D&H Sustainable Jewelers

I’ve been putting off this review for quite some time, as I not only did not know what I wanted to say. But, I did not know how many stars I should rate.
Let me start with the day we searched for my wedding band. It was an all day event, that consisted of about 5 or 6 different spots throughout San Francisco. D&H being the last. I tried on many rings, and viewed many styles. All seemed very out of the box, and rather run of the mill. There were a couple of contenders. But after a long hard day of ring shopping, we finally arrived at D&H, where we were greeted by a lady named Jillian. She greeted us with a warm, and friendly smile. And was very helpful in showing me everything out of the cases that I wanted to try on. I finally after a whole day of trying on rings found a unique master piece that fits who I am. Rough on the outside with its hammered finish, but smooth on the inside. Its got 12 nice sparkly diamonds, set randomly which reminds me of the stars, or a constellation. I am so in love with my ring, that I never take it off. And every time I look at it, I can’t help but smile. It reminds me of my forever love that I share with my beautiful wife.
But… every rose has its thorn… My original ring was too small. When we said our vows, and she slid my ring on, it was unbearably tight. So tight that it would not come back off!!! We tried, and tried to get it back off. We iced my hand, tried to wrap my finger in Dental floss, wd-​40, windex, lotion. Nothing was getting this thing off my finger. I finally had to go get my ring cut off on my big day.
So the day we left for our honeymoon, I had to take my ring cut in pieces back to D&H. Luckily, they said they could fix it, and make it bigger this time. They said it would be about a month or so. But about two weeks later I got a call, and my ring was done.
Much to my surprise, my ring was as beautiful as ever, and fit much, much better this time!
In all, I took away one star, because, I do recall going about with Jillian originally about the size, while she was sizing me the first time around. I do recall, asking for a bigger size. And I do recall her telling me that I wanted the ring to fit tightly. Its unfortunate that it did not fit correctly the first time, and that I had to go through this madness. As well, as the jeweler having to make my ring all over again (at my expense). I’m just thankful, that my ring came out just as stunning the second time.

When it comes to that special day I looked to this unique jewelry store that specializes in sustainability.
Rebecca Hooper is a delight to work with and made the experience one to remember. Thank you!

These guys were great, so happy that I walked in the door on a whim one day to just check them out. I bought my wife’s engagement ring there, got her wedding band there, and used them to re-​size my grandfather’s ring for my wedding band. Jillian was the main person I worked with and she was fantastic, incredibly helpful and really took the stress out of the whole thing for me as a groom-​to-​be that was clueless about jewelry shopping. She helped me narrow down my girl’s preferences in jewelry based on the stuff she likes, did some research and provided a great assortment of options. Pricing was great, honestly ended up spending a lot less than I anticipated. Couldn’t recommend them more, definitely ask for Jillian if you go in.

D&H Jewelers is our number one jewelry store for beautiful artisan crafted jewelry with the highest quality gems you can trust. Shawn, Lindsey and their entire staff have been incredibly helpful in choosing the right jewelry for my partner and I. They provide an exceptional experience when shopping for jewelry for yourself or your loved ones.
Shawn is very knowledgeable in appraising gem quality and in finding the right style and metals for your taste.
We have bought both our wedding rings from him, have had a sentimental ring resized, and purchased many other necklaces and rings and have always received the best service in a reasonable time for production of customs pieces. I am certain we will be purchasing much more from him in the future.
I highly recommend D&H Jewelers for accurate appraisals, custom unique pieces, resetting heirloom gems or repairs. Stop in enjoy a glass of wine at their wine bar and create a beautiful experience for you and your loved ones at the finest store in San Francisco.

