Virag Jewelers

Evanston, United States

4.5

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

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Telephone:
+1 847-864-9660
Website:
www.viragjewelers.com
Address:
703 Main St, Evanston, IL, 60202
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
320 ftEvanston Main Street
340 ftChicago & Main SB
390 ftChicago & Main NB
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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 – 5:30 pm
Open now
Local time (Evanston) 10:22 AM Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday 10:00 am – 5:30 pm
Wednesday 10:00 am – 5:30 pm
Thursday 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
Friday 10:00 am – 5:30 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

Located in Evanston since 1936, Virag Jewelers Ltd. provides the finest in sales and service for diamonds, engagement rings, fine jewelry, clocks and watches.

Diamonds and gemstones are matched to your specifications and budget, and many popular styles of engagement rings, wedding bands and anniversary rings are available in 14K yellow or white gold as well as platinum. We carry designers Aviva Rose, One Oak by Sarah, Susan Hanover and Wendy Culpepper.

Our selection of earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings range from genuine pearls and gemstones in 14K yellow or white gold to sterling silver — as well as affordable handcrafted designs by Sky Blue Jewelry.

We carry a variety of watches by Seiko, Pulsar, Invicta and Torgoen as well as a small selection of vintage wristwatches and pocket watches.

Have any Gold jewelry you would like to sell? We will give you a fair price based on the current Gold market for scrap.

History

Established in 1936.

1900s-​Peter Virag is a watchmaker in a predominantly German community in Eastern Europe.

1921-​Peter & family immigrate to the U.S. He works as a bench jeweler in downtown Chicago.

1936-​Peter Virag Jewelers is founded, on Chicago Ave. north of Main St. in Evanston. Son Adam & son-​in-​law Frank Schneider join the business.

1960s-​Store moves to its present location– 703 Main Street.

1970s-80s-Adam’s sons, Pete, Tony & Joe join the business.

1986-​Frank retires, and Adam semi-​retires. Tony and Pete become owners.

late 1990s-​Adam retires after 60 years in the jewelry business.

2003-Adam’s daughter, Terri, begins working as jewelry buyer. Her line of handcrafted jewelry– Sky Blue Jewelry, can be purchased online or in the store.

2007-​Tony leaves to own a jewelry store closer to his home in the south suburbs.

Today –Pete, Joe, Terri and the friendly staff at Virag Jewelers continue the legacy of quality sales and service that their grandfather started so long ago.

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20 reviews of Virag Jewelers

