It’s New to Us by Jean Stratton

ONE-OF-A-KIND: Creating unique custom pieces is the specialty of Yanina & Co., located near Montclair. Gold, platinum, and precious stones are featured in the design and also re-design of existing jewelry. Shown in the photo is Yanina’s spacious and handsome showroom.

Yanina & Co. Custom Jewelry Collection Offers High Quality Design and Creativity

“This is a happy business. No one is unhappy when they get diamonds!”

Maureen O’Keefe, marketing director of Yanina & Co., is enthusiastic about the beautiful pieces of jewelry created by Yanina Fleysher, the president and award-winning designer of the company.

“My goal is to express the Yanina & Co. vision and dream,” she continues. “Each employee takes great pride in the craftsmanship and creativity it takes to run this business, and I am thrilled to be able to translate that to our community.”

Yanina & Co. opened in 1987 in Wayne, moving to Cedar Grove, near Montclair, at 451-455 Pompton Avenue, 13 years ago.

Custom Pieces

It is a family business. Yanina and her mother Claudia co-founded it, and Alex Fleysher joined his sister and mother in the operation as vice president and partner in 1997.

“Yanina’s real claim to fame as a designer is her custom pieces, which are created right on the premises,” explains Ms. O’Keefe.

Custom work is very personal. It must suit the client’s taste and personality and, points out Yanina, “It’s all a matter of asking the right questions and knowing how to translate the customer’s desires into solid form.”

Nowhere is this more important than in designing an engagement ring, and here, Yanina & Co. has much to offer. “The customer can choose her diamond, and then we will customize the setting,” says Ms. O’Keefe.

In addition, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings are all popular, she adds. Yanina’s innovative and exquisite attention to detail brings in new customers, adding to the loyal clientele from all over the state.

“Yanina does a lot of work re-designing older pieces,” notes Ms. O’Keefe. “When a customer is interested in this, we encourage her to bring in her entire jewelry wardrobe. It’s important that the piece complement the entire wardrobe. Women are now digging deep into their jewelry boxes. Yanina can take an older piece and give it a new design that can make all the difference.”

High Quality

The collection at Yanina consists of high quality gold, platinum, and precious stones, as well as Calgari sterling silver pieces.

“We have a few other designers, too, with pearl collections and some informal pendants and cocktail rings. No costume jewelry, however,” adds Ms. O’Keefe. “Yanina’s designs are beautiful and elegant, from conservative to sophisticated.”

Trends in jewelry today include a focus on black diamonds, she reports. “They are hugely popular now. You can have a black diamond band to go with an engagement ring, for example. They have really taken off across the board. You see them in rings, bracelets, and necklaces, and you can have a combination of white or yellow gold, with black and white diamonds joined together.

“Another really big trend that we’re seeing is a lot of chunky yellow gold link bracelets and necklaces. They are very big now.”

Yanina’s also creates custom items for men, especially wedding bands, but also signet rings and cuff links, among other pieces.

With the price of gold at an all-time high, many people are interested in selling gold pieces today. Yanina & Co. does buy gold, and Ms. O’ Keefe points out that “we help to educate our customers about this. It’s important that they go to reputable people.”

Comfortable Match

“We always want to do our best for our customers, and we strongly emphasize personal service. Our clientele is really national now. We do a lot of e-mail and phone transactions, as well as with clients who come to the showroom from Bergen, Morris, and Somerset Counties, or even farther away. People are willing to travel when buying quality jewelry.”

Helping clients find a comfortable match with their budget is another part of Yanina’s service,” she adds. “We always try to work within a person’s budget, and our point is to fit everyone’s price range. We have a wide spectrum of prices.”

With the holidays approaching, Yanina will be even busier. “People always tend to buy more jewelry during the holidays,” says Ms. O’ Keefe. “Jewelry is a wonderful gift. It is very personal, and it also stands the test of time. It can be passed down as an heirloom through the generations. People are always finding different ways to express themselves, and jewelry is a wonderful way.

“Over the years, the Fleysher family has developed a loyal clientele of customers who have really become friends. We have new generations within the same family. Now, we want our reputation to reach even more people who can appreciate Yanina’s beautiful custom-made jewelry.”

Yanina & Co. is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday 10 to 7. (973) 857-5544. Website: yanina-co.com.

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