Frequently asked questions

Debbie's Jewelry is a family-owned Hawaiian jeweler in Waipahu, Oʻahu, serving customers across the islands since 1991. We handcraft Hawaiian heirloom jewelry, fine gold chains, custom commissions, repairs, and certified diamond search with in-house workshop expertise.

We have served Hawaii families since 1991 with handcrafted heirloom jewelry, repairs, and custom design from our Waipahu workshop.

Monday through Friday, 10:00am to 6:00pm; Saturday, 10:00am to 5:00pm; closed Sunday. Walk-ins are welcome during showroom hours.

Our showroom is at 94-050 Farrington Highway, Suite B1-10, Waipahu, HI 96797 . Visit our Visit page for directions and a map.

No appointment is required — walk-ins are welcome for shopping, repair quotes, custom commission consultations, and cash-for-gold evaluations during showroom hours.

Call (808) 678-2745 . For custom commissions, you can also use the inquiry form on our Design & Commission page.

Yes — we work with customers across Hawaii and the mainland U.S. Many pieces can ship after order confirmation; custom commissions and diamond orders are arranged individually. Call or email for a quote on your specific piece.

Yes we have one location. Please visit us at 94-050 Farrington Highway, Suite B1-10, Waipahu, HI 96797

At our showroom and workshop in Waipahu: 94-050 Farrington Highway, Suite B1-10, Waipahu, HI 96797, about twenty minutes west of Honolulu. Debbie's Jewelry has been a family-owned jeweler on Oʻahu since 1991, and the engraving is done here rather than sent away. Walk in during showroom hours, call (808) 678-2745, or order online.

Hawaiian heirloom jewelry is hand-engraved gold — often bracelets, rings, and pendants — with designs like maile, plumeria, honu, and quilt patterns. Pieces are made to be worn daily and passed down through generations.

They are designs, not symbols — and we would rather tell you that than invent something. Maile, plumeria, honu, and the quilt patterns are modern Hawaiian jewelry designs, chosen for how they suit a width and a wrist, not codes with assigned meanings. Some of what those designs depict does carry real significance in Hawaiian culture — maile in a lei, the honu — and that is worth knowing on its own; but the engraved design on a bracelet is not a message. If a shop tells you a particular design means one specific thing, it is fair to ask where that comes from. On an heirloom piece the meaning is the part you choose: a name, a date, or the words you want kept.

Heirloom pieces are available in 14K and 18K gold . Width, metal choice, and engraving detail affect price — we provide a written estimate after reviewing your inquiry.

A solid bangle has to pass over your hand, so it is measured around the hand and not the wrist. Cup your thumb into your palm as though you were putting the bracelet on, wrap a tape measure around the widest part — over all five knuckles — and read it in inches. The standard size is 7½ inches, and we make them in quarter-inch steps. An open-clasp bracelet is measured differently: it opens, so it is ordered to your wrist measurement instead, with the open clasp added to the cost. For rings, measure the circumference of the finger at the knuckle in millimeters and match it to the ring size table in our sizing guide, which covers US 4 to 13. If you are between sizes, call us or come in.

Yes — many heirloom designs can be customized with your motif, metal, and sizing. Start a commission inquiry on our Design & Commission page and our workshop follows up within 1 to 2 business days.

Not Queen Victoria — that version is repeated almost everywhere and it is wrong. In 1862, when news of Prince Albert's death reached Hawaiʻi, High Chiefess Lydia Kamakaʻeha — later Queen Liliʻuokalani — commissioned a gold bangle for herself from the Honolulu jeweler Christian Eckart, in the black-enamel style then worn in mourning across Europe. She chose the inscription herself: Hoʻomanaʻo Mau, a lasting remembrance. She wore it for the rest of her life. On 5 January 1893 she gave a gold bangle engraved ʻAloha ʻOe to Zoe Atkinson, in thanks for her help at ʻIolani Palace; twelve days later the monarchy was overthrown. That bracelet is held today by the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. Zoe wore hers to Pohukaina School, where her father was principal — the students saw it, their mothers began ordering bangles for their daughters, and the tradition we work in begins there.

