Shopping for Gold Jewelry in Athens

Hand-crafted Gold is inexpensive in Greece. It's not that gold is cheaper in Greece, which is what some people seem to believe. Gold is the same price everywhere, but labour in Greece is cheaper.

My wife Andrea, makes Greek-style 22k gold and hers is as nice as anything you can find in Athens, with the exception of a store called BYZANTINO at 120 Adrianou on the Plaka. Their work is so good and so inexpensive that Andrea, (who is considered one of the finest goldsmiths in America) even buys from them. If you are a lover of Gold jewelry, don't buy anything until you have seen their work.

People sometimes ask me why, of the zillions of jewelry stores in Athens and the islands, do I pick this one little shop in the Plaka. The answer is very simple. Much of the jewelry you find in the stores come from workshops and are bought wholesale.

Byzantino is owned by the craftsmen who make the jewelry, and if there are better jewelers in Athens, I have not seen them. Since they make the jewelry and do not have to buy it from a wholesaler, their prices are cheaper because their costs are lower.

They also stand behind all their work because it is their work.

I may not know much about jewelry, but Andrea certainly does, and I have to drag her out of Byzantino on a regular basis before she spends all the money that she makes from her own jewelry business. Her new strategy is to buy several pieces, because she is going to sell them to her clients in the United States. Guess what? Not only does she not sell them, but she doesn't even try.

She wears a piece to a party and one of her clients will ask her if she made it, and she will tell them that she bought it at Byzantino. Now I am not much of a businessman but shouldn't the conversation continue with her telling the client that the piece is for sale? I don't know if she planned on selling the piece and then fell in love with it and could not part with it, or she loved it from the start and had no intention of selling it but knew that was the only way she could get it without a struggle. Whatever her motive, the point is Byzantino's jewelry is high quality, excellent craftsmanship and maybe even addictive.

But if you would like even more of a reason to go there to see their jewelery, look no further then Kosta, the most interesting and knowledgeable man on the planet. Ask him anything about music, philosophy, science and yes, even jewelry, and he will give you an explanation with charts and diagrams that will make a strange world suddenly make sense....sort of. And if that is not enough, one day an older gentleman from America came into the shop looking for Kosta. He was buying a ring for his wife and claimed that Kosta stopped the pain from his carpal-tunnel syndrome by pressing two accupoints. He was returning to see if Kosta could do something about his back.

When he was paying for the 22-k ring Kosta joked "the ring is free, the treatment is $100."

If you are worried about the language barrier you needn't be. Laura who works there, speaks perfect English. She should. She is American. I often go to Byzantino and ask her to model earrings and necklaces so I can use them in my website, but it is really just an excuse to talk to her and take her picture. Most of the photos I have taken of her don't even show the jewelry. Don't tell her though or she won't let me take any more.

If you walk down Adrianou it is on your left at #120. There are a number of stores at the same address so be sure you are going into Byzantino. It is right next to the ice-cream shop. For directions you can call them at (011301) 324-6605 or fax 324-7079.

Let them know we sent you. Besides being great craftsmen, George and Kosta are epicureans and can direct you to the finest restaurants in Athens.

Greece Olympics Update: The Olympic Committee of Greece employed Byzantino to make a line of jewelery that was shown at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Australia in Sydney, and was worn on (24) women, (bracelets, earrings and pendants) all hand made museum pieces. The women lit the flames wearing the original Greek togas. They were shown world wide and this was a special honor since Byzantino was chosen to make these pieces instead of the more famous designers. Congratulations to the artists at Byzantino.

Used with permission from Matt Barrett's Athens Survival Guide