Rafi Altan learned how to set diamonds as a 14-year-old in Istanbul, Turkey.
“My parents sent me to the jewelry school to learn a trade,” Altan said. “I worked at the bench for 14 years before moving to retail.”
After moving to the United States in 1998, three years later Altan opened his first shop, Altan Jewelers, in Fairfield, Conn., where he remained until circumstances brought him to Roslyn.
“I feel like Roslyn needed a jewelry store,” Altan said. “I just decided, I was driving by this spot one day and I thought, ‘this is small, easy to manage, this is perfect for a jewelry store.'”
Opened five months ago, L’Amour Jewelry carries silver, gold, platinum and more in its cases.
Altan says he does “some of the work” himself. Special orders go to a manufacturer owned by members of his family in Manhattan.
Altan’s shop offers custom jewelry, watches, and a bridal line for couples seeking engagement or wedding bands. In addition to products, he offers necessary services like appraisals and repairs, which he learned while studying the trade.
“I do anything and everything,” Altan said.
The clientele in Roslyn, the jeweler says, have leaned toward less flashy pieces, while Altan himself is partial to sapphires, which he sets in rings and necklaces. Prices at L’Amour range from three to five figures. The shop’s most expensive item, a pair of five-carat diamond stud earrings, goes for $60,000.
“I have every kind, sterling silver and fine jewelry too,” Altan said.
Altan says that he has spoken with the Roslyn Chamber of Commerce, and that the shop’s official grand opening will take place “sometime in November.”
