From big metal things to little metal things: JAB Jewelry Works moving to former Bethel Park factory
Machinery manufacturer Hallmor Inc. began operating at 531 McMurray Road so long ago that it predated the 1966 adoption of Bethel Park’s zoning ordinance.
When the factory closed and the property changed hands, new owners Joe and Karen Bonasso faced what could have been a setback for their business aspirations.
“We had to get a variance, because it’s actually zoned residential,” Joe said. “We reached out to the neighbors and let them know what we wanted to do, and they were in support of it.”
Soon, the residents across McMurray Road will see the refurbished Hallmor building brought back to life as JAB Jewelry Works, a new name for the company Bonasso founded in 1989.
At the end of September, the erstwhile JAB Jewelry Designs will move from its location on Route 19 in Peters Township, and Bonasso anticipates opening the retail showroom in Bethel Park as soon as possible afterward.
With the relocation comes significantly more space.
“This was always a goal of Joe’s,” JAB sales manager Mike Kelley said. “We rented up until now, and we tried numerous times to get a proper place. And this finally will be our new jewelry factory.”
As such, it will continue the tradition set by Hallmor, more or less.
“They used to make big metal things,” Bonasso observed, “and we make little metal things.”
But that’s only part of the story, as JAB’s rebranding is meant to reflect its variety of offerings, from creating one-of-a-kind fine jewelry based on customers’ ideas to repairing and updating family heirlooms.
“Redesigning is a big thing, where people take a couple of pieces from Grandma — maybe it’s an old engagement ring — and refashioning it into something they’ll wear,” Bonasso said.
He started the company bearing his initials (the “A” is for Anthony) as a repair shop in Downtown’s Clark Building, five years after his 1984 graduation from Upper St. Clair High School. JAB later operated in two Peters locations, the second since 2009.
Today, Karen and the three Bonasso sons — Joey, Benjamin and Luke — join the founder in working toward the business’ success. Overall, JAB has about 20 employees, including jewelers who began plying their trade in the shop area of the Bethel Park building in August.
Amid the expanded quarters are rooms in which costumers can consult with JAB professionals about their jewelry needs.
“People are entrusting their precious pieces to you,” general manager Jim Reilly said. “They want a little privacy, and this will allow a more personal one-on-one feeling for them.”
As far as tailor-made pieces, customers can do something as simple as sketch what they’d like to see. Other sources can suffice, such as one offered by a particular gentleman.
“He had a little girl who drew him a picture of a horse,” Joe Bonasso recalled. “And so we took that picture on a piece of paper, and we converted it into a pair of earrings that he gave her when she was older.”
On the opposite side of the technology spectrum, JAB uses the likes of computer-aided design and three-dimensional printing to help fulfill requests to everyone’s satisfaction.
“We’re showing the customer different options throughout the process, based on what they want,” Bonasso said.
For example, a plastic model of a ring can be printed to try on a finger before the actual piece is cast in metal.
“Some people are apprehensive to have something made, because they don’t know what the outcome is going to be,” Bonasso explained. “We take that fear away. You’re not going to get to the end and say, ‘Oh, that doesn’t look like I thought would.’”
He joins members of his team are committed to ensuring the type of customer satisfaction that has kept JAB going for 34 years.
“People ask me sometimes, ‘Well, why do you like doing this?’” Kelley said. “And my thing is, on a decent day, I get to make 15 people happy. On a really good day, I get to make 25 people happy.
“And hopefully in this new environment, we’re going to make way more than that happy.”
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