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               Leaving our customers in awe

                          for 72 years

 The McKay legacy began in 1949 when Robert McKay and his wife Frances Ellen started

their adventure in the diamonds business. McKay diamonds opened its doors at 157 South Main Street over 60 years ago.

 In May 2010, Robert McKay decided it was time to retire. Joe & Sandra Andrade, jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the McKay legacy.

Joe has been in the jewelry business for over 30 years. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he started his career at just nine years old as a watchmaker. He later began an apprenticeship, developing skills in jewelry carving and setting, and opened his first jewelry store in Brazil at age 17. Since then, he has never stopped doing business.

That entrepreneurial spirit led Joe to move to the United States over 12 years ago, where he worked for other jewelry stores before starting his own company.

It is hard to imagine historic Main Street without McKay Diamonds, and Joe knew that his new ownership would not change what McKay created: a place where your jeweler is your friend and your experience there will be one to remember.

“I want it to be personal, something with feeling and meaning,” said Joe.

That can be felt especially among those looking for Engagement and Wedding rings, an area of specialization for Andrade and 

his business. Many customers have a vision of what they want their ring to be. Whatever the style, to be involved in the whole process, to be able to literally watch the production of the ring, is an experience like no other. As a local business, everything is done in the store.

Custom design allows someone to bring in a sketch or photograph of a piece, and the jeweler creates a mold of the design until the customer is totally satisfied. These pieces can be created using diamonds and other gemstones that you already have, or can be provided to you from our selection.

 The design and production process can take as little as 4 days, but creates memories that last a lifetime.

 McKay Diamonds customers have come back for all of their jewelry needs, whether a repair or custom design, because of its legacy that remains strong today.

 The McKay legacy began in 1949 when Robert McKay and his wife Frances Ellen started

their adventure in the diamonds business. McKay diamonds opened its doors at 157 South Main Street over 60 years ago.

 In May 2010, Robert McKay decided it was time to retire. Joe & Sandra Andrade, jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the McKay legacy.

Joe has been in the jewelry business for over 30 years. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he started his career at just nine years old as a watchmaker. He later began an apprenticeship, developing skills in jewelry carving and setting, and opened his first jewelry store in Brazil at age 17. Since then, he has never stopped doing business.

That entrepreneurial spirit led Joe to move to the United States over 12 years ago, where he worked for other jewelry stores before starting his own company.

It is hard to imagine historic Main Street without McKay Diamonds, and Joe knew that his new ownership would not change what McKay created: a place where your jeweler is your friend and your experience there will be one to remember.

“I want it to be personal, something with feeling and meaning,” said Joe.

That can be felt especially among those looking for Engagement and Wedding rings, an area of specialization for Andrade and 

his business. Many customers have a vision of what they want their ring to be. Whatever the style, to be involved in the whole process, to be able to literally watch the production of the ring, is an experience like no other. As a local business, everything is done in the store.

Custom design allows someone to bring in a sketch or photograph of a piece, and the jeweler creates a mold of the design until the customer is totally satisfied. These pieces can be created using diamonds and other gemstones that you already have, or can be provided to you from our selection.

 The design and production process can take as little as 4 days, but creates memories that last a lifetime.

 McKay Diamonds customers have come back for all of their jewelry needs, whether a repair or custom design, because of its legacy that remains strong today.

Utah’s Top Rated Local® Jewelry Stores Award Winner: McKay Diamonds

Top Rated Local® is pleased to announce that McKay Diamonds is a two-time 2019 award winner in Utah!

For all of your jewelry needs in Salt Lake City, there’s no better jewelry store to turn to than McKay Diamonds.

McKay Diamonds has received hundreds of reviews on six verified sites with an average rating of 4.95 stars, earning them an impeccable Rating Score™ of 100.00 and two 2019 Top Rated Local awards for being ranked among the top 20 businesses and the number one jewelry store in all of Utah!

Here’s just one of their many five-star reviews:

“The jeweler I have always gone to recently retired, and we ran across McKay Diamonds online. There is a reason they have 5.0 stars everywhere!!! [They are a] very nice couple, and they do fast and reasonably priced work! We felt so welcomed in their store and enjoyed hearing how they got started in the business. I didn’t want a chain jeweler/shopping mall jewelry store. I’d rather support a local business that does work in-house, and I found exactly what I had wanted. I recommend McKay and will definitely be returning there!” – Jaime G.

Not Your Average Jewelry Store

We wanted to learn more about this two-time award winner and how they managed to build such an impressive online reputation, so we took a few minutes to talk with Sandra Andrade, co-owner of McKay Diamonds.

The first thing we wanted to know was what makes McKay Diamonds a one-of-a-kind jewelry store in Utah. Here’s what Sandra had to say:

“We don’t send anything out. We do everything here. My husband is the jeweler. He can make it while they wait. You don’t have to leave anything behind. If it’s something really important to you, he can do it while you wait.”

Sandra went on to say:

“We size; we put back stones; we clean everything while you wait. Most stores send out and make you wait for two to three weeks. The maximum we go is one or two days because we don’t keep jewelry here.”

We also asked Sandra what their mission is at McKay Diamonds and how they work to make the world a better place. Here’s her response:

“We want to treat people nice and provide people with a good price, respect and good service.”

Building Success by Following the Golden Rule

Sandra attributes McKay Diamonds’ strong online reputation to their commitment to doing their job and following the Golden Rule:

“We just do our jobs. We try to treat people like the way we want to be treated. When we go to buy something, we want to be treated nice. We try to do the same thing here.”

Outside of building a powerful online reputation, McKay Diamonds has gotten their name out there solely through word of mouth, which says something about the quality of their service.

Every business owner wants to build the kind of online reputation McKay Diamonds has. When we asked Sandra what advice she has for those business owners, she said:

“Treat people with respect, listen and do whatever you can to help. I think customer service is what makes people want to say good things about you.”


Congratulations to the team at McKay Diamonds for being a 2019 Top Rated Local award winner, and thank you so much, Sandra, for taking the time to speak with us!

We highly recommend McKay Diamonds in Salt Lake City. Visit their website today!

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