14 Karats Fine Jewelry

I just realized that after 8 years of wonderful jewelry, I have never written a Unilocal review for 14 Karat. I love this place. The workmanship is outstanding, and the guidance is tactful and sound. Each jeweler has a unique approach. The artistic style at 14 Karat is my favorite. Its a plus that the stones are high quality. You can trust this place, and they can tweak jewelry size and customize fit. This is a smaller boutique with great customer service. The dog is an added plus. Enjoy!

I have been going to this place for over 20 years. Great family, great work. I had 18 kart gold bangle and want my grand daughters to have a bangle made with the 18kt gold bangle and half sterling silver and their names engraved inside. They were 2 and 3 years ago they are still wear them daily. They agreed to take off and extend when it’s time. My daughter got her husbands ring made here. The prices are fair And the work is great.

Needed a battery replaced on an oldish, obscure heart-​rate monitor. Tried the guys across the street — no luck. Walked into 14 Karats. They said, «Normally we don’t do watch batteries, but let me see what I can do…» Five minutes later, I walked out with a working monitor. Simple, friendly, professional. Very nice proprietors. And a beautiful, friendly Australian Shepherd to keep me company while I waited.

If you are in search of anything special… I’d never trust anyone else than Jon. Best jewelry shop ever.

My fiancée and I came here today infix my engagement ring. The guys were awesome. They were recommended to us and we were not disappointed. Such a cute place and pleasant personalities. Good to know people like this.

For over 20 years I have given this family owned establishment my business because they provide quality service and masterpieces every time. Our family uses this business as our go to for any jewelry need. Whether you need custom work, elegant pre-​designed pieces, or a not so common repair this is a one stop jewelry boutique. I’ll shamelessly tell anyone I feel like family every single time I step through the threshold. Sure one could go to a chain-​based establishment and maybe get lesser quality for less, but here everything is guaranteed and unique. People frequently ask about my custom nose rings and I always brag «my jeweler made it»,
Whether your budget is tight or of no consequence, I am sure you will find something impressive and worth every cent. The Moriarty’s entire expert team is friendly and gifted.

The best jeweler in the whole SF area. Great design, exceptional service. Look no further.

I love this neighborhood gem of a store and the terrific service I have gotten from John. He is extremely reasonable and knowledgable without being cocky and always treats me exceedingly well without a hint of smarmy. His son hasn’t quite filled his father’s shoes but I remain hopeful.

Look no further for unique, gorgeous hand-​crafted rings!
14 Karats Fine Jewelry folks are incredibly talented craftspeople. My husband and I got our wedding/​engagement rings there and 18 years later we are still so happy with our decision to go with them. I brought in grandma’s diamond and they fashioned a beautiful gold/​rose gold ring around it. My husband got a Celtic band. John and his team are friendly, creative and you get amazing design and quality at a great price.

This is the most amazing jewelers! They fixed my ring and put in a stone that I chose. When I told them a year later that I wasn’t quite happy with the stone, and wanted to trade in the stone for a larger one, they put in a larger stone and did all the work for free.

Jon made me a gorgeous custom sapphire engagement ring! The process was really enjoyable and quick (even though it was December). Jon has a wonderful selection of fair-​trade loose sapphires in every color imaginable. I fell in love with one and he worked with me to make a lovely setting for it, and then a matching wedding band. He is a down-​to-​earth and funny guy, and it was a fun process. I’ve sent a few friends there to have their engagement/​wedding rings done, and everyone has loved him too.

I consistently get great customer service from them. I’ve bought some rings here, and any time there’s a problem (like a bent prong) they help me out on the spot.

I had the pleasure of working with 14 Karats for a styled wedding photo shoot where I selected the bride and groom’s jewelry. They were helpful, had great ideas, and were very easy to talk to. They have a fantastic selection of rings as well as pearl earrings and bracelets. Thank you, 14 Karats! Highly recommended.

I was very pleased at the end result of my wife’s antique ring being fixed. The only reason I am not giving 5 stars is the greeting at the shop was a little like «what do you want?» vs what I would expect more like «How can we help you or welcome to 14 karats.» In the impersonal era we live in personal touch goes a long way in my book.

OMG if you are in Berkeley you have to visit 14 Karats. They have been in business at least since I was a student there 25 years ago. Back then I couldn’t afford anything (not because they are overpriced– just because I was a starving student).
Now when I visit relatives in the Bay Area I always stop by. They have amazingly original designs (especially with rings). I just bought an antique ring for a pinkie ring and a beautiful one of a kind moonstone and gold ring for my right hand.
They can custom make anything. Service is outstanding. I can’t recommend them highly enough.
PS– I didn’t get invited to the bar! Oh well…

Great place!
Friendly no-​nonsense service. My fiancé and I wanted to get our wedding rings and had been to several other places that had tried to sell us the most expensive options (e.g. comfort fit rings, platinum vs silver).
14 Karats simply asked what we wanted, gave us a quote and made us the rings we wanted. We collected them a week later no problem.
Excellent value for money. A delight not to be the subject of a hard sell.

Love this place. Not only did they make me the perfect engagement ring, they provided me with options that kept me from having to make some tough design decisions that should be left up to my fiancé.
After the proposal, my wife was able to go into the store and design a totally custom band with John.
Everything worked out perfectly.
Thanks guys!

This was hands-​down the best service I have seen while searching for the engagement ring for my fiancée.
All the manufacturing takes place in the next room, and you can see everyone loves their job. Since you get an actual jeweler at the counter, they are very knowledgeable about everything. They helped us pick a really nice band, and since we didn’t want a diamond, the guy actually took a blue sharpie and colored the diamond blue so we could see how the design we wanted would look with a sapphire.
They also have a wide selection of loose stones, and we were able to pick a sapphire we really liked. This plays well with the fact that most of their rings are custom jobs; the ones on display are there mostly to give you an idea of what you might want.
What also impressed us was how quickly they were able to complete the order. I wanted to give the ring to my fiancée before she left on business for a month, and John was able to complete the ring in 3 days. When we came in to try it, the ring was too big; within only an hour, they completed two size adjustments for it to fit.
We were extremely satisfied, having received very good counsel, a fair price, professional service and a very uniquely designed ring. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful and took their time in guiding us through the process, even though our ring was not one of the pricier ones.
All in all, awesome.

6 stars!
The whole process has been absolutely fantastic with 14 Karats.
My bf (fiancé!) does not Unilocal but tells me when he went in, John was very straightforward and helped him choose a diamond and even suggested mounting it in a sample setting so we could come back and design the ring together (brilliant!!).
The design process was great as well, I love how unique my ring is and how helpful John and his wife were. We will definitely be going back for the wedding bands!

BOTTOM LINE AT THE TOP: Unless they think you’re going to drop $$$, they treat you like you’re worthless.
Been in their a few times: once to look for rings (got great service), and then to great my watch fixed (they pretty much threw me out the front door).
With so many other places in North Berkeley that have similar selections and competitive prices, I’d take my money to a place that doesn’t treat you differently based on how much money the THINK you’re going to drop.
Where has all the service gone these days?