It starts as a solid gold blank, cut to the width and the size you ordered. The design is then engraved by hand by our jewelers in Waipahu — not stamped, not cast. The finish decides how it is cut: cut-out means the engraver takes the design all the way to the edge of the piece and then carves away along it; chip-chop is the bright-cut background that usually comes with black enamel lettering; sand is tiny needle points stippled into the gold for a sparkle behind raised lettering. Borders can be left plain, high-polished, diamond-cut, or coined. Enamel is applied and fired, and the piece is finished and polished. Our engravers say the longest part of the job is almost always choosing the design — the work itself moves faster than people expect.

There is no character limit. The limit is the piece: how much room you have is set by your wrist or finger size, not by the width of the band, because the inscription runs around the inside rather than across the face. A 40 mm bangle and a 10 mm bangle at the same wrist size hold the same amount. Spaces count as characters. Tell us what you would like and we will say if it needs shortening — that is what we do anyway.

Yes, both. They are letters rather than decoration, and leaving them off changes the word — so if your name or your phrase carries them, tell us and they will be cut correctly. We can also engrave other scripts where a customer provides the characters; that becomes a question of choosing a size with room for them.

Cut-out is the one people ask about: the engraver cuts the design right to the edge, then carves away along it so the pattern breaks the outline.

It follows the lettering. Enamel lettering is finished with chip-chop; raised lettering is finished with sand. That is how we work, so we do not offer it as a separate decision — one fewer thing to get wrong.

Resizing is free within 30 days of purchase, up to one size, and that includes our Hawaiian heirloom pieces. If it needs more than that, such as added metal, stones reset, or a bigger change in size, we talk it through with you and agree the work and the cost first. You can bring it in, or ship it to us and we'll ship it back insured. After 30 days, resizing is quoted work.

Asked what customers most often wish they had done differently, our jewelers do not say the length — they say the width. Millimeters are hard to picture, so see them at actual size before you choose.

Heirloom commissions typically start around $3,500 for bracelets and vary by width, metal (14K or 18K), and engraving. We provide a written estimate after reviewing your inquiry — no obligation.

Tell us about your piece → we review and follow up within 1 to 2 business days → you approve a design sketch and deposit → we craft your piece → pickup at our showroom or delivery by mail.

We start once you've approved your design, your 50% deposit is paid, and we've agreed a start date together. Online orders are paid in full at checkout.

In our showroom, a custom order can also go on layaway: it opens with 20% down, and we begin work once 50% is paid. The balance is due when you pick it up.

We tell you what it comes to before we start. If anything about the work changes what it costs, we stop and ask you first. A change you ask for once the work is agreed is quoted at our current rates.

Rush work is not something we sell as an option online — call (808) 678-2745 or send a custom inquiry and we will tell you honestly what is possible.

Yes — photos and sketches are welcome. Mention them in your commission inquiry on our Design & Commission page, or bring them to our Waipahu showroom.

You may pick up at our Waipahu showroom when your piece is ready, or we can arrange insured shipping — details are confirmed when your commission is complete.

Submit the inquiry form on our Design & Commission page or call (808) 678-2745 . Commission requests are not handled through the Shopify Inbox chat widget.

Most Hawaiian heirloom bracelets, rings, and band pendants are made to order: cut and hand-engraved in our Waipahu workshop after you order them. That takes 7 to 14 working days, which is up to three calendar weeks. Heavily customized designs can take longer, and we tell you before work starts. You approve and sign off on a design draft before we begin, and we confirm every detail of the engraving, spelling above all, with you first. Emblems, charms, and earrings are in stock: finished, and bought as they are shown, with no wait.

Our team confirms every name before we begin, and that confirmation step is ours. If we engraved it wrong, we own it and we put it right. If a spelling came to us wrong at intake, that one sits with the customer — but we would rather have you back than be right about it, so we will work with you to make it reasonable either way.

