In case anyone reading this is thinking about picking up their Jєωelry after having a ring sized, or a watch battery replaced ...

I went in to a local Jєωeler to pick up my watch the other day and the shop is closed, and the Jєωeler is gone, and nobody around knows where he went. Another Jєωeler in the same mall (Glendale Galleria) told me the guy just went out of business and nobody knows where the inventory has gone.

So I called another Jєωeler where I have an item in for repair, and he told me a story about yet another local Jєωeler who recently disappeared over night. (I'm now talking about a third Jєωelry store.) This was very interesting for me, and perhaps it's something you might like to keep in mind regarding Jєωelers, especially at shopping malls.

This is about Victoria Jєωelers, in Valencia Town Center Mall.

Article in the Signal

In case you're thinking, "Well that just shows how you ought to be sure the shop is reputable before you drop off your family treasures," keep in mind that Victoria Jєωelers WAS a "reputable" shop. This is the whole point. Their reputation was fine. Lots of customers were very happy with them. They had been in business for many years with a good record of fair prices and on and on. But they disappeared overnight without a trace. This is the whole point here.

This happened early March this year, but it's still news around town. A number of customers had items in the store being repaired or maintained. But the shop keeper suddenly packed up all his inventory overnight, and skipped town.

My friend told me that one customer he heard about didn't get her story in the news because she's too embarrassed. She had given Valencia Jєωelers a cache of diamonds from her family heirlooms worth over a $million, plus, $6,000 in cash to make a piece using the diamonds. Now her Jєωels and her cash are nowhere to be found.

The shopkeeper did not leave any forwarding information, and the Mall itself has no contact information.

This sounded to me too much like Internet businesses in past years that scammed people with their funds, so I asked him why the Mall didn't have some kind of bond with a Jєωelry store, before they can open business there. He replied that the industry is like this. He said he has never heard of any shopping mall that requires any applicant to post a bond or leave some kind of reliable proof, before they can open a Jєωelry store in the mall. He said that any Jєωeler can shut down overnight and take all the customers' Jєωels and watches and nobody will be able to do anything about it.

Something to be aware of, when you want to have your wedding ring sized.

Heads they win tails you lose.

That's what often happens when ethnic networks control these sorts of businesses.

That article is from 2009.
But still same thing with pawn shops. And I also have heard it happening with bridal shops.

I would go to a big name box store or an old Catholic Jєωeler I know who has been in business over sixty years in the same location.
Sometimes Catholic Jєωelers will advertise in the NO church bulletin and that is often available online.
A couple Jєωelers in our town did go out of business but I don't know if this same thing happened.

It was much worse though when the candy store went out of business.  :sad: