Desert Son

Thought I would drop in while I am waiting. But they are going out of business after 50 years and What's left is sparse. Should have come sooner.

Wow. What a horrible experience. I. Will. Never. Be. Back.I walked in at around 2:00pm on 5/4 because I had just gotten back from a massage at Massage Envy and I thought that checking out Desert Son might be interesting. I'm normally a patron of Mac's Indian Jewelry so I thought maybe I'd find something similar here.I was greeted by blank stares, no "Welcome in" or anything like that. I asked to see the rings and a man gestured towards a display. When I walked there, there were no rings. Begrudgingly, he got up and it turned out the rings weren't on display because they were behind the counter. So... why tell me to walk somewhere when they weren't out for display?I browsed through the jewelry, but most of it was over the top with stones, which isn't really my taste. I asked if they had something less gaudy. His response was, "This is Indian jewelry, most of the stuff they make is pretty gaudy," in a pretentious voice as if I didn't know anything about the jewelry. What he did not know was that I am actually a collector of Native American artifacts. But thanks for the assumption. Also, borderline racism towards the people who entrust their artifacts with the store to be sold. I'd go ahead and caution any jewelry makers who choose to sell their products at Desert Son.When I was browsing the rings, I found a penny placed behind one of them and I asked about it. He said, "Oh, that's so we know if someone steals one." Uh... what? Super professional to tell a customer that you're essentially worried she's going to steal something.What happened next was 100% true and appalling. The phone rang and the woman said, "Will you answer the god **** phone?" to the man. She got up to "help" me. One ring was interesting and I picked it up to look at it. She said, "Yeah, that one is b****in'." Seriously? This is the demeanor of people working in a JEWELRY STORE? She did apologize for swearing but I was seriously done with my experience.To whoever is the owner of this establishment, I sure hope this enlightens you to the type of people you have working for you. If one of those two were the owner, I have some advice. 1. Don't generalize the artifacts that Native American people make. They are great in number and all unique, individual pieces reflecting on the artists who make them. HAVE SOME RESPECT! 2. Act like you give a crap about the people who patronize your establishment. Don't gesture around at products that aren't on display. Don't cuss in front of them. Don't insult the people who make the products you are selling. 3. Don't talk about how people steal your stuff. It's just unprofessional.GET REAL! This place is HORRIBLE and I will NEVER, EVER be back. I'll be going to Mac's, where the people care about the customers and the artists who lovingly entrust that their products will be taken care of by the stores who sell them.

Great shop for authentic Indian Jewelry,rugs,belts and boots. Steve and Julia are very knowledgeable and beyond friendly! Felt like we have known them forever.

This shop has two very different faces depending on the staff members you are dealing with. Some are lovely, friendly and very good at their jobs; one is angry, defensive, and verbally-abusive. So it is difficult to give an overall review. Five stars for most of the staff; zero stars for one particular staff member; and two stars for the jewelry repair work that I requested. Separate ratings for separate issues.I had two repair jobs:1. For the first, I was offered several options. I discussed them with one of the helpful staff members, and settled on a solution. When I picked up my repair, it had been done in a way that I explicitly stated I did not want. I was told by the rude staff member that my piece of jewelry was not very 'valuable.' He said I should never have requested a more expensive repair in the first place ('your earrings are not worth a $60 repair!'). He told me I was 'stupid', he knew the business, and the job I got was good enough for my piece of jewelry. I told him that 'value' is all dependent upon what a customer is willing to pay based on a variety of factors (price, sentiment, etc), and this piece of jewelry was valuable to me. He went on to tell me that customers come in and sell their so-called 'sentimental' jewelry every day for peanuts, and there is no such thing as sentiment. At that point, I paid and left, feeling uncomfortable. The work was good, if different then requested, so I felt it wasn't worth fighting over.2. The second job was an old religious medal (also not valuable but sentimental) for my father, who is allergic to silver. Again, the person I originally dealt with understood the allergy and came up with a workable repair plan. When I picked up the jewelry, I was more concerned with the earrings. That evening, I noticed the medal had been repaired as discussed, but an additional silver bracket had been added to it. I gathered this was added to make it easier or safer to wear on a chain since the repair job was delicate. I went back to the shop, and spoke with the rude staff member to request the silver piece be removed. He told me I knew nothing about jewelry and that the additional piece was necessary. Also, the price of the job was higher then quoted, which I figured was partially due to the silver bracket. I asked if that was the case and asked for a bit of money back for the bracket (I was thinking a few dollars). The staff member started shouting (yelling! loudly!) at me, telling me never to come back in the shop ('I never want to see you in here again.'). And called me stupid... again.. He threw the money (for both jobs) at me in anger. Another staff member witnessed this, and apologized profusely. She found the original person I had dealt with, who continued to assist me. These two staff members were lovely, as they had been before. I tried to pay them for the work, but they refused.Closing thoughts: A significant issue is that there is little coordination between the shop and the person who actually fixes the jewelry. So if you have your heart set on a repair done in a certain way, there is no guarantee that the work will be done in the way you request. I would have hoped for a phone call to discuss the decisions made on either/both of my jobs before they were done differently then requested.

I was going through Tucson Arizona on vacation, and looked all over for Indian jewelry. This place by far was the best in Tucson. Staff were friendly, and they had a wide selection of different items. I read a review that stated these people were unprofessional and rude. The review was very comical, and I had the feeling that maybe the reviewer was being a little hard on these people. I was pleased to find that these people were very friendly, and bent over backwards in order to make myself and my family feel comfortable in their store. I went into their store with three small children, and believe me when I say that my children are very active. Not once did we get an eye roll, or a rude comment about the children possibly breaking things. I would recommend this store, and will be coming back to Tucson to visit them for all of my future Indian jewelry needs.

This place has a ton of turquoise and silver jewelry-bracelets, earrings, necklaces. Their prices are reasonable and the staff is friendly. They have a range of pieces from very small and inexpensive to very elaborate and expensive.

Great collection but f beautiful treasures. So sad to see them close for good. Now there are fewer places to buy turquoise and baskets.

While they have some nice things and decent prices, the post-sale customization I had done was poorly executed, and attempts to resolve the issue with the merchant met with stonewalling and denial. Moreover, the owner was both rude and insulting. Suggest avoiding this merchant. There are better stores in the Tucson area selling similar merchandise.

Rediscovered this place after 39 years, it only got better with age. Outstanding selection of jewelry, belts, moccasins, fetishes, and more. Steve and his staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful. Love this store.

I have been coming to Tucson every year for over 25 years from Indiana teaching continuing education in my field. The quality of the merchandise Desert Son carries is top rate. I have bought numerous authentic Indian art, jewelry, and antiques over this timeframe. I am very pleased with the quality and authenticity. You get what you pay for when you go to Desert Son.