Fine Jewelry
By consultation
Engagement rings, wedding bands, anniversary pieces and quieter everyday heirlooms. Drawn in-house, cast in platinum or 18k, finished entirely on the bench.
Begin a piece
04Generations
The House
A family bench, kept in steady hands.
Riddle's has measured, cut and set stones in Dubuque longer than most of the city's streetlamps have been burning. We do not sell from cases we have not touched. Every piece that leaves the workshop has been drawn, discussed and finished by someone whose name is on the bench — not a contractor, not a catalog, not a guess.
We work in platinum, 18k yellow gold and old reclaimed silver. We will happily re-set a stone your grandmother wore, draw a ring no one else has drawn, or refuse the job if it isn't right. That is what four generations earns you: the right to be picky.
Henry RiddleBench Jeweler · Owner
— The Services
What we make, mend and measure.
04 / DisciplinesCustom Design
From sketch
You bring the idea — a grandmother's brooch, a drawing on a napkin, a stone you'd like set differently. We translate it through wax, renderings and a fitting before any metal is touched.
Start a designRepairs & Restoration
Bench quote
Re-tipping prongs, sizing, shank reconstruction and full antique restoration. Bring heirlooms, broken chains and tired settings back from a long life of wear.
Drop off a pieceWatch Service
Mechanical
Manual and automatic movements serviced on-site — oils, mainsprings, gaskets and full overhaul. Vintage mechanical restoration welcome; quartz battery swaps done the same week.
Book a service
The Bench
A watch that still keeps time is a small kind of miracle.
Our watchmaker Henry works under a single loupe, on a single velvet pad, in a room you can hear the mainspring tick. He will tell you, plainly, whether your watch is worth the overhaul — and he will write that on the estimate before he opens the case.
— The Atelier
The workbench is older than the furniture around it.
Everything in this shop earned its place by being useful. The brass scale on the bench was used by Henry's great-grandfather to weigh gold leaf for communion cups in 1912. The ring moulds in the second drawer were his grandfather's. We do not put things in glass cases — we put them in service.
Visits to the workshop are by appointment and unhurried. You will leave knowing exactly what your piece will cost, how long it will take, and who at the bench will sign their name to it.
04Generations at the Bench
01Workshop · One Address
1912Year Established
— From idea to box
How a commission lives with us.
Every commission — even a simple resize — moves through the same four benches. We do not skip steps because a deadline is tight.
The Conversation
An unhurried meeting at the bench. We listen, sketch, weigh stones, and write the estimate by hand before you leave.
The Drawing
A scaled rendering in pencil and gouache, plus a wax model when the geometry needs to be felt rather than imagined.
The Bench
Cast, set, polished and finished by one jeweler. Most pieces take three to six weeks; full restorations as long as the metal needs.
The Handover
Fitted, signed, and presented in a ring box you will keep forever. Every piece leaves with its own paperwork and a standing invitation to bring it back.
— Begin
Tell us about the piece.
Whether you're commissioning a ring, restoring a family heirloom, or booking a watch service, the next step is one short note away. We answer everything within two business days.
- Workshop418 Main Street · Dubuque, IA
- Telephone(563) 555-0112
- Emailhello@riddlesjewelry.example
- HoursTuesday – Saturday · By appointment