Need a loan? Or do you want to get a quick and free appraisal on that old, shiny family heirloom? Look no further.
“We’re not just a regular pawn shop,” said Joshua Kariyev, owner of Luxury Pawnbrokers & Jewelry, which opened at 150-03 Cross Bay Blvd. in Ozone Park in June. “We really are luxury pawnbrokers. We’re gemologists.”
The new shop is the second location of Kariyev’s family pawn shop business, the other in Elmhurst having opened in the 1980s. Asked why he opened in Ozone Park, Kariyev, a Fresh Meadows native, said he wanted to serve the Ozone Park, Howard Beach and Rockaway communities.
The Ozone Park location is a sight to see. The shop displays large quantities of precious jewelry like diamonds and Cartier bracelets, as well as rare sports memorabilia. The shop also offers jewelry repairs.
“We understand real jewelry. My father has been in the business for many years and taught me a lot,” Kariyev said. “Regular pawnbrokers usually try to buy everything as cheap as possible. But we buy expensive stuff, and we sell expensive stuff.”
Kariyev offers free verbal appraisals within minutes. The process is easy: One can simply walk into the shop and bring in the jewelry for him to assess.
“I’m good at what I do,” he said. “First I check if it’s real gold, then I check if the diamonds are real, natural or lab-created. Then I weigh them. We have millimeter gauges for diamonds and scales for both diamonds and for gold. Then it’s multiplied by today’s price.”
He shared that recently, someone stopped in after getting appraisals at multiple other pawn shops, and was surprised at the result. “I was offering him almost triple what they were offering, because I understand diamonds.”
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