Neil has taken care of my watches for 20 years and Ive always been happy with his work and prices. Hes great.

While Ive replaced my watch battery myself, its a hassle to do. I have had it replaced before, for between $5 and $10, at a couple of jewelry stores. I had gotten a quote for $11 or $12 from Batteries Plus, even with my own battery. I thought that was high. On 1/24/19, I was a couple of blocks from Benchmark when I called about having my watch battery replaced . A pleasant-sounding man answered. I asked about replacing the battery with my own. He asked if my watch was a pop-off (meaning the back). I said no, its a screw-off (meaning there are screws in the back). He then asked the brand. I said, A Timex. He said, Oh, thats easy. Ill do it for $5. When I arrived 3-4 minutes later, the man was gone and the expressionless woman said hed be back soon. I left my watch and battery and went to the nearby Safeway for about 10 minutes. When I returned, there were two customers in the store. A woman was there to have a necklace repaired. The jeweler asked if the stone on the necklace was a diamond, and when the woman replied in the affirmative, he said, You need a new necklace. He pulled a 10-times-thicker gold necklace out of a case and said, Now, Im not trying to sell you something you dont need... in the same helpful way he had spoken to me. I thought, Well, thats nice and disarming to say that.Then he looked over at me and asked me if that was my watch. I said yes. He then said accusingly, I asked you on the phone if this was a screw on back and you said no. I said, No, you asked me if it was a pop-off and I said it was a screw-off. He said, See these screws? I cant do this for $5. I asked, How much then? He said, Ill do it for $20. This is for a $25-30 watch, mind you. His manner was now very different than on the phone or with the woman. It had gone from being friendly and helpful to hardnosed, unpleasant, and overpriced. I retrieved my watch and battery and left.When I got outside, I realized that I had just been baited and switched. I felt kinda hot. Ive gotta say, the guy is a smooth liar and con. His lines are well-honed. I just hope the poor lady didnt wind up paying way too much for the very strong necklace he was hawking.A sketchy dude in a sketchy store in a sketchy neighborhood. I wont be back.Update: I was in Petaluma on 2/11. I called Gold Star Jewelry at 162 Kentucky St. The guy quoted me $10. It took him 4-6 minutes to do the job, and I was out of there. Clean, quick, fair. My kinda place. EXCEPT that one of the band springs came out of its holes in the watch yesterday. It took me forever to re-install it last night. Then it came loose again tonight. I finally remembered that a spring had gone bad on me before and that I had spare springs and an installation tool. I finally got the new spring in. So far so good. EXCEPT that with the new battery (that I had tested myself before), the Indiglo light isnt working. Did the guy put in the right battery?

This is a very nice shop. Neal is very skilled and very helpful.

Neal Sliverman is the man for the job! He is a master Jeweler, along with Kayte, the store manager. Neal produces some excellent work and resources. Neal and Kayte are diligent Jewelry Specialist in San Rafael. I always wish you well Neal and Kayte.