Short version: ¹⁰⁄₁₀ for customer service, selection, overall experience, value, originality, communication, anticipating patrons’ tastes/​preferences.
Long version:
Our experience with D&H was about as good as it comes. My fiancé really likes things that are really understated and classical but unique. This makes it hard to shop for her, especially when jewelers everywhere else we went tried pushing the most costly, elaborate pieces, never even hearing our concerns for something understated (which is usually much different than the big, expensive stuff).
When we (You thought I was going to go it alone? I told you: her tastes are particular!) walked into D&H and were greeted by Jillian and the staff, not only did we not have to mention that we wanted something simpler than the items that other stores were trying to push at us, we didn’t have to give her much of an idea of what we were looking for at all. When we asked to look at a couple different pieces, Jillian read and anticipated our style and our objective. Everything she suggested was according to that. It’s such an ease compared to our experiences at other boutiques and stores when the attendant is able to do that – a huge weight off our shoulders.
We originally went to D&H last minute on a search for Rebecca Overmann jewelry. We went to a couple of other boutiques that sold her stuff, but weren’t impressed with the selection. Finally we checked out D&H. We tried on some stuff that we liked quite a bit, but not enough to make a final decision. We arranged for a day to see more of her stuff. Unfortunately, Jillian wasn’t available that day, and my fiancé was leaving for New York that weekend. The owner met with us instead, and was just as intuitive as Jillian regarding our taste. The jewelry presented that was exactly what we were looking for. We made a purchase. Thanks to hard work, their flexible schedules, willingness to collaborate (among owner, associate, and jeweler), and good ol’ fashioned customer service, our buying experience left us lacking nothing. Price was WELL within our range, too.
The item was custom and not quite ready soon enough before I departed to visit my fiancé in NY. D&H overnighted the ring with insurance and a VERY reasonable rate. We had never seen the finished product (we picked out the stone separate from the ring, and expressed some slight alterations to the ring’s design combining aspects we liked from different rings), but after I asked her, we both were stunned by how much we liked it!
Many important decisions and usually lots of stress are associated with the engagement and wedding. Do yourself a favor and miss out on a huge chunk of that by going to D&H. Ask for Jillian. If you like unique yet classical jewelry, check out Rebecca Overmann’s stuff. We’ll be doing the same thing once we get my wedding band.

I came in today (anxious of being told my ring was not worth its price and prettiness), to have an appraisal done by the kind and knowledgeable, Shawn.
Shawn was very thorough when it came to inspecting the diamond. He even offered to let me inspect it under the microscope myself. He was equally thorough making sure that I understood the entire diamond and appraisal process.
Thank you, Shawn for your kindness and expertise!

Shawn was very helpful for me in creating a wedding ring for my partner. I had confidence that he understood the vision I was wanting to create and trusted handing it off to him. It was also very important to me to find a diamond source that was conflict-​free. Shawn delivered on that and much more. I’d recommend D and H to others in search of personable jewelers and sustainable jewelry. Thanks again!

This place is magical. They created a perfect custom engagement ring in a modern/​vintage art deco style for my fiancé and I. It was so much fun working on the design together in a collaborative way with Audra and Alfonso. The ring made for us by D&H is more beautiful than anything we could have hoped for! The engraving by their masterful engraver is like nothing I’ve ever seen. So detailed and perfect for the shape of the ring. WOW!
We went to three other places first, just to browse, and this place felt immediately so different and so much better. The other shops had a fancy and solemn atmosphere and quietly guided us to browse books of pictures of rings we could order. In contrast, at D and H they offered us a glass of wine and asked us all about what we liked and what we were looking for. There was no sales pressure. Audra took an interest in what we wanted and understood what we meant. We decided to go for it and we are so glad we did.
We also referred another couple we are friends with to D&H and they are raving to us about how much they love it every time we see them.
I think if you are looking around for a place to get an engagement ring or other special piece of jewelry, this place is worth checking out. It’s a different experience than anywhere else! They have something special going on.

