Damaged my repair
I wish that I had not gone to Cassio Creations for jewelry repair. I spent almost $2700 to resize 2 ring guard bands and add a larger solitaire to my lovely 50-year old ring. Like most family heirlooms, it is a sentimental piece that I treasure. My ring had a separate raised scroll over the band and a distinctive, unusual patterned finish on the band--it was part of the character and uniqueness of the ring. When I got my ring back, the patterned finish was GONE. It looked like it had been polished off. The entire surface of the band was shiny and polished with none of the patterned finish remaining. I was horrified. When I showed Michelle Cassio, she immediately went into defense mode, claiming that they could not have removed the finish because they did not have a tool that would reach under the raised scroll. The finish was on my ring when, in GOOD FAITH, I left it for repair and it was GONE when I picked it up. The photo that Michelle took of my ring when I left it for repair did not have high enough resolution to clearly show the patterned finish. I did not have a high resolution photo of my ring either. It never occurred to me that I would need to PROVE to them what the ring looked like before they took possession of it for repair. I was shocked at how quickly the Cassios' went from being friendly and accommodating to me as a repeat customer, to complete denial of responsibility for the DAMAGE done to my ring. Craig Cassio did the repair. I left the ring for him to look at (he was out at the time) and they promised to contact me the next day. When Mr. Cassio called me, he started off being polite but quickly turned to defensive, condescending and hostile. He insisted that there was NOTHING done to the ring that could have removed the finish, they didn't have a tool that would "reach underneath" the raised scroll to remove the finish...he had 30 years of experience in fine jewelry, etc etc etc...he tried to deflect blame for the damage ON ME, as if I didn't know what a ring I'd owned for decades looked like. He was arrogant, dismissive and patronizing. As a female and a senior citizen, I wondered if he would take such a tone with a man. My blood pressure goes up just typing this horror story. He demanded to know just what did I want him to do...he could put a matte finish on the band or leave it polished. I finally said just put a matte finish on it...at least it wouldn't look so strange with a polished band. I am so upset about this, I did not return to pick up my ring for several weeks. When I walked into the store, Michelle Cassio immediately left the sales floor and stayed out of sight in the back. I was assisted by their associate, Charlotte, who was very polite and clearly had been briefed on how to "handle me". I asked repeatedly how the finish could have been removed from my ring...NO ONE KNOWS. The other jewelry repair specialist came out to talk to me...she had no explanation for the damage either. I asked how they were able to put a matte finish on the band and she described a small tool with a very fine tip that would fit UNDER THE RAISED SCROLL on the band. This is EXACTLY the tool that the Cassios' claimed did NOT EXIST. I don't know what satisfaction the Cassios' get out of lying to a customer and engaging in legalistic CYA rather than admitting that even with 30 years of experience, a human being is NOT infallible and mistakes can be made. I made a HUGE MISTAKE trusting them with my lovely piece of jewelry. The fine jewelry business is, first and foremost, a TRUST business. The Cassios' have proven themselves untrustworthy. Craig Cassio flatly refused to refund the $500+ "repair charge" I paid...I believe that it is the very least he could do to remedy this horrific experience. He did not "repair" my ring, rather, it was damaged beyond any possibility of restoring the original finish. The band now has a very ordinary matte finish that is nothing like the original but better than the plain polished finish. I have nothing but REGRET that I ever set foot in Cassio Creations. You might wish to consider this when you are choosing a fine jeweler that you can TRUST.
By JF