A True Gem in the heart of Omaha

I can't believe it's taken me a year to blog about this, but I guess better late than never! Last November as I was organizing my old house, I came across some of my jewelry that needed some work. Two of the pieces were Chanel costume pieces that were missing stones. The first is pictured above. One of the circle amber stones is missing from this otherwise perfect chunky "brooch" style necklace. I first thought to go to some bead stores. So off I went to a few places all over Omaha. But none of these stores offered anything even remotely close to what I needed.

I had another necklace that had a broken chain and was able to be fixed on-the-spot by a nice young woman at Mangelson's. I showed her my Chanel necklace and asked her if they had any loose stones that were close to a match. They didn't. But she tipped me off to a place that is now my favorite go-to place for all my custom jewelry repairs. Coincidentally, it's called Custom Gems and is located across from Mangelson's on 84th Street (8487 Frederick Street; 402-397-9606). 

There is so much to say about Custom Gems. First off, they're awesome! It's the type of store that you could spend an hour searching through their plastic bins for stones. It's like a card catalogue system at the library. You tell them or show them what you're looking for and they go back and pull out a tray with a bunch of similar stones and you have to dig through to find the closest match.

They not only had a piece of amber that fit perfectly in my Chanel necklace, but the price of the stone and repair costs were unbelievably affordable. And they were all so nice and friendly. And fast.

I also had this Chanel brooch fixed. On the left, one of the baguette clear stones is missing and on the right, it is replaced with two smaller emerald cut stones side-by-side to fit the setting. Unfortunately they didn't have a perfect match for this, but as you can see, it's hard to notice.

I also took a pair of Vera Wang citrine drop earrings where the stone had become loose. Again, Custom Gems tightened it and if I recall, they didn't even charge me for it. Seriously, they're that nice!

I love how Mom and Pop the shop is and there is so much to see there. And to buy too. So the next time you're in need of some jewelry repair, go check out Custom Gems on 84th Street. You won't be disappointed!