My fiancé and I were visiting family from out of state, and went to D&H to look at engagement rings. We didn’t come to a decision that day on a ring, but my fiancé asked if D&H could clean and re-​shape his late father’s ring. We asked if it’d be ready in 2 weeks when we were back in SF after traveling around the Bay Area to visit family, and they said yes. We told them we were leaving the state in 2.5 weeks so if nothing else it would need to be done by then. They said yes, of course.
2 weeks go by, we’re back in SF and we call D&H to pick up the ring and we planned to look at their engagement rings again. They hadn’t started the work on the ring. We say OK fine, can we come get it the day before our flight out? D&H says no promises, they will try their best. We call again the day before we leave, D&H says they still hadn’t started the work. They offered us a discount if one of our family members picked up the ring after we had left the state. This is unacceptable, we had said we needed the ring before we left and the ring is too sentimental to risk sending out of state through the mail. My fiancé’s father had recently passed away and my fiancé really wanted the ring to wear to remind him of his dad!
My fiancé and I discussed it and I finally called back basically demanding they do the work they promised and I explained how upset we were at the situation. The manager then says she can have a rush job done by the next morning «just as good as a regular job», and retracts her offer for a discount and says the full price of the repair & cleaning would be due. I had explained to her that we now would have to drive up from where were now staying in San Jose immediately before our flight, then drive back to San Jose to fly out, costing us a ton of extra gas and headache, and I reiterated this in disbelief when the manager said we would need to pay full price — for a rush job, when we had negotiated a regular cleaning & repair over 2.5 weeks ago! Finally the manager relented and gave us the cleaning for free, oh boy what a discount! Most jewelry shops do that for free anyway!
Sorry D&H but you lost a potential sale on an engagement ring and wedding bands. You mistreated customers who trusted you with jewelry of high sentimental value, and shamelessly tried to nickel and dime us on a cheap repair job. D&H is no better than Kay or Zales, just with a higher price tag.

I can’t recommend D&H Sustainable Jewelers highly enough! The diamond in my engagement ring is from Brilliant Earth & I needed to get my ring appraised for insurance purposes, so it was important to me that it was appraised at a jeweler that had a focus on sustainability.
It was very easy to give the store a call & arrange an appointment for the appraisal. They were very friendly, plus they let me know exactly what was included & how much it cost without me even asking.
Shawn Higgins was such a pleasure to work with. He offered my fiancé & I a glass of wine from their wine bar right as we sat down for our appointment. As he started going through the paperwork from Brilliant Earth, he asked us why we didn’t get it appraised by them & encouraged my fiancé to call them on the spot to ask if they provided the service because he didn’t want to charge us for the appraisal if they provided it for free. Now THAT is great service! As it turns out, they didn’t provide appraisals for the whole ring — only the diamond — so we got to stay there, drink our wine & give our business with Shawn.
The whole time he was conducting the appraisal, Shawn was chatting with us & making us laugh. He is INCREDIBLY knowledgeable & taught both of us so much about the entire process. I felt 100% confident in his appraisal skills & body of knowledge. He even let me look at the inscription on my diamond through the microscope.
The appraisal + the insurance paperwork cost $ 150. Each glass of biodynamic, local wine was $ 10/​glass. Shawn even cleaned my ring for free & gave me some great tips on keeping it clean/​damage-​free.

My (now) husband and I worked with Jillian for our wedding bands. We knew we wanted plan gold, but really didn’t have a vision beyond that. Jillian was very patient and walked us through a number of appealing options, helping us eventually narrow down to what we each got. We really loved that they work with reclaimed gold from computer circuits as my husband and I are both computer and sustainability nerds. There was no pressure (we left and came back before purchasing), and her input really helped us choose the rings we have now and are very happy with. We also both needed to downsize the rings after the wedding, and D&H took care of it free of charge in about a week.

My Fiancé and I had a fabulous experience at D and H. We struggled to find a store that was warm and easy to work with– D&H surpassed our expectations. Jillian understood my vision, was so creative, and a pleasure to work with! We highly recommend checking them out!

This review is late, I should have mentioned how much I love D&H months ago!
Their store is lovely and packed with some stunning pieces. Ultimately we came for a custom ring made with my mother’s jewelry. I now have a beautiful, casual wedding ring using gold and diamonds I already had. I was never one for a huge diamond ring and Chris nailed my design. The design session was easy going, at their wine bar in the back of the store. We didn’t know what to expect, we aren’t jewelry people, but everything went swimmingly.

My wife and I purchased our (custom) wedding rings from D&H — hers was a Damascus steel band with yellow gold inlay, and mine was an acid-​etched Damascus steel band with white gold inlay.
I went back and forth between rating D&H a three and a four, and ultimately went with a four because the our rings were so nice, and Audra was so friendly and helpful.
Pros:
+Beautiful and unique selection of jewelry. If you are at all into unusual pieces and/​or alternative metals, this is the place for you.
+Audra was very friendly and helpful throughout the process, and generally made an effort to stay within our budget.
+Our finished products fit us well and looked great.
+Free wine! Yes please.
Cons:
+Service was occasionally sloppy — we once stopped by at a time when Audra wasn’t in, and the man staffing the counter took incorrect ring measurements, which had to be corrected later.
+Either the original manufacturers or D&H messed up our final order — they accidentally acid-​etched her ring instead of mine, delaying our pick-​up while they corrected the problem.
One note: The acid etching on my ring has already started to scratch with daily wear, so would recommend an un-​etched ring– my wife loves hers. This seems like the fault of the process rather than the store, however.