No registration required
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
I went here because I wanted to change my watch band for my Moto 360. The employees were kind and courteous. They took care of me quickly and professionally.
I worked in customer service myself. I am a constant critic of customer service (inside my own brain). Therefore, I have a gut feeling about whether I feel comfortable to actually ask innocent questions, browse, and pick the employees’ brains. I felt completely at ease here.
My only knock is the lack of selection as far as men’s watches are concerned. (This is the only category I know anything about.) The selection was mostly Timexes, Seikos, and other lower price point watches. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with those brands. However, for someone who likes good design at a similar price point (a la Nixon etc) there isn’t much for you.
I can highly recommend this place for anybody in need of any kind of jewelry and watch service.
Place rating: 5
Brookfield, IL
Fiancé damaged a prong and the jeweler was able to set the diamond back in perfectly within a few minutes! Crisis averted!
Place rating: 5
Evanston, IL
Came in today (first time customer) to get replacement battery for my Invicta watch. I was pleasantly surprised that they fixed it within a couple minutes, very fast service. I’m used to always having to drop off items and come back days later. I also liked that their battery replacement comes with a 1 year warranty, good customer service. Will definitely be coming back. Thanks!!!
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
I came in 3 minutes before they closed to get my Seiko watch fixed. It turned out I had a bad battery and they were professional, quick, and replaced the battery. This was super helpful and very reliable.
Place rating: 4
Skokie, IL
Ok, so not 5 stars because I think they un-​waterproofed my watch. But I do give them kuddos for cheap battery change and for honesty. Since I had some moisture in my watch from a previous battery change with them, I took my watch to the authorized dealer (Concord Glezer-​Kraus) which charges $ 50 as opposed to $ 10 for a battery change. But I just wanted them to seal it right. Instead they come up with $ 288 in repairs. So I pick up my watch without any repairs and take it back to Virag and told them what happened. I brought an extra watch in case my regular one really needed a repair. I think they felt bad about the de-​waterproofing. But at least he was honest. Put a new batter in both watches for the price of one. And my watch worked fine. He said it looked good inside and that even if it did need a repair it would be in the $ 100 range. Needless to say, this is a place you can trust. Good guys. They will continue to get my watch business.
Place rating: 5
Evanston, IL
I had initially gone to this place because of previous reviews. I had just brought in 2 watches, one to have a few links removed and the other that I had accidently run through the washing machine (the band broke and it was running slow). They suggested just trying a new battery in that one. They only charged me for the battery replacement and the other watch to have links removed and did it all within 10 minutes and a total of $ 16. They said if the one that went through the wash continues to run slow, to bring it back and they would refund me for the battery. They were friendly and very helpful. I will definitely be bringing my watches back there in the future. This is a great no-​nonsense business and I can’t say enough positive things about it. I would highly recommend it!
Place rating: 5
Evanston, IL
Honest. Humble. Great quality service and people.
This store is family owned (dates back to 1936) and exceptionally professional. I came in to get a watch battery changed and the chronograph reset and Peter (one of the owners) was not only quick (took 5 minutes), but also incredibly professional and meticulously skillful! He told me that the chronograph reset itself at 5 instead of 12– which is something that commercial stores that change watch batteries would miss.
I also asked a million questions about gemstones and settings (Virag also sells and repairs jewelry) and he was patient and answered them all with a smile. Peter was honest, humble, and very genuine. He informed me on the differences in pink stones (sapphires vs. tourmaline vs. topaz) and even took the time to show me some vintage pocket watches.
There is definitely a difference in the quality of this store because it is family owned. I left feeling educated and got a new watch battery for $ 10 (which is a great deal compared to most commercial places).
Happy I got to save time and money at this place– pun intended. Will be returning.
PS: Virag also does engraving and has a on-​site goldsmith!
Place rating: 5
Lincoln Square, Chicago, IL
Once again my battery lasted a long time! I still think this place is a good deal with great service.
Place rating: 5
Skokie, IL
I recently received a beautiful sterling silver chain with my name on a nameplate. The chain is very delicate, and as my luck would have it, it caught on something and broke! And not even the clasp; but in the middle of the chain itself. I immediately brought it to Virag, knowing they would fix it.
I just picked it up, and you can’t tell where the break was! Very happy! (I will be more careful.) ;-)
Place rating: 1
Evanston, IL
Sorry but I found them a little too cold & stiff. Only waited a little while to get my watch battery changed. Customers were at the counter so I stood back a few feet to wait my turn. Stood there alone, in full view of the counter staff, for about 5 mins. before another couple came in & stood behind me. We all stood there about another couple of mins. before a gentleman behind the counter was free. At that point, he looks in the direction of the couple and asked, «who’s next.» Seemed pretty obvious to me but whatever. Had to point out that, «that would be me, the one standing here.» We proceeded to have a very distant & impersonal interaction while he changed my battery and returned my watch. By the way, I was the only black person in the room. Not saying… just sayin’.
Place rating: 1
Evanston, IL
It is difficult to downvote an established store but I must. I took a relatively valuable watch in for repair only to have it returned with a different watchface and stem. I complained the face was different (what happened to the original face?) and all Peter would do is offer to refurbish the «new» face with the original graphic (I provided a photograph). I initially said, «OK» but reversed this the next day in a voicemail message. I wanted my original watch returned. They went ahead with the refurbishing of the face anyway. They did not replicate the original face graphic, by the way.
