Joy-Den Jewelers
Offering unique designs and services
By Kate Daly Contributing Writer

The staff at Joy-Den Jewelers, from left to right, Mike, Bonnie, Chris, Joyce and Chad. SUBMITTED

Marlborough - That pendant handed down from your great-grandmother needs to be repaired, and although it's not valuable in monetary terms, to you it is priceless. How can you leave it for weeks with a jeweler who will ship it off to be repaired? What if it gets lost or stolen?

Don't pack it away regretfully. Take it to Joy-Den Jewelers. Hand it over to one of the five experienced jewelers on staff , take a seat and wait. Or watch as the repair takes place.

"If it's a sentimental piece, a diamond that has been passed down, they can bring it to the store, be patient with us and sit down and hang out with us for a little bit and have their ring totally fixed while they are here," store owner Chad Yesue said. "I don't really know any other jewelry store where you could walk into a store and have the diamond either reset or rebuilt within that day and never have to leave it."

Joyce Marino, who opened the store 22 years ago and is still a jeweler on staff , said the process is interesting to customers, too.

"They're very welcome to watch us through every single step. Quite often we show everybody every step. They're just curious," she said. "They love it."

But repair is only a small part of the service offered at Joy-Den Jewelers. There is also new jewelry, often designed by the store's own jewelers.

"[We] try to off er wonderful, quality jewelry at great prices and to always remember your standard pieces of jewelry, but also venture out and get pieces you can't walk into any mall jewelry store and purchase, … to have something completely unique and one of a kind," Yesue said. "We make [jewelry] here. We have wonderful supplies from all over the world. A lot of our gold pieces are Italian made ... They're not mass-produced. They take time to get, but they're 100 percent handmade and unique."

There is a new take on the traditional mother's ring, Yesue said. Instead of one ring with a stone for each child, he now off ers stackable rings, one ring for each child. The rings are completely wrapped in the child's birthstone. The various birthstones create gleaming rows of color.

Professional hockey players around the country have recognized Joy-Den's unique approach. The store has designed engagement and wedding rings for several, including Eric Stahl. Yesue had a friend who introduced one hockey player to the store, and word of mouth took care of the rest, he explained.

"I think it's nice … for people to understand that we're not a small store [where] they can't find what they are looking for," Yesue said. "We can carry pieces from any price range to fulfill any need that anyone would have."

The store maintains its small-town level of personal service, helped along by its tradition of honesty and trust, Marino said.

"We have customers who have been with us since day one," she said. "We'll spend 100 percent attention on the person who wants to spend $5 or $5,000. It doesn't matter to us."

Yesue's history with Joy- Den goes back to childhood, when the store opened a couple of doors down from his father's business, Roc's Salon. After hanging around the store for some time, he started running errands, then working in the store in high school and through his studies in jewelry at the North Bennett Street School in Boston. Finally, he was store manager when he purchased the business from his mentor, Marino, three years ago.

Joy-Den Jewelers is located at 209 Main St., Marlborough. The store is open Tuesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit the website at www.joy-den.com.

Editor's Note: the preceding is not an endorsement and is presented for informational purposes only.