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About Us

Everyone has to believe in something.

Everyone has to believe in something.

Here are some of the important things we believe in:

We believe in speaking the truth, even if it is not to our advantage.

We believe in doing the right thing, not the easy thing.

We believe in letting you trade your diamond in when you outgrow it.

We believe low quality jewelry is never a good value.

We believe in good food, good wine and good conversation.

We believe in giving you back your money when somethings not right and we can't fix it.

We believe in asking for forgiveness when we screw up.

We believe in unexpected gifts at unexpected times.

We believe every woman deserves a beautiful diamond.

We believe in conducting ourselves honestly in all things.

We believe quality should be affordable.

We're Driven to Make You Happy!

1. First, we gotta start with the quality of the jewelry, diamonds and gemstones. Long after you forget about how the salesperson treated you, long after you forget about the price you paid, you still have that diamond ring. And you’re going to love it for years and years. Because we are super picky on quality, you benefit. This goes along with the next point...
2. We aren’t your mall jeweler, that’s for dang sure. Granted from a business perspective, we could make a lot more money patterning our business off those mall jewelers like Kays and Zales. But we refuse to sell low quality, lightweight jewelry with cloudy diamonds. We can buy this crap too, super cheap, and sell it to you for big profit margins. But seriously, we don’t want our good name attached to lousy quality jewelry. The jewelry you get from Yates is built with more metal in the ring - so it lasts longer. Thicker prongs on the diamonds - so the diamonds don’t fall out so easily. Diamonds that sparkle and you aren’t embarrassed to show another jeweler.
3. We aren’t pushy. If you have to be pushy to be a great salesperson, then we aren’t great salespeople. We try to live by the golden rule, “treat others the way you want to be treated.” And no one likes to “be sold to”. High pressure sales tactics? We don’t even know how to use those. Didn’t take that class.
4. You get it your way. You are unique. Shouldn’t your jewelry also be? Do you really want the same ring as one of your friends? Or the lady in line next to you at the supermarket? At Yates, you can customize to your heart’s content! Your ideas will come to life.
5. We want you to get a great deal! One of the things that makes us feel really good is to hear folks tell us how happy they are that they got a better diamond for less money. Happy customers tell their friends and family. And we love making them happy too.

Meet Our Team

Our goal is to make your jewelry buying experience nothing short of perfection. Learn more about our team and contact your own personal jewelry consultant today!

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Ron Yates

"I'm old enough to know better, but young enough to still do it anyways!"

Tell us a little about what you do? Being a small store, we all wear a lot of hats. I’m constantly working on our website trying to improve our customers shopping experience. I am a coin expert which is actually how I started in this business. I also love designing custom jewelry, lately featuring ancient Roman coins set into hand carved engraved settings. Throughout the years, what I have consistently loved most is getting to visit our clients and swap about life stories.

What do you like to do in your free time? When I’m not in my office you can find me out riding my horses, planting flowers, or listening to live music at a honky tonk.

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Mechelle Yates

"After all, tomorrow is another day."

Tell us a little about what you do? I am a Graduate Gemologist (GIA) and member of National Association of Jewelry Appraisers. I appraise our customer's family heirlooms, manage our inventory, and make sure the bills are paid so we can keep making people’s dreams come true. My greatest passion though is finding our antique & vintage pieces.

Read more about my jewelry appraisals.

What do you like to do in your free time? I love riding trails with my horse Sahara and hiking in the great outdoors.

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Ashton Yates-Woolley

"Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy jewelry and that’s pretty much the same thing."

Tell us a little about what you do? I have an Associates in Graphic Design and I'm an Diamondologist & Accredited Jewelry Professional (GIA). So my day to day tasks at the office are always changing - and I love it!

What do you like to do in your free time? I love getting out of town as often as I can and exploring new areas. Plus, I’m a big wino. So I love afternoons spent wine tasting.

Why request me? I'm a customer service driven person who loves helping people find the piece of jewelry, engagement ring, or diamond that is perfect for them.

Have a question for me? I'm ready to help! Send me an email at: Ashton@YatesJewelers.com

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Marissa Stewart

"Do or do not, there is no try."