This was a fairly valuable (to me) watch and now has suspect value. I considered suing but don’t really have the time for a small claims action. I suspect they harvested the dial and perhaps even the stem for other purposes. For this reason, I would suggest you take in things like a cheap watch for a new battery but stay away from them repairing, even cleaning any valuable item. They simply cannot be trusted, sadly. I’m sure they were once a fine, trustworthy jeweler as they have been in Evanston for a long time. Maybe this is a once in a lifetime thing, but no consideration was provided me except to refurbish the watchface which they did for free.
Again, I would stay away.
Place rating: 5
Evanston, IL
I’m a sucker for small businesses that know how to do it right, and Virag is definitely one of those. A Main St institution that’s been here for yonks, Virag are expert jewelers with a great selection of interesting pieces and excellent customer service. They gave me a very fair price for some old gold rings, and are always happy to clean my wedding ring while I check out their offerings. I am a particular fan of their fine rings selection, with a wide range of gemstones in all colors and reasonable prices.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
I have been a Virag customer for more than 40 years and I simply won’t go elsewhere. They are expert jewelers who do beautiful work at reasonable prices — what more could you possibly want? I read the one negative review here and thought, really? You had the movement changed on your Tag for $ 75 and you’re complaining — please!
My boyfriend has several Tags given to him by an über wealthy brother-​in-​law and has taken them to the Jewelers Row jewelers where they were purchased for service. Each time he paid a ridiculous amount of money for pitiful work. I asked him to let me take them to Virag and voila — fixed beautifully for half the price! I love Virag Jewelers (and so does he now) and recommend them to everyone I know. Please frequent this business — they are the kind of small business owners that every town needs!
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
Great service. I came in to fix a pin that had popped out of my watch. They fixed it for super cheap. On a whim I asked if they could make my band longer. They are Seiko dealers and he ordered the original band extensions for my 10 year old watch! All for about $ 10, with installation. Strong recommendation for this place for your watch needs.
Place rating: 5
Orlando, FL
This store, open since 1936, is very busy. The focus isn’t so much on selling fine jewelry (although there is a reasonable selection in the cases) but it’s more about service. I was there on a Wednesday afternoon, and the place was very busy, but there were plenty of staff to help out. Customization, repairs and watch battery replacement all were handled quickly, and by very friendly people, and the charge was quite reasonable. I can see why they’ve been in business so long.
Place rating: 5
Evanston, IL
Between the significant other an myself, we needed to replace batteries in ten watches. Watch snobs, I know. Anyway, we called around to get pricing. While they couldn’t offer a discount, Virag pricing was $ 10/​each and could change all the batteries same day.
We had one watch that needed new movement, and it was done quickly (a couple days) and only $ 40. Friendly service, and we will definitely be doing business with them again!
Place rating: 5
Saint Paul, MN
I came in here to get a new battery for my watch and had a very positive experience. The guy at the counter immediately knew where my watch was from and what kind of battery it needed. My watch is waterproof, so you need a special pressurizer thingy to seal it shut after putting in the new battery, which this place has (a lot of jewelry stores don’t). It was $ 15 to get the battery replaced, and they wrote down the serial number and said if it broke within a year I could bring it back and get it replaced for free.
Place rating: 5
Evanston, IL
The best! I took in my broken Tag that every few years has cost 300+ to service at tourneau. After waiting a week for the
watch craftsman to come in and take a look see, he called and said $ 50,and was apologetic that it cost so much!!! Love those guys! :)
Place rating: 4
Evanston, IL
I love coming to this place for my watch services! They’re great at figuring out what’s wrong and providing me with honest and reasonable prices and times to fix it. change in batteries is a straight up $ 10 and they can change it in 10 minutes — exactly what I want and need.
I’ve also brought some jewelry in to fix before and they’ve been great at giving me prices for it. i had a costume jewelry fixed before and they did a very nice job. I’ve also brought in finer jewelry, a gold 18k ring that has a super thin band that I broke. They helped me patch it up though the material they used to patch it up wasn’t the same quality as the original material — understandable though. I also broke this same ring again later in the year and ended up taking it to Cottage Jewelry who actually did an even better job so if you have something very delicate and fine, I would suggest you taking it there instead. They’re a little bit more upscale and fit better with the gold ring I needed fixed. Everything else though, I would come back to Virag for!
Place rating: 5
Evanston, IL
Thank you Unilocalers for helping me find a watch store in Evanston! For $ 10, I got several links in my watch strap removed. This $ 10 was a one-​time fee; any future adjustments to this watch are free. The service was excellent and friendly.
Virag Jewelers is half a jewelry store, half a watch store. This split was reflected in the merchandise they carry, as well as the the kinds of requests customers had when they came into the store. The patrons were generally 30+ years old and were repeat customers. Virag Jewelers is family owned and operated and has been for many, many years. While I was in the store, another customer said she had been coming to the store for 40 years.
In addition to watch and jewelry repairs, adjustments, and cleaning, Virag carries a multitude of watch straps and metal chains in a variety of styles and colors. They sell new jewelry, watches, wall clocks, and some vintage pieces (e.g. pocket watches). They also offer battery replacements and engravings in crystal, metal, and wood.
I would say that their selection of jewelry is eclectic: some crystals, some jade, some beads, some pearls, some diamonds, some rings, and some earrings in unusual designs and styles. As for watches, they carry Seiko, Bertucci, and Kenneth Cole Reaction.