only reason for the 4 stars is the heinous parking situation downtown. Call and ask him where to park before you go, he said they validate for a nearby structure. Also, his kiosk is in the back right corner of one of those indoor jewelry emporiums so you won’t see his name from the street rhinestone jewelry, so look for the address of the building.
Fixed my watch in one day. Charged me next to nothing for the screw that was missing. Kind, courteous, professional, and just makes you feel good about what he’s doing for you. Thanks Sam!
Look no further, if you need any kind of jewelry repair, Sam is The Best. ?I trust no man with my jewelry, other than Sam. ?His pricing is fair, very speedy and you get to see his magical hands revive your jewelry right before your eyes! ?I have been going to Sam for over five years now, he has fixed broken chains, resized rings, rhodium plated my white gold jewelry, replaced watch batteries, engraved pens, and so much more; I am truly greatful for his services. ?I refer friends and family without reservation, I know he can fix it all. ?Thank you Sam!
I had a lot of costume jewelry that I needed repaired. ?Rings with broken prongs, or the back of the ring broken, necklaces with missing links, bracelets with needed clasps. ?I took a bunch of my jewelry into Sam’s. ?They were not judgemental at all. ?I have taken some of my jewelry into other jewelry stores and the personnel act like it isn’t worth fixing if it isn’t an expensive piece. ?I don’t care how much my jewelry is worth, if I love it it doesn’t matter. ?At Sam’s they were extremely nice and non-judgemental. ?He did an EXCELLENT job at fixing all my jewelry and at very reasonable prices. ?My rings were $20 each to repair and well worth it. ?I am extremely happy with his work and the friendliness at Sam’s and I am going to refer him to all my costume jewelry loving friends! ?The only downfall is parking, the lot nearby is $4.00 per 15 minutes.
Wow in about 40 minutes my Moms’ antique engagement ring went from being too big and a little tarnished to a perfectly sized and beautifully shiny engagement ring. Thanks Sam & your lovely friend for doing such a good job. I’ll be recommending you to all my friends. ?Although there’s a problem, I can’t stop looking at my ring! 
I have a nice watch I’d been meaning to have adjusted (wristband too big) and needed a new battery for it too. I searched Watch Repair and saw that Sam’s business was close to my office. When you enter the 637 building, just walk past all the stalls to the back right corner. There is Sam’s stall.He fixed my watch. Thought I’d have to leave it overnight, but he took care of it right away in 15 minutes. Great service, good price. Highly recommend if you’re near the Jewelery District and need a watch repair. He also repairs other jewelry items.
Sam was really nice! It was closing time but he still fixed my watch! He gave me a reallly realllllly good discount too!!!!!!!
Sam repaired 2 water damaged watches of mine: an Omega and a Sinn. Watchmakers I had spoken to about the Omega wouldn’t touch it, they told me that I had to send it to the factory repair shop on the east coast. Sam did a beautiful job on both of them, he is a real craftsman.
so my boyfriend presented me with a lovely, antique engagement ring one lovely evening. however, that ring ended up constantly slipping off my finger. no fear, he said! we would go to this jewelry repair place he was referred to. once there, i told him that i didn’t even know what my ring finger size was, and he kindly helped me figure it out with his handy, dandy ring chain. also good to note that this guy was really, really friendly. totally personable and appreciative of your patronage. we had to leave to run some errands, but an hour later, we picked the ring up, resized perfectly and polished up to a really lovely sparkle!great craftsmanship, great service, and an all-around friendly guy!thanks sam!
Sam did great. ?I asked him to adjust my watch and he did it in a few minutes for free. Also, my diamond ring was missing a stone and I had a broken necklace that he fixed in a week. ?I was too busy to go to pick them up, but he called me a few times to remind me and he was always very nice. Finally my husband went to pick them up about few weeks later since Sam called me and my hubby said Sam was a really nice guy! He’s done everything that I wanted with such a reasonable price. I highly recommend him and I’m sure you won’t be sorry! He’s very professional and also a gentleman!
Always does a good job at a reasonable price.
Took my watch in to get the band fixed after I broke it trying to do it myself. Sam paid incredible attention to detail. Great work. Wouldn’t settle for a job less than perfect. Will definitely return for more service. Thanks!
Sam is a nice guy and is very accommodating. ?A couple of weeks ago, I brought a very old ring that was missing a center diamond as well as a couple of stones on the side. ?Sam was able to replace the stones and make the ring look like new! ?He was able to resize it perfectly, too. ?I am very happy with his work and will continue to take my jewelry to him.
I have been going to Sam’s Jewelry for awhile now and I will not go anywhere else. ?The first time I had to get a new battery for my watch and the turn around was really fast. ?He even sized a ring I brought in a few weeks later and it was the perfect size. ?I brought a friend and she now also goes to Sam to get her ring sized. ?Sam is very friendly and accomodates you of what you want.
Sam’s is great. I went here to resize and clean an engagement ring that was my grandmother’s, and he had it done the next day. When I found out the size was too still too big for my fiance because I didn’t have her ring size quite right, she took it back and he resized it again and only charged me less than half of the regular price. He even had it done within a couple hours. Very friendly, and all around great service. Highly recommended.