Over the years I would peak into this store longingly and look at their amazing selection. The staff is always so generous and gracious by allowing me to «play» and try on some of my favorites. I went back because I recently inherited a couple of antique and extremely sentimental rings. I wanted to wear them right away and inquired if they do resizing, which of course they do. I just came back from picking them up and the rings literally brought tears to my eyes! The quality and care D&H put into resizing… AND restoring! Not only were the rings beautifully resized, but the rings were restored to their original natural brilliance. Sean and everyone that works there are just amazing. I look forward to splurging and making a one-​of-​a-​kind purchase in the near future! D&H, thank you so much for restoring my grandma’s rings!

I had a Diamond Ring designed by Chris who works here.
He’s a total professional and ‘has the creative ability to work with you, so you eventually get that piece that was solely meant for you.
All the people here a very nice and don’t give you the hard sell that some stores do.
This store is unique when it comes to jeweley and we’re lucky to have them in the neighborhood.
Thanks Guys !!

D&H are always a pleasure to visit — they have a fantastic eye for choosing contemporary pieces with real character, often created by local artists. Plus, every time we’ve had to return for a resizing question or even just a cleaning, they greet us like old friends. Chris patiently answers all of our questions with great expertise (like immediately diagnosing that I had developed a nickel allergy to an heirloom ring).
We first visited for my husband’s wedding band — he hates shopping and is really picky, but immediately fell in love with the materials and story of his ring… it’s forged from Damascus steel, in the same manner that steel chef knives are made, which made him so excited since he’s a huge cook. Plus, he got to meet the artist who made the ring, who happened to just be stopping by.
I recently stopped by with just some questions and since I was now unable to wear my nickel-​riddled wedding band, Chris just suggested I might like something by a visiting artist Rebecca Overman. Well, I practically went gaga for every piece (and I’m NOT a big jewelry person!), and fell in love with a completely unique ring made with a natural diamond (again they helpfully described the history of diamond finishing and why this is so unusual). When my husband insisted on paying and picking up the resized ring, it was wrapped up like a beautiful present and I felt like I got engaged again!

They resized my fiancée’s ring, and everything went well. Also, the price was totally reasonable. When the jeweler examined the diamond, which belonged to my grandmother, he framed the flaw as an identifying birthmark that made this diamond unique, which was sweet.
Overall, they made us feel great about the ring and made the whole experience special. Also, we got the free glasses of wine from the Unilocal check-​in and hung out with the jeweler for a while, which was a lot of fun.

If you’re into fine jewelry and contemporary is more your style then this place is perfect. I came in here recently to get some emeralds set and found Audra to be really helpful in coming up with a design. Super patient too as I had no idea what I wanted. We must have spent 30 – 60 minutes going back and forth on what I might like with Audra bringing examples from around the shop. Finally we settled on a design and Audra spoke with the artists to get a price. Unfortunately the price ended up being more than the emeralds were worth. I really like this place but I’m not the type to just drop hundreds of dollars (or thousands) on jewelry so I probably won’t be visiting much.

My husband and I bought our wedding rings here. There aren’t thousands of different designs like you might find at a place like Zale’s, but I felt very happy to be buying from a globally conscious jeweler. I also thought the selection was much more unique and interesting than you might find at a retail chain.
Audra helped me find the perfect wedding rings, and I couldn’t be any more satisfied with the experience. She wasn’t pushy at all. She understood that we were making an expensive, once-​in-​a-​lifetime purchase, and she gave us plenty of breathing room to make our decision. Their rings are customizable, so she even jotted some designs out for us based on an existing design we were interested in.
I had so much fun everytime I went to D&H; Audra and Shawn were so fun and funny and welcoming. Even if we were just popping in for a quick errand, they were always happy to offer us some wine or snacks and chit chat with us about little things.
Shawn is very knowledgeable and passionate about his business, and even if I hadn’t found the perfect rings here (which I did!), I would have still been impressed with D&H’s hospitality and business model.