Feb 1, 2024 6 min read

JAB Jewelry Works has a new home on McMurray Road in Bethel Park in a space where raw meets refined, and an updated name that captures their artistry and skill.

“It’s just one word, but it says a lot,” said Joseph A. Bonasso of the company that bears his initials. Formerly, the name was JAB Jewelry Designs.

“‘Designs’ pigeon-holed us,” Bonasso said. “People didn’t know if we carried jewelry.” JAB not only creates custom-designed jewelry but carries exclusive and partner lines at varying price points, including renowned jewelry designer Paula Crevoshay. Her pieces have been displayed at major museums and are only available at JAB in this area.

The beauty of the new setting only enhances the pieces on display.

Following an 18-month renovation after purchasing the building from Hallmor Inc., a metal fabricating shop that operated on the site for more than 30 years, JAB held its grand opening in December. The new look retained the industrial elements of the building, including a crane prominently featured in the showroom. The crane rails remain throughout the building, incorporated as part of the industrial decor, along with the cement flooring and exposed ductwork that contrast with the brightly lit jewelry cases filled with sparkle and precious metals. Local architectural firm Kulak-George provided the design options for the front of the building, including deep brown siding and rusted corten steel panels on black brick for an elegant, natural look with a rippling pond at the entrance.

Pictures from the Hallmor machine shop days are displayed above the beverage counter in the showroom, and the former owner has even stopped in to see the building. “I think people appreciate that we renovated the building instead of tearing it down,” said Bonasso, gauging from the feedback he’s received. The property was originally zoned as residential, he said, but the former owners were grandfathered in and permitted to continue industrial metal fabrication work. JAB was permitted to keep the zoning status by renovating, he said.

The building remains a “maker space.”

“We are makers,” said Bonasso. “One of our slogans is ‘We make small things to celebrate big things.’ And we wanted to keep the industrial feel.”

“It’s an incredible space, a gorgeous and comfortable work environment, not just for us as employees, but for our customers,” said Jim Reilly, gemologist and store manager. The former location on Route 19 in McMurray was a busier road; however, “the benefit of being here and being a little off the beaten path is that we are a destination store. If someone comes through the door, we generally know they are looking for something in particular,” said Reilly.

The additional floor space allows for two private consultation rooms, a conference room, a private office and workspace for Bonasso, a kitchen area and a lounge area coming soon in the basement. The industrial look is consistent throughout the building.

Almost a home away from home, all of the six Bonasso family members work for the business. Bonasso’s wife Karen works in accounting, and sons Joe, Ben and Luke have joined the family business full-time. Bonasso’s daughter Lily works part-time handling social media and marketing.

Since his own high school days at Upper St. Clair, Bonasso has been on a steady track, building what today is a successful family business. He took all the electives offered in high school that had to do with jewelry making. His knack led to an opportunity with a jeweler in the Clark Building downtown doing repair work; then, he gained a couple of his own accounts before opening his own shop.

There was never a plan B for him, he said. He’s taken advantage of the opportunities that have come along and reinvested in his business over the years, purchasing equipment and embracing the changing technology in the industry, including computer-aided design. “That’s all in the last ten years, and it’s really changed our industry. We used to do a lot of repair work for other jewelers, and we stopped doing that about three years ago,” he said.

JAB’s specialty is designing jewelry. It always has been. However, with the upgrades in technology, that volume has increased from 20 percent to 80 percent. Early on, they were hand carving the wax molds, and today, design happens in CAD, and the prototype is sent to a 3D printer.

“We work through the design process with a person, then show 3D renderings and even a video of what a ring would look like before we make it. Once approved, we 3D print a small model in plastic so that they can physically see what it will look like, and from there, we go into manufacturing. It’s a several-step process, so there are no surprises. The only surprise is that it looks nicer than the pictures,” Bonasso said.

“Because we embrace a lot of the technology, we are able to design remotely. COVID showed everybody how to work remotely and, so when COVID hit, our CAD people didn’t miss much work. We set ourselves up to be able to do that.”

With cameras and live streaming, JAB can design like the customer is sitting across the desk.

Bonasso believes that’s part of the future for JAB, expanding outside of the local area through working remotely.

Bridal and redesign are large portions of his business. “Everyone wants something unique,” said Bonasso. JAB redesigns pieces, too. “We incorporate the sentiment into the piece we are creating. We will use their materials, the stones, the gold they may have and fashion something they can wear rather than it sitting in a drawer,” he said.

Gemologist and store manager Jim Reilly likes to put it this way, “We specialize in one-of-a-kind, one-at-a-time pieces. And we can transform an existing piece that you have into something you will cherish and wear, or we will take something that someone else has had and reconfigure it.”

“We have a very talented team of jewelers and designers, and we can pretty much do anything as it’s related to jewelry,” Reilly said.