ESQUELETO Oakland - Oakland, California

Lindsey Raney

Worked on a custom wedding band order with them and it came out perfectly. They were great with communication and showed me a CAD before I paid. I had previously tried to work with a jewelry shop in San Francisco and it was a total disaster so Esqueleto was truly a breath of fresh air. Everyone at esqueleto made the process pleasant, seamless from our first meeting to pick up, and the piece was exactly what I wanted. Customer for life thank you!

Ian McFarlane

My partner and I both got our wedding bands here and we love them! They are unique to our tastes and comfortable to wear. I can not recommend it highly enough. Be sure to go 8 weeks before the wedding so there is time for the ring to be resized/remade in your size. So friendly and helpful.

Alanna Reynolds

I was brought to Esqueleto's Oakland location by a friend where I tried on a beautiful vintage engagement ring and sent a picture of it to my boyfriend to give him a hint. In November of last year (2023) He surprised me with a proposal with said same Ring in London. Suffice it to say I was ecstatic and so surprised. Unfortunately this is where the happy story turns into a nightmare. After a month of wearing the ring, a diamond fell out in December. I reached out to Esqueleto immediately to report it and see what could be done. I was met with criticism about how I treated the vintage piece and told after the fact that it was more delicate and would need to be careful going forward, but they would make the repair if I paid for it. Mind you never during the sales process were me or my Fiance' instructed that this ring would need to be treated any differently than any other engagement ring. I brought it in for repair and it was kept until February of 2024. Upon receiving it back I was so terrified to wear it that it just sat in a box. In March I moved to Colorado to be with my Fiance’ and finally started to wear it once a week but only for activities as strenuous as working on my laptop at a coffee shop... despite my care and almost never wearing it ANOTHER DIAMOND FELL OUT. At this juncture I am in tears and was terrified to inform the boutique for fear that I would be blamed. This ring that should have been the symbol of the happiest moment of my life has turned into a source of anxiety and sadness. I took the ring back In and was hopeful that realizing this was a faulty piece and nothing that costs over $5,000 should fall apart twice in less than a year but no such customer service was rendered. At this juncture I have returned the ring to the boutique and after much back and forth the options they have presented are; either returning the broken and faulty ring to me, repairing the ring that I am terrified to wear back to me, or return the ring for store credit at a place where I have treated very poorly and made to feel like everything is my fault and where I don't feel like I can trust any piece. I am at a loss, I don't want the ring and frankly I don't want to deal with anyone here ever again. I am devastated in a period where I should be happy and planning for the future. I would never treat a patron in this way and I am in shock that I have been made to feel this way.

Brenda Arellano

I've bought jewelry from this shop before and I appreciate their selection. I bought a couple of custom bracelets for my mom here, and when they were lost via UPS, Artemio and his team were lovely and helped with a complicated customer service issue. Truly standout service.

Matt Charlot

If you are looking for exquisite gifts for loved ones you should check this shop out. They have thoughtfully curated jewelery and ceramics and artwork. Very knowledgeable people, as attentive as you need! Learn about the artists that they represent! They can size rings and customize as needed.

Alexandra Stupple

The salespeople are snobby and treated me like I was some slob they couldn’t bother with. And even though I nonetheless bought a very nice gold necklace for $500+, they continued to treat me thusly. Also, when I had them shorten the necklace, they failed to give me the part they had cut off, even after I asked for it (in case I wanted to lengthen it later). I guess they wanted to melt it down and keep the $$. Anyway, they’re rude and not great there, but the stuff they sell is cute.

Zoe Reich-Guerrero

Upon my most recent visit, I was extremely unhappy with the customer service. The available salesperson was rude and nearly scolded me in response to a simple question: "Can I try on this ring?" It was a busy day, so perhaps their response was rooted in stress or perhaps they took a look at the clothes me and my partner were wearing and decided we weren't worth their time. If you're looking for beautiful jewelry and stellar customer service, I highly recommend Marisa Mason around the corner.

I will say that Esqueleto's customer service does vary from salesperson to salesperson. I bought a wedding ring for my partner a week prior and the person who helped me was great -- very knowledgable and willing to engage in conversation about finding the right ring. Esqueleto certainly is not without merit, but my most recent experience has lost them a customer.

Bartholomew Roland

Esqueleto is a small jewelry shop off Telegraph that serves as a sales aggregator for several artists. They have a diverse collection of uncommon pieces. You will find creativity here that is not represented in larger branded jewelry stores. However, I've also found that the quality of gems are not on par with the branded jewelers, either.

I would recommend going elsewhere for your jewelry unless you are unquestionably happy with your purchase. This store is often final sale, and even in the unique circumstances where they will accomodate your return, they only provide store credit.

My partner and I purchased a ring two days ago. We were undecided about white or yellow gold for a diamond setting and took the recommendation of the sales staff to take the yellow gold home and allow our instincts to decide. This particular piece is part of their slim collection that is not final sale.

After a day we quickly decided we wanted white gold rather than yellow. We returned the ring on Sunday and were told that swapping the setting would be an additional $800. Now we're in a situation where we've already sunk a ton of money into something we decided we don't want, and the store is telling us that we need to spend more to make it right. I think this is a textbook example of an unhappy shopping experience.

Further, because of their limited and largely eclectic selection, there are no other rings that catch us. They have us in a really difficult position, along with all of our money, and we're left without a ring and a sour spot in our stomach.

Conversely, we recently had a superb experience at Pavé when purchasing my ring. Be very careful where you buy your jewelry, the store can make or break your purchasing experience, and this can tarnish your feelings about a symbol that is supposed to represent something very different.