Reliable Gold

Nov 21

In their own words

“Reliable Gold started in 1934 as a gold buying business during the Depression. Over the years, what wasn’t melted down for gold was saved in the forms of antique and estate jewelry. We started buying new pieces as well. People come in and are amazed at the variety of what they see; we combine traditional styles with something new. We customize our inventory so people can find something unique.”

-Rena Abeles

Jason’s Interview with Rena

Jason

We're back on Meet the Jewelers and today we're talking to Rena Abeles from Reliable Gold Jewelers in Providence, Rhode Island. How did you get into the industry?

Rena

I was sort of born into it. It's a family business. Reliable Gold started in 1934 as a gold buying business during the Depression. Over the years, what was not melted down for gold was saved in the form of beautiful antique jewelry and estate jewelry. Eventually, we moved from our original location after twenty-four years in downtown Providence to the east side of Providence, near Brown University. We started going into more retail, starting beautiful estate jewelry that we had purchased over the years. Eventually, we started buying new pieces as well. We're now in our eighty-sixth year and four generations.

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Jason
When somebody is thinking about buying that special engagement ring or really cool antique piece, why should they come to Reliable Gold?

Rena
We have a stellar reputation. We build relationships with our customers and generations of their families. We were fairly recently flooded out of our second store after fifty-seven years and moved to another location, still on the east side in Wayland Square Providence, and that has been an incredible opportunity. They talk about making lemonade out of lemons. That was the situation. We have a very interesting combination of pieces in our inventory. We have estate pieces, new and designer pieces, and we like to help customers refurbish their heirloom jewelry.

Jason
Are there any cool designers that you want Meet the Jewelers to know about?

Rena
We do a lot of work with the Heritage Collection. They're out of New York and do beautiful pieces. We also have Designed by Eve originals, and they're beautiful as well. Those are new and very contemporary. We have other designers with us that are really terrific people, up and coming in the industry.

Jason
How do you ensure that you're delivering a high level of service?

Rena
We have a fabulous group of people. My colleagues are terrific, and I couldn't be happier. We like to train them by having them familiarize themselves with a product that we haven't stocked the inventory first. And then we educate them about the stones.

Jason
What's the feeling you like to give your customers when they enter your store?

Rena
Our store is set up almost as a living room. I sort of fought against the institutional look of most jewelry stores. I wanted something warm and friendly, and we have a very eclectic inventory. People come in and are amazed at the variety of what they see because they don't often see what we have in other places. We customize the inventory as much as possible so that people have something unique.

Jason
Tell us about one or two exciting pieces that we have to hear about?

Rena
We have a gorgeous two-ring necklace that is just beautifully made. That's from the Heritage Collection. We also have a beautiful green cocktail ring— gorgeous beyond belief. I've never seen this color green before, it is a magnificent color.

Jason
You and your family have done so much for Providence. What are some top causes that you want us to know about?

Rena
The MS Society is something that we support, and various arts organizations as well. We're very much part of the community and we're happy to contribute when we can.

Jason
When it comes to proposals, tell us some fun stories.

Rena
I remember one customer’s ring was green and it was in a very small box. But then he had that in another box, and then in a bigger box, then into a bigger box. So she had a huge box and didn't realize it was a ring until she got through all the different layers.

Jason
What drives you and why do you come to work every day?

Rena
First of all, it's the aesthetic pleasure of the jewelry itself and the wonderful community that we have. It's the people. It's the product. We're lucky because we are involved with spreading joy. We are there for happy occasions. We're there to create heirlooms for families. Customer service is a very important part of our business. That's why we've been around as long as we have been. We are very careful in our buying practices so that we can deliver the best possible quality item at the best possible prices.

We handle repairs and we handle appraisals. We try and deliver the most prompt service that we can.

Jason
Here's your chance to say whatever you like to Meet the Jewelers.

Rena
Visiting a jewelry store makes much more sense than buying something online. You are dealing with professionals who can answer your questions, understand your needs, and guide you in the right direction. We bend over backwards to make sure that the customer’s getting just what they love to have.