High Society's Jewelers Knowledge of Market as Good as Gold

Almost two generations in his business has given John Bulgarelli a front-row seat in customer’s tastes in their most golden possessions.

Bulgarelli is the graduate gemologist and jewelry designer and has run High Society Jewelers since 1975 through its incarnations in Elmwood Park, Norridge and the past decade at 108 S. Prospect in Uptown.

“Gold in 1975 was going on its way up,” Bulgarelli said. “I was doing a lot of work where I was making custom waxes and molds, and doing casting with people’s old gold, and making something new out of it.”

“Inflation was going up. People wanted to sell their gold or in some cases if they couldn’t buy it, to re-cycle it. Unfortunately right now, a lot of people are selling it, and selling some very nice things.”

Bulgarelli’s wife, Marie, also his partner in the business for the past 28 years, picks up the analysis.

Job loss, estate settlements motivations

“Because they have lost jobs, or have to settle estates,” she said of the cashing out of gold and valuables. “There has been a re-invention of the estate market.  People are always to look to buy something new instead of those old, vintage pieces. For us, it’s been doing always what we’ve done, because of our experience.

“People are just lost: ‘What do we do? I don’t have the cash. But I’m sitting on all this jewelry.’ Their confidence in us helped them make a hard decision to move those pieces or re-use those pieces. You had to help people get through those times.”

For those who can make non-panicked holiday gift decisions, the Bulgarellis break down the best sellers in different price levels.

On the high end, “diamond pendants and earrings are the No. 1 holiday sellers, said John Bulgarelli.

Added Marie: “On the middle end, high-fashion sterling silver jewelry is very popular with gem stones.

A jeweler who wanted to be a dentist

Expertise in jewelry appears to be a specific niche. But it was not John Bulgarelli’s original career goal.

“I wanted to be a dentist, but I couldn’t take the pain and suffering,” he said of a profession where the only gold was fillings. “If you have an interest in art and science – you kind of use both – it (jewelry) is an interesting field with Mother Nature’s works.”

Bulgarelli graduated from  and now works with the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, Calif.

“There’s a need to always kind of go back because there’s always a need to learn as technology changes,” he said.

Bulgarelli’s original shop on Harlem Avenue featured parking problems. So he moved north to Cumberland Avenue in Norridge. In early 2002, they moved to Park Ridge.

“From what I had seen from many of my customers who were coming to me from the other side of the expressway from Park Ridge, I thought I wanted to have a ‘little town’ corner store, not in a strip mall,” said Bulgarelli.”

“We also draw from out of state and wanted to be near transportation,” said Marie Bulgarelli. “We are known for our designs and restoring people’s jewelry. We have that niche – soup to nuts. It helps people  shopping, bringing their kids in. We help the kids buying something for Mom.  We specialize in colored stones.”