I wouldn’t go anywhere but here for my jewelry repairs, resizing and custom orders. I am picky with details and Sam is the nicest guy who will listen to what you need. And he will get it done perfectly and at a reasonable price you don’t find often these days. Really, no need to be reading long reviews here, just go to him and you will not go wrong. I have dealt with many jewelers and Sam is the best, I’ve gone to him so many times and each has been a perfect experience.
Sam was great. I took a new Guess watch to Sam to have him take out some links. He did the job in about ten minutes, and only charged me five bucks. The watch still looks great. He’s also generally very nice and accomodating. I’ll definitely go back if I need any other work done on the watch.
Sam was great. ?Everything i could’ve wanted. ?i had a swiss army watch that had stopped working a few years back. ?i knew it wasn’t the battery, but i was just being lazy about it. ?looked on yelp, found sam near my office. ?was hard to find his place at first – it’s in the back of one of those diamond seller stall-malls on Hill Street. ?But he was super nice, had it done within a day. ?i wanted some more stuff adjusted – sizing – which he did for free. ?this is the first review i’ve done on yelp – if that says anything i finally joined so i could make a comment about this guy. ?wouldn’t have found him without yelp. ?so thanks othe3r people who came before me. . .
I have my great grandmother’s engagement ring from the early 1900s and the delicate opals keep falling out. After reading reviews on yelp, I chose to take it to Sam’s since he has lots of experience dealing with antique rings. He was so nice and worked on it while I waited. It only took him about 15-20 minutes to reset the opal that had fallen out, I believe that he set it lower and added some glue and bent the prongs to hold it in better. It looked as beautiful as ever when he finished – you would never know there was any glue on it. AND he cleaned it for me. When I asked him how much I owed him, he wouldn’t accept any money and said it was easy and fast! I was so amazed! The last jewelry store I took it to charged me about $30 for the exact same thing! I can definitely understand why he has so many fantastic reviews. There’s a cool LA Times article posted in his office talking about him and how he learned the trade from his father (a jeweler) ?while a child in Egypt. Like the article says, you don’t want to risk taking your irreplaceable antique to someone who may return it altered and unfixable. But Sam has proven to be skilled, trusted, and very affordable. Just to reiterate what someone else said about his location, he’s in the small office in the back right of the building. That was the only way I was able to find him among all the vendors. Highly recommend him!
I read an article in the LA Times about the best jewelry repair shops. ?Sam’s was listed as one of them. ?I took him a gold watch that needed some links taken out of. ?When I came to pick it up he had made it so small that it wouldn’t even fit on my wrist. ?He had me wait for 45 minutes while he made it bigger. ?When I got back to work and really looked at it I was horrified. ?Not only was it still very tight but the workmanship looked as if my someone had tried to fix it with a soldering gun in a garage. ?The links were no longer mobile, the gold was a different color and the soldering looked just plainsloppy. ?And to top it off he didn’t give me back the solid gold links he removed. ?I returned the next day for the links. ?He did offer to redo it for me as he said he felt rushed with me sitting there waiting for him to fix his poor work the first time. ?I told him he should of sent me away and done a proper job. ?I declined his offer as I would never trust him with even the simplest of repairs after seeing what he did to my watch. ?I must say tho that he did offer to refund my money – which I gladly took as I can only imagine how much the repair is going to cost me now after the watch has been mangled. ?Need I say I would not recommend him to anyone.
Allow me to ditto the raves. ?First of all, Sam is YOUNG…I was going in expecting an old, wizened caricature of a jeweler!! ?I brought in my watch (for a battery) and a pin I bought at Flax eons ago that relies on a watch battery (it shows a little movie on an LED screen). ?He gave me the Yelp battery price on both, and took care of both in a twinkling (the watch right away; I left the pin and said I’d pick it up next week, but 30 min later got a call it was ready. ?He had invited me to wait a few more minutes for the pin but a meter was running…) ?The shop is immaculate and the patrons who mob his place are very friendly. It was a very pleasant experience and I am so glad to have found someone who isn’t going to “retire” on me any time soon (as happened with my trusted jewelers of yore!) ?While I waited for my watch to be serviced, I observed the various patrons picking up their items: ?a ring sized, a stone replaced, an expensive watch repaired. ?All of them were very, very happy with Sam’s work. ?Oh, and btw, may sound silly but of grave importance to me: ?CLEAN restroom facilities available while you wait.
OK, this is such an easy review to write. SAM IS THE MAN! We found him by searching Yelp, so I had to write a review of my own after meeting and doing business with him. We went in to get my fiance’s engagement ring re-sized. We read about the quick and excellent service he provides, well it is 100% true. Not only were we out of there in less than an hour with a flawless and perfectly re-sized ring…but we sat with him and watched the whole time! He is a great guy, the time flew by as we chatted with him. He even cleaned the other jewelry she was wearing for free! OH, and our ring re-size only cost 25 bucks! He is great at what he does, couldn’t have asked for anything more…he is as good as it gets! He repairs all kinds of jewelry, check him out. We will go back to him next time we need something done. He is in the Wholesale Jewelers Exchange building…when parking, look for lots on nearby parallel streets…many lots are only 6 bucks for the whole day, which is a lot cheaper than some of the short term lots around the downtown LA Jewelry district! Thanks again Sam!!
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