Tell us a little about what you do? I carefully inspect and package each item we send out. I quality check our repairs to make sure they are in tip top shape before giving them back to you. Overall, I am our main customer happiness engineer. Plus I am an Accredited Jewelry Professional (GIA) which allows me to help you even better.

What do you like to do in your free time? I enjoy spending time by the ocean and checking out new breweries. When I'm at home I like to sew, watch movies with my husband, and just recently I've been cruising around on my new scooter!

Why request me? I look forward to meeting new people and helping them find what they need.

Have a question for me? I'm ready to help! Send me an email at: Marissa@YatesJewelers.com

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Justice Ceballos

"I followed my heart and it lead me to the fridge."

Tell us a little about what you do? I am our official store cheerleader. I help out with the behind the scenes tasks to make sure your experience with us goes smoothly.

What do you like to do in your free time? I am a professional pastry chef. You can usually find me in the kitchen whipping something delicious up for a friend in need.

 
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Karrin Weatherspoon

"Don't be upsetti...eat some spaghetti."

Tell us a little about what you do? I am our store hand model, videographer, and jewelry cleaner. Life is rough having to model beautiful jewelry everyday.

What do you like to do in your free time? I am a busy bee. Between college, planning a wedding and working at Yates I love being surrounded by my friends and family. I'm always up for an adventure!

 

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Melody Curiel

"Always be yourself - unless you can be a dinosaur, then always be a dinosaur."

Tell us a little about what you do? I recently completed the Accredited Jewelry Professional program from GIA. I love learning about jewelry design, gemstones, and also help manage our social media.

What do you like to do in your free time? I love drawing, hunting for vintage treasures, and taking my German Shepherd on adventures. And if you couldn't tell by my quote, I am a dino fanatic!

About Yates & Co Jewelers

In 1988, Ron and Mechelle Yates opened their first retail store, California Coin & Jewelry in Modesto, CA. They bought and sold rare coins, estate jewelry and diamonds from private individuals and estates. Soon Ron became recognized as an honest and strong buyer of nicer estate jewelry and diamonds. He was used as an appraiser for the Drug Enforcement Agency, brokered many higher-end estates to get his clients top dollar, and has been used as an expert witness in court cases. Mechelle furthered her gemological education with the Gemological Institute of America and received a Graduate Gemologist (G.G.) diploma. In addition, she qualified for and is a member of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers (N.A.J.A.).
 
In the early years, most of their jewelry was resold to jewelry wholesalers and local jewelers. After seeing the large markups that the jewelers were getting on the estate pieces from Yates, they thought it would be a great idea to offer their jewelry to the public at lower than retail prices, and start building a clientele. "Give the deal to our customers, not the dealers", Ron said. "I was seeing jewelers get 4-5x over what they paid us. And I didn't think that was a good deal for the customer." So armed with a deep knowledge of jewelry values, and a determination to offer honest fair pricing, the focus of the business changed, along with the name.
 
 
In 2002, we opened our first e-commerce jewelry website, http://www.Titanium-Jewelry.com. This website specialized in modern jewelry made from contemporary metals such as titanium, tungsten, cobalt, damascus steel, cobalt and meteorite, among other metals. Cutting edge stuff at the time. Within a few short years, we had over 60,000 happy customers in all 50 states and 27 countries! We sold that business in 2022 to focus on our next chapter in jewelry. Stay tuned for more on that!
 
Our mission is to give you the best quality jewelry for your dollar. No crappy stuff like what is sold on amazon, found at the mall, or in the chain stores. No smoke and mirrors, gimmicks, fake sales, or exorbitant markups. So you won't find a 50% off sale, and we won't haggle with you on price - because we don't mark it up enough to give you a big fake discount. We won't sell you a "house graded" diamond over $1,000. Why, because it's not in your best interest. You will get an independent lab graded diamond by G.I.A. because it's the right thing to do for you. If you're looking for an honest jeweler who is known for being picky about quality, we might be for you. We've got your back.

Visit Us

If you are in the Modesto area, we would love for you to stop by so we can meet you.  

Looking for a great jeweler in Modesto?

We're not the biggest, but you'll always get the best, at honest prices, from Yates.

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