Here's the short story.
Went to Berges Jewelry in Colorado Springs, a small local business around for 30+ years, so I figured they must be good. How wrong I was.
GOAL: get my 1950's silver & amethyst engagement ring resized
WHAT IS SHOULD HAVE BEEN: simple 3-5 day process
WHAT IT WAS: 3 weeks of frustration due to them outsourcing the job (which they didn't tell me at the start), breaking my amethyst as well the replacement stones. and finally settling for a man-made amethyst replacement. They also did not seem to know much at all about gems (I found out more reading online). They also convinced me to rhodium plate the ring which I regret. And I still need to get my ring resized.
MORAL OF THE STORY: DO NOT go to Berges Jewelry. They did not charge me, but they were very defensive throughout the process and did not want to listen to any polite constructive criticism I tried to give at the end. The owner made one excuse after another and were overall very unhelpful. Still have to get my ring resized because the size was too big in the end. VERY UNHAPPY with Berges. Beware.