Biro & Sons Silversmiths

You just find great craftsmen anymore — but Biro & Sons are. We had them fix a mid century modern chandelier that was VERY tricky to work with (a Sputnik if you know of it). Loads of wires, delicate material — all sorts of challenges. They did a brilliant job and you can barely see where they fixed the cracks. Plus they were super interesting people to work with; they come from a long line of silversmiths. Highly recommend them.

I sent my silver candlesticks to Brio & Sons, after I dropped one in the kitchen sink and put a small dent in the side of one. Martin of Brio & Sons told me they could fix it and polish these candlesticks. I was elated. I sent them in via USPS, after Brio & Sons received them, Martin called me and said the cost would be $ 75.00 apiece, I said, let’s do it. I received my candlesticks about three weeks later, opened the package, saw that they were polished, saw that the original dent had been polished over but was still there and then looked at the other candlestick and saw a big dent toward the top of this candlesticks that originally had no defects. I immediately called Martin, he said they discovered this dent when cleaning it, WHAT ?? He then went on to explain how he would have to fix it, ex. Cut it open, pull the dent out, solder it. Why didn’t he do just that? I felt I was being lied too, being taken advantage of by hacks. I thought they were craftsmen, apparently not. Please find some place else to have your work done.

Rick and the team were fantastic! I had a last minute project for work that needed a quick and quality solution. Biro and Sons did just that, working quickly and effectively to send back my items better than when I delivered it.
Having worked with many vendors for my job, this group’s service was as good as it gets. I highly recommend them for any individual or company looking for craftsmen who deliver quality results with service to match!

Biro and Sons are the consummate professionals. In the past 4 years, I have delivered numerous silver pieces to them — for clients — for professional cleaning and some repairs. Gold Stars and Straight A’s — for superior service. Old school service. Always recommend Brio to my clients and friends.

I have used this company for two repairs, one for an antique glass and the second for four beautiful but ruined candlesticks from the early 1930’s. The transformation of these pieces was not inexpensive, but so worth it. Both pieces were very meaningful to my family and seeing them restored with love and craftsmanship was a delight. This company offers old world craftsmanship that is all but gone in today’s rush rush world. Highly recommended.

I took four brass objects to Biro to be nickel plated. The results were less than satisfactory — very poorly done. My father was in the metal finishing business just
down Folsom Street from Biro for forty years. I know what good work is.
The owner, to say the least, is peppery. When I complained about incomplete plating with brass showing through sparse nickel I was told that I was being condescending
and did not understand the process.
If you expect quality work I would suggest using Sherm’s Plating in Sacramento. The
work is beautiful and there is no ATTITUDE.

I took an art nouveau cane handle in for minor repair. Angels blowing horns with leaves
Returned to me a piece of metal with almost all decoration removed, dripped solder, new metal added in odd places — in with a fine piece of art out with a mangled piece of junk.
And now Richard at Biros & Sons informs me I am not the type of person who would understand or appreciate fine silver.
If you go there — bring your pedigree!!!

Biro restored a Hanukah menorah that I inherited. The menorah had been terribly tarnished, stems were misaligned and some ornamental parts were either broken off or hanging by a thread.
I don’t remember this menorah glistening like this even when I was a child lighting it 40 years ago.
These people perform magic.

Biro did a fabulous job on 4 silver candlesticks with intricate patterns that i have never ever been able to clean. They called ahead of schedule so that was also a plus. They are friendly, honest and fairly priced.

I had a great copper pan [11.5″ x 3′] that I bought at Dehillerin in Paris years ago. Over time, the tinning got scratched to the point that the copper was showing through. I took it to Biro & Sons to be re-​tinned and just got it back today. They did just a wonderful job. It looks like new. I think they sent it out but regardless, it’s just perfect. It took about a month and cost $ 160, which they told me in advance. They might be a little slow and a little expensive, but that to me is not the point. The point is that I got it back in such great condition. They exceeded my expectations. I would not hesitate to do business with them again.

Brought a set of silverware that had sat for decades in a damp basement. They really did a fantastic job bringing it all back to life. Not cheap.

I had a terrible experience here about two years ago, and have been meaning to write a review ever since.
I have a very valuable special edition book with a metal, highly polished cover. It’s large at around 12“x15″, and had two very small scratches on it that I wanted to get removed if possible. After calling Christofle I was recommended to Biro. I first emailed images of the scratches and cover and received a reply back that they could polish them out. I brought the book in, spoke with a Biro brother, and was told that it would cost $ 35 and that it’d be ready in about a week.
I get a call a week later as they said, and heading in to get the book. To my surprise when the same man I given the book to brought it out, the scratches were gone, but only because they had been replaced by hundreds of smaller scratches due to the buffing process. I told him that it wasn’t acceptable, had not been informed that this would be the case, and said I never would of had them work on it in the first place if he had told me this would be the outcome. So he asked that I wait and he’d go back into the shop and try again. Five minutes later he came back it looked just as bad. Now comes the fun part. When I said it was still unacceptable, he starts screaming at me that he’s done everything he can, slams the book on the counter, and storms back into the rear of the store. I mean unhinged yelling. I stood there in shock, and started thinking what I could do. Call the police? What? This guy had totally messed up a very expensive book and now I was stuck standing there with it.
Soon another Biro brother came out, totally calm and collected, and said he would look at the situation and see what he could do about it. He asked that I come back in a couple days. I did, with a friend this time just in case there were any other problems, and the book looked better in the light of store and I left with it. When I got home with it, i could still see buff marks all over, but the damage was done, and I’ve been searching for someone to fix it ever since to no avail.
I wish I had never gone here. Not only was my book’s value decreased considerably, but to be screamed at in such a way was crazy. Steer clear.

