Dealing with J. Yontef was an astonishingly positive experience in a world where there are few such experiences anymore. I can only add my plaudits to those already listed on this site.
My grandmother had bequeathed my wife a beautiful set of earrings with a one-of-a-kind setting and a unique set of matching stones. In a snowstorm at a public event, somehow one of the earrings got lost and all of us were quite upset. We spent hours looking for the lost earring to no avail.
Ordinary jewelers, even ""quality jewelers"" just looked at us quizically...they had no idea how to match the stone and not much interest in duplicating the setting. We were about to give up completely when we visited Jay and Adriane in their unpresuming premises.
From the moment we walked in the door, our experience changed radically. The Yountefs understood our distress and, after examining the piece, agreed to try to match the stone and to duplicate the setting. And they gave a firm price for doing so. Little did they know the magnitude of the project for which they were enlisting.
It turns out that the stone was a rarity, and the Yountefs spent months going from jewelery stone show to stone show looking for a match. While most would have given up early and just returned the earring, they refused to quit because they understood the importance of the piece to us.
Finally, months later, they were able to locate the necessary matching gems in a gem display in the Far East. They then recreated the original in a fashion completely like the original -- it is impossible to tell the difference.
Even despite all of the unexpected grief this took, and the unexpectedly high price of the stones, they kept to their original estimate because that is the kind of people they are. I was so delighted I would have gladly paid more, but they wouldn't hear of it.
As a buyer of much jewelry from upper tier establishments over many decades, the Yountefs are several classes better than any of them. I can recommend them unreservedly for any project that requires individual attention. You will get it and, based on my experience, they will make sure you are pleased.
I would (and will) return in a heartbeat. You won't be disappointed either.
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