We carry fine 14K gold Milano and rope chains in our Fine & Diamond collection.

Yes — our 14K gold Milano and rope chains can be ordered online. For a style or length you don't see, call (808) 678-2745 or visit our Waipahu showroom.

Use our online diamond, fancy diamond, and gemstone search tools to filter by shape, carat, color, clarity, and price. Found a stone you love? Pair it with a custom Hawaiian heirloom setting — our team follows up by email.

Certified diamonds and gemstones ship to our Hawaii workshop for inspection and QA , then to you — we do not drop-ship stones directly from the supplier to customers.

Yes — bring your piece to our Waipahu showroom for a free quote . We handle ring sizing, chain repair, prong work, clasps, cleaning, and watch battery service in our Hawaii workshop.

Yes — our workshop offers watch battery replacement , band and link adjustments, and general watch repair. Walk in for a free quote during showroom hours.

Yes — our Waipahu workshop provides gold plating and rhodium finishing for heirloom and fine jewelry. Visit or call (808) 678-2745 for a quote on your piece.

No-interest layaway is arranged in our showroom, on pieces from our case and pieces we make, for up to 6 months. It opens with at least 20% down. Your piece stays here, put away safely, until it's paid in full. What you're buying, and any work we've agreed to do on it, is set when the layaway begins, and so is the price. For a piece from our case, we do the work once the plan is paid off. A piece we make starts in our workshop once 50% is paid. Any change after that is new work, quoted with you first. Pay more, or pay it off early, any time. If you can't keep up, tell us. We would far rather work something out with you than lose you as a customer. Layaway isn't available on pieces we order from a supplier.

Synchrony Bank financing is available for Hawaii residents . Ask us about current specials in the showroom — approved customers may take purchases home the same day.

Debbie's Jewelry buys gold, platinum, silver, and diamonds for cash at our Waipahu showroom. Walk-ins welcome — we accept 10K–24K gold, broken chains, and fine jewelry for fair market evaluations.

Put heirloom bracelets and rings on after lotion, perfume, and sunscreen. Rinse chlorine and salt water promptly — both can dull gold over time.

Wash gently with warm water and mild dish soap; use a soft brush on engraved areas, rinse, and pat dry with a lint-free cloth. Avoid harsh chemicals and ultrasonic cleaners unless our team advises otherwise.

Store pieces separately in a soft pouch or lined box so bracelets and chains do not scratch each other. Keep heirloom jewelry away from humid bathrooms when not worn.

Bring pieces in about once a year for a professional check — loose hinges, worn clasps, and thinning prongs are easier to fix early. Our Waipahu workshop handles repairs, rhodium touch-ups, and resizing in-house.

Yes. Every order ships insured from our Waipahu showroom, with your signature required, and the cost is worked out at checkout. You can also pick it up free.

Yes. Every order ships insured from our Waipahu showroom, with your signature required, and the cost is worked out at checkout. You can also pick it up free. We don't ship outside the United States.

When your piece is finished and paid for, we ship it insured, and you sign for it, or you pick it up free in Waipahu. The cost is shown before you pay.

All sales of finished pieces are final, in our showroom and online. We don't offer refunds, exchanges or store credit once a sale is complete. Special orders, engraved or personalized pieces, and anything sized or altered are final as well.

All sales of finished pieces are final, in our showroom and online. We don't offer refunds, exchanges or store credit once a sale is complete. Special orders, engraved or personalized pieces, and anything sized or altered are final as well.

We don't refund payments toward an order as cash or card. What you've paid stays with you as store credit.

A piece we're making: before our workshop starts, everything you've paid becomes store credit. Once the workshop has started, your deposit stays with us, and anything you've paid above it becomes store credit.

Hawaii General Excise Tax (GET) applies to in-state sales as required by law. Mainland shipments: applicable sales tax is calculated at checkout when Shopify tax settings are live. Custom commission tax treatment is confirmed on your written estimate.