Biro & Sons gets my highest recommendation. I strongly disagree with Gary S’s review below, comparing ebay items to a retail shop who was replacing a part. Ebay is rampant with imported low-​cost cheap jewelry parts. If you find one there, good for you, but buying cheap imports will kill your local shop. Biro & Sons is an irreplaceable asset to our community. I have had several repairs done and will continue to use them for their quality service and fairness. If you want to go nickle and dime them for what is a fair market rate because it’s higher than what you’d find on ebay, you’re being very unrealistic. And $ 8 shipping is totally fair for a small box, unless you want your piece all bent to heck when it arrives. Been there. I have had 2 sculptures with difficult repairs done and both restored to perfection. Thanks to Biro & Sons!

UPS damaged 2 family silver platters, and it was great that Biro & Sons were local and could handle the repairs. It’s hard to find places that will work on old pieces these days. They understood that these pieces had sentimental value and I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out. They were patient knowing that we had to deal with a UPS claim before the work could begin and when I picked them up, they looked great. The next time I have silver repairs, I will definitely be back.

I don’t like writing negative reviews of a family company with a good reputation, but they got greedy and tried to take advantage of me, so here goes.
I brought in a hand-​made silver key chain for repair after one of the links broke. A simple repair, and it wasn’t cheap at $ 35. But that’s not my complaint, considering that it would have cost me that much or more to get the equipment to do silver brazing myself. In fact, I would have been a satisfied customer, even with their $ 8 shipping charge, which seemed a bit excessive.
But I also asked them to look for a clasp. I received a call that a silver clasp had been found and it would cost $ 55. That seemed high. So I checked the price of clasps on eBay, not the cheapest ones but clasps that look attractive for jewelry, are sterling silver, not «silver tone,» and are large enough to support a key chain. All the prices I saw were well below $ 10.
So I called back, thinking that he was quoting me the total cost of the job, that $ 55 would include the key chain repair and a clasp. That would still give them a 100% markup. But no, he said that was the cost of a silver lobster clasp. I then told him the prices I found on eBay. He laughed and dismissed my information as if buying something on eBay is a non-​starter, because he had no ground to stand on. He said the cost would still be $ 55. I told him to skip it. I would take care of the clasp. Then I bought a really nice, large, sterling silver clasp on eBay for $ 7.50 plus $ 4 shipping. And it looks better than the one he was offering. Large sterling silver lobster clasps were all cheaper than this.
Biro was trying to get away with one here, thinking a customer buying a silver jewelry item wouldn’t balk at $ 55. But I wasn’t born yesterday and don’t appreciate it when a company tries to take advantage of me. They’re lucky I’m giving them two stars because they did do the repair right and they sent it back by the date promised. I won’t do business with them again and suggest you watch your wallet too.
Reputation is everything, folks. Treat your customers with integrity and your business will multiply. Otherwise you earn reviews like this.

This is a wonderful, old San Francisco, family owned company. Everything I take to them comes back looking beautiful. We have used them to repair sterling, silver plate and copper objects, to polish and renew antique pewter and to re-​tin copper cookware. If it’s made out of metal and you like it, it’s worth it to bring it in here!

What a nice family to do business with. I just moved back to SF from Argentina and what happens to me? I break my grandmother’s silver frame that was over 100 years old! It was the only thing I had from her to remember her by.
I went to see Rick Biro who has done this work for years, and his father started the business long ago. My piece was fixed so well that I could not even tell that it had ever been broken. The price was great considering the work they had to do to fix it. I wish every place could be so customer oriented. Thanks Rick, Grandma will NEVER know.

5 stars for a doing a really nice job fixing a crack in a seam of a silver money-​clip. Minus one star for being a little slow (1 month) and more expensive than I was expecting ($ 85) — but they did a really nice job and polished it up better than I thought was possible. They did add a healthy amount of silver in the high stress area to ensure the crack doesn’t start again.
Cash or check only.
Very friendly service from a well established SF business.

I had 2 small copper pots with lids re-​tinned here. I was very impressed with the results. A bit expensive but worth it. All shined up as good as new. I’m going back to get some flatware silver-​plated.
I think they mentioned sending some work out of state due to California environmental laws.

I had a couple of pieces done recently and was very happy with the level of service. Nice people too.