All That Glitters

Reliable Gold has been a Providence staple since opening in 1934. For over 80 years, they’ve offered the finest jewelry in a variety of styles – be it classic, antique, vintage or contemporary. The store moved from downtown Providence up the hill to Wayland Avenue in 1958, where it remained until the recent flooding on Wayland Square. Over the summer, they opened their new location, at 9 Wayland Square.

President of Reliable Gold, Rena Abeles, and Vice President Sarah Abeles show me around the new space. There are cozy armchairs scattered throughout, as well as a number of finely curated display cases and cabinets filled with eye-catching gems and metals and classic pieces – gold, silver, pearls and more. Additionally, they carry silver picture frames, a few antiques and other giftware, a specially curated case with wares from around the world, and there’s a small case in the back filled with pieces for men. Timeless estate pieces and traditional styles are juxtaposed against more contemporary items.

“It’s very eclectic – we carry formal and informal, we have pieces that are earthy but also tailored, and going across a range of prices and materials,” says Sarah.  Each case is immaculately laid out. Rena and Sarah explain that they hand select each piece for a collection. “We are particularly conscious when choosing things for a collection. I’m not interested in being what everybody else is, in fact I really rebel against it,” says Rena with a laugh, “I want to be who we are, separate and apart from what you’re going to find in most jewelry stores.”  

In addition to offering a gorgeous selection of jewelry and giftware, Reliable Gold also provides a number of unbeatable services. You can set up one-on-one consultation appointments with the team and the talented jeweler they work with directly. This allows customers easy access to repairs, cleanings, appraisals, sourcing and sales. Having been in business for so long, Reliable Gold has a well-established network of dealers, designers and vendors across the globe that can help with any issue. Their jeweler can even design a specific piece for you – whether you lost an earring and need a replacement, have photos of a family heirloom you’d like replicated or you just want something custom designed from scratch.

Rena explains to me that the new location is starting to have “a different tenor” than the previous location. “It’s more fun,” she says. They’ve started to feature sculptures and paintings from local artists (currently Jim Bush, painter and political cartoonist, is the featured artist) and have begun to devote more space to incorporate edgier pieces from contemporary designers. Due to the move, they’ve focused less on antiques, china and giftware and have turned their attention towards expanding the kinds of jewelry pieces they feature. New items are cycling through all the time, so swing by the new location to have a look around or take a peek at their website to get a feel for the variety of aesthetics of their numerous collections.

Reliable Gold

9 Wayland Square, Providence

861-1414