Castiglione Jewelers

FAMILY TRADITIONS SEND JEWEL BUYER TO THE END OF THE WORLD

Black opals from a mine in Australia, diamonds direct from the exchange in Antwerp and golden topaz from mines in the Brazilian hills.

It may sound like a treasure hunter's booty, but in fact it's but a sampling of what you'll find at Castiglione Gem Jewelers in Gloversville. And the man responsible for bringing rare and beautiful gemstones to the public is no Indiana Jones, but rather the heir to a 65-year-old family business.

Louis Castiglione Jr. has worked in the family jewelry store for 20 years, traveling the globe with his father to bring back rare and precious stones. He has built upon a foundation established by his mother and father extending Castiglione's (pronounced CAST-a-line) reputation as a jewelery resource for the Capital Region.

The Castiglione Family

The store keeps company with the likes of Tiffany's in New York City, given its inventory and industry accreditation, said Thomas Dorman, executive director of the American Gem Society near Las Vegas.

Attracting a steady flow of high-end-customers to Gloversville, however, is altogether different that drawing them to fashionable New York addresses.

"I can't believe the draw they get from the surrounding area and even out of state," said James Imhof, northeast regional vice president for the Bulova Watch Co. of New York City, which has been doing business with the store since it opened.

"Quality-wise, they're one of the top jewelers we deal with in New York State," Imhof said. :We benefit in the Albany market by having our name's associated with Castiglione's."

But it wasn't always that way for a jewelry store competing with a dozen others in the leather mill town after the stock market crash of 1929. Louis Castiglione Sr. learned watchmaking in his native Italy, and when the jewelry store where he worked collapsed, he wasted no time in taking it over.

But it wasn't instant sucess. Rather Castiglione's is the typical immigrant's story of hard work and long years paying off.

Fifty of the $75 he had in his pocket when he started went towards the first months rent, leaving only $25 for inventory which stretched out as far as $200 would today.

"It took me 10 years before people would buy a diamond from me without question," Castiglione said.

His wife and business partner, Anita Castiglione, handled bookeeping, waited on customers and put her business education and skills as a former cosmetics buyer for R.H. Macy & Co. to use in selecting gems for the store's inventory.

Both are in their 80s now, but still give their full attention to the store, now headed by Louis Jr. And the two are quick to praise their son for keeping the store current with industry trends.

Times have changed since elder Castiglione offered payment plans of 50 cents down and 50 cents a week. Simply identifying a gemstone now takes a trained eye and often sophisticated equipment.

"In those days, if it was red it was a ruby," Louis Sr. said.

But now the store is accredited by the American Gem Society as an official gem lab, with thousands of dollars in equipment to rate and test diamonds and other stones. The store is proud of its membership in the selective trade organization, which it shares with only three others in the Capital Region. And Louis Jr. is one of only 11 society-certified gemologist appraisers in the state, the highest rank attainable.

To gain membership – 75 percent of all stores which seek it are denied – the store had to pass a critique by competitors, a credit check, demonstrate high ethical standards, and stand up to a review of everything from its inventory to its advertising campaigns. Louis Jr. had to complete rigorous course work at the Gemological Institute of America in New York City and Santa Monica, Calif., and name all 20 stones in an identification examination and now must take yearly re-certification exams.

What that means is that Castiglione, who has passed a color vision exam, can tell an emerald from a green garnet, and can almost spot a perfectly cut diamond with the naked eye.

Those skills come in handy when he travels on buying trips, picking out rare cat's eye alexandrite, tourmalines and amethysts, sometimes spending $50,000 at a shot. Castiglione has journeyed to Brazil to pick out stones himself, but admits there is some danger involved.

"Word gets out that there’s an American buyer in town, and the miners come down from the hills with the best and the worst they have to offer," Castiglione said. "You only have one chance to take it or leave it," which-necessitates paying them on the spot. "They don't take Visa, they don’t take Master Card and they don't take a Gloversville check."

More standard trips to major gem markets such as New York City or Antwerp, Belgium, may have their advantages. But Castiglione, who has a Ph.D. in marine biology, has a venturesome streak in his makeup. For in their days, his parents scoured the markets of Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Tel Aviv for the best stones.

The family is happy to give a crash course in diamond selection to would-be purchasers, explaining the four Cs – cut, color, clarity and carat weight. Louis Jr. explained that the ideal cut, to maximize brilliance, actually shaves more weight from the stone than a less lustrous cut. A pet peeve of the Castigliones is the emphasis placed by other jewelers on carat and price, rather than the quality of the stone itself.

The family cautions against jewelry dis-counters, whom they have investigated for longstanding customers. On one comparison shopping expedition, they found a chain marking up a diamond ring that sold at Castigliones for $450. The chain store was originally charging more than $1100 for the same ring. However, after several markdowns the chain was charging $600 and calling it a half price sale.

The Castigliones prefer to look at jewelry as "art in precious metals and precious stones," and can also custom-design a setting to fit any stone.

This combination of services allows them to market their product throughout the region and as far any as Florida and California.

Longtime customer Arlene Sitterly, a Johnstown real estate broker, offered a bit of what others see in the Castiglione store.

"I like to patronize local businesses which are reputable, reliable and give excellent service," she said.

Bulova’s Imhof added, -The reason why they’re as successful as they are is service, service and more service. And they don’t make themselves so high and mighty that they scare off the everyday customer."

For security and insurance purposes, the Castigliones declined to reveal the value of the store's inventory or its revenue. But a walk through the store suggests that it serves a clientele of considerable means.

Along with cases of Swarovski crystal and Lladro porcelain from Spain are cases full of rings, jewelry and trinkets ranging in price from $10 up. At the opposite end of the room are cases where piece are valued at $500 up to nearly $20,000. In those cases are more unusual gems such as champagne diamonds, the color – you guessed it – of champagne. Or perhaps a watermelon tourmaline which resembles a slice of the summmertime fruit, and sapphires and garnets not in their traditional colors of blue and red, but green instead.

"I wouldn’t say any of them is that rare, but to have all of them in a collection is a good selection," said David Adams, owner of Frank Adams Jewelers Inc. in downtown Albany, also a member of the American Gem Society.

The Castiglione family also has a reputation for community involvement, last year hosting a benefit jewelry auction that netted $13,000 for the new birthing unit at Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville. And Louis Jr. serves on the economic development committee of the Fulton County Regional Chamber of Commerce.

"We pass on their name as a success story," said Mark Retersdorf, chamber executive vice president. "In a one-industry town that has gone through a lot of changes, Castiglione’s gives a sense of stability."

Capital District Business Review
1995, Vol. 21, # 42