posted: Monday, Apr 18 1:15pm

Took in a vintage 18K gold watch for repair It had just been cleaned and was in "Very Fine" condition The crystal was accidently knocked out of the watch and the minute hand (gold) fell off but the watch still was running perfectly and was not otherwise damaged I took it to this "Jeweler" for repair They replaced the one remaing gold hand and the missing one with black base metal hands there was black grease on the case and the dial and a glob of glue where the crystal had been glued in I was charged 85 (45 to "clean" it - it had just been cleaned), and & 40 for the crystal that anywhere else would have been 25. I asked the owner to take out the crystal and remove the glue clean the grease off the dial and put in gold hands He was neither helpful or polite but ultimately agreed to make the repairs When I picked the watch up the grease was still there plated hands installed a crystal that did not go with the watch And the watch no longer runs The owners reply "best I can do" They do not do any repairs, they send it out to be done. Crooks - beware.