Custom Gold Pieces Give Natick Jewelers an Edge

With the value of gold reaching a record high of over $1,500 per ounce Wednesday, jewelers everywhere are being forced to raise their prices for their necklaces, rings and other bling to keep up with the times. Several Natick jewelers, however, say they are remaining confident that their unique custom-made pieces will keep their businesses from suffering as deeply as other retailers.

“It’s a totally different business than it was five years ago,” said Gary Stucchi, 20-year owner of in Natick's town center. Stucchi, whose store specializes mostly in custom pieces, said a typical gold piece that sold for $500 a few years ago may now be triple the price. A $300 bracelet, he said, could now cost about $800 in his store.

But with much of his business catering to customers looking for one-of-a-kind pieces, he is remaining positive that this niche will help prevent his sales from suffering too greatly. Most clients that are willing to splurge on custom pieces, he said, tend to go all the way and choose gold over less precious metals.

For Stucchi, the rise in gold’s value means learning to adapt with the changing trends. Nowadays, if you walk into the Main Street shop, you will see pieces that place more emphasis on the stones than on the metal surrounding it and the chunky gold bracelets that were popular years ago are much less likely to be found in the display case.

In Natick Collection, sales associates at Na Hoku are also remaining confident that their business has enough of a unique niche to keep up their sales. Despite the 36 locations around the United States, Alyssa Sperazza said the jewelry they offer is unique enough that the demand may not drop as drastically as more mainstream retailers.

“Most of what we see is people that want different stuff and the good thing about our company is that we provide that,” said Sperazza before picking up a green garnet encrusted seahorse necklace. Today the piece costs $1,000. Tomorrow, she says, the price tag will read $1,300.

“People are going to look at our business or gold as an investment more than something you pick up easily,” said salesperson Sarah Goodrich, who said Na Hoku is popular in the Hawaiian Islands and a large percentage of their cliental are vacationers who have just returned from their beach getaways and hope to purchase on of their flip-flop or palm tree pendants to commemorate their trips. To these customers, she said, it’s not necessarily about the money, it’s about the memory that is attached.