Bill’s Trading Post

Berkeley, United States

4.5

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 510-841-1615
Website:
www.billstrading.com
Address:
2945 College Ave, Berkeley, CA, 94705
b/t Ashby Ave & Russell St
Elmwood
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
310 ftCollege Av & Ashby Av
470 ftCollege Av & Russell St
670 ftCollege Av & Webster St
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
By Appointment Only
No

Today

Today 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Berkeley) 08:19 Wednesday, 28 May 2025

Business hours

Monday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Tuesday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Wednesday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Thursday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Friday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Family owned and operated since 1938. Custom handmade jewelry, wedding rings, and jewelry repair. Estate and antique jewelry. Native American jewelry and Native American arts and crafts. Wonderful talented staff consisting of on site goldsmith and silversmith, restringing, designers, and Gemologist.

History

Established in 1938.

Bill and Caroline Gulley opened their shoe repair shop, in late 1938, Their business (Bill’s Modal Shoe Shop) was to repair shoes and boots. Caroline was also very good at leather tooling. She made and designed saddles, purses, wallets, and many fine hand crafted items. Bill passed in 1964. Peggy Casey, their daughter wanted to help her mother with the business, however she didn’t like doing shoe repair. She was an excellent seamstress. She started making custom leather clothes. She was especially popular with the ‘hippies’. She also purchased and sold some Native American arts and crafts. During the occupation of Alcatraz Island she was very supportive of their civil rights movement. She was awarded the Key to Alcatraz, in 1999, for her continued support of the First Nation (Native American) peoples and their community, she was very honored by this gift. Her love of jewelry grew greatly and she soon expanded the family business and added the Gem Gallery, which is family run.

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20 reviews of Bill’s Trading Post

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Sunnyvale, CA
They were very helpful and replaced my suunto observer watch strap, which is a notoriously hard strap to replace. They were fast, curteous and very professional.
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
Fixed my watch up in no time and even set the time to the correct second!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I took in my beloved engagement ring — split in half. I had gotten it resized a year ago and it cracked right where they had joined it.
the woman I talked to was extremely nice and told me it might be about a week — depending on their work load — and they would give me a holler.
within 24 hours I got a message that it was ready.
and it is beautiful.
I cannot even tell where it has been joined.
I have a few other pieces that need some TLC and I am stoked that now I have a trustworthy place to go.
Place rating: 3
Oakland, CA
Interesting collection of jewelry and good repair work though both on the expensive side. They sold me a lovely charm bracelet that started to fall apart within 2 hours (rings holding heavy charms were of soft silver and not sealed) though they did give me a full refund. Two of three sales people I dealt with were not very knowledgable (incorrect identification of stone, wrong about decade in which old jewelry was made, and way off on estimated value). The customer service was mixed. Avoid the tall white/​blond man who appears to be in his early 20s. I guess he is owner’s family because I can’t imagine anybody with his lack of skills remaining employed. For example, In response to my asking why something promised in 2 weeks was not ready after 8, he told me the previous repair job was timely.
Place rating: 4
Union City, CA
Neat things, beautiful southwestern pieces. Keep in mind everything here is pretty much $ 50 and up but if your looking for just quality then this is where you need to be. Service was great I didn’t feel like I was an inconvenience to them like I did other shops on this street.
Place rating: 3
San Francisco, CA
Went here to buy a dream catcher and California white sage.
They aren’t too knowledgeable about their products which was a disappointing but I did buy a nice catcher. They ran out of sage. I had to goto telegraph to pick it up.
Place rating: 3
Berkeley, CA
I came in to resize a watch I received as a Christmas present.
The lady helping me took out as many links as the watch allowed, but it still didnt fit. She took it back and took out another 2 links and it fit! She had to adjust it about 3 times but she was very accommodating, and I walked out satisfied in the end.
Place rating: 3
San Francisco, CA
Gem Gallery: I’ve always had good experiences at the Gem Gallery and purchased a beautiful stone there last year. The selection of loose stones is top-​notch. Today, I was looking at a gorgeous emerald-​cut tsavorite garnet. The associate said me that it was rare to see a green tsavorite. I’m not a gemologist but I do have GIA training and I know that tsavorites come in a color range of green to… green.
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
I’ve come here twice for watch resizing. With the first watch, I had to come back to readjust. They didn’t charge me for that, which I appreciated. So when I got a new watch, I came back, and the people here were just as friendly as ever. $ 10 for resizing is a good price, and the service it’s great. I recommend coming here!
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
I went here today to get my antique engagement ring re-​sized. Fiona was super nice and great at customer service. She inspected my ring for loose stones, told me about her ring, gave me an estimate for the price ($ 50) and time needed, and asked the jeweler if there was a way to do same day or next day (I didn’t want to be without my new precious). She also warned me that after sizing down, the ring might not be totally round. Expecting to pick up the ring the next day, we got a call after an hour or so saying the ring was ready. Talk about under-​promising and over-​delivering!
When we picked the ring up, it looked new (she said they would brighten it, but I guess I did not expect it to look new). It is perfectly round and I can not see where it was re-​sized. I am thrilled!
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
We had some confusion about the identity of a stone (the seller months ago said one thing but a jeweler recently said another; we wanted a tiebreaker!).
Fortunately, Bill’s has a gemologist on staff who was able to determine what the stone was using her magical wand (okay, she didn’t use a magical wand, just a light refraction machine). The seller and the jeweler were actually both wrong but we weren’t disappointed, regardless! Both of the ladies we talked to were extremely nice and the gemologist showed us exactly how she came to her conclusion.
We had also come to Bill’s to resize a ring a while ago. They were really helpful and did a high-​quality job very quickly.
Highly recommended.
Place rating: 5
East Oakland, Oakland, CA
Really love this store’s Indigenous collections. They seem to hold the same reverence as I do for the items they provide.
Have been in the store countless times, and countless times to come.
They also have a wonderful lay-​away procedure!
Highly charged store, with invaluable IAS (Indigenous Art Specimens).
If you find yourself there, you’re in the right place.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Absolutely the BEST place in Berkeley (maybe even Bay Area) to get your jewelry fixed/​resized. Three years ago, I broke my gold necklace and they were able to fix it no problem — for $ 10. When I got a new watch, it was too big so they removed 2 – 3 links for $ 10. My Tiffany’s necklace rusted a bit and needed to be cleaned. They cleaned it FOR FREE. They are extremely knowledgable and extremely great at what they do. Great service, great quality, best price.
Place rating: 5
Portland, OR
The best Native American store you will ever see! It feels timeless. Not the touristy crap! Reasonable prices and they are really invested in the native community! Highly recommend! Also, has the best jewelers around! I send my repairs to them all the way from Oregon!
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
I came here to get my watch resized, as there were far too many links on it. The lady who did it was extremely patient and helpful — she first removed 6 links, found it was a bit large on my wrist, removed another, and found it was too snug; so she then added another back on. Super patient. Another representative showed me around the store and gave me history on various pieces while I waited.
All in all, excellent service and I’ll definitely be coming back for any future repairs/​jewelry.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I can’t believe I’ve never given these great artisans a review. I depended upon them to replace the stones in my beloved ring, and they did so more than a decade ago.
They are expert craftspeople, and they are honest to a fault.
Long live Bill’s!
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
I really like this place. They always have interesting things and the merchandise changes. You cannot wait to buy because it may be gone, which has happened to me more times that I’d like. The staff is very knowledgeable but most of all they are professional, courteous, reasonable and thoughtful. A very rare thing these days.
I have purchased jewelry and gifts here and used them for repairs and every experience has been a good one.
It occurred to me that maybe I was only using Unilocal to complain of late, but these folks definitely deserve kudos.
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
This place rocks. Not only do they have cool stuff that I like to ogle, but their staff is super sweet. (Cue Cartman voice: SUP-​AH SHWEET.) I took in a necklace that needed fixing, and they did the job in two seconds flat. No charge. Totally sweet, down-​to-​earth service. I will return without a doubt.
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
This review is only for jewelry repair, as I haven’t actually bought anything from the store.
I went in with a necklace I needed shortened, and the man working there was able to do exactly what I wanted, on the spot, and very quickly! He was totally pleasant as well. When I asked how much I owed, he refused to take any money, even as a tip.
If I have any more jewelry repair needs, I will definitely be coming back!
Place rating: 4
Eugene, OR
This is a lovely, eclectic place with an astonishing selection of jewelry. Each piece is so uniquely beautiful. My fiancé and I spent 2 months shopping around for the perfect engagement ring, and had most of the East Bay covered. We visited department stores, private jewelers, large chains, seedy little Chinatown galleries, what-​have-​you, yet we always ended up coming back to the Gem Gallery to stare at its collection of rings.
Each stone appears meticulously cut and brilliantly lustrous. There’s a good number of waitstaff who know what they’re talking about. They really cater to your budget/​specifications, and seem deeply invested in your decision & the happiness it’ll bring you.
Though the cost of customizing your own ring/​getting a new one made is ridiculously expensive (hence, the four stars), the rings on display are decently priced.
Bottom Line: You have to visit to really appreciate the collection of jewelry. This gallery really stands out in comparison to other galleries.