All That Glitters Is Gild

Get ready for Valentine’s Day with shiny finds at New Gild Jewelers.

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, jewelry ad after jewelry ad is thrown at us from every direction. Suddenly, every commercial break, Facebook sponsor, and radio ad is telling us they have the perfect item for our significant others. While we roll our eyes at the mountain of Kay and Jared ads, there is one jeweler that has been sneaking under the radar for far too long, but now New Gild Jewelers is ready to shine brightly.

New Gild Jewelers opened in April 2017 after owner Jen Bellefleur discovered that her true passion doesn’t just lie in working for a jeweler but in being a jeweler. After a career in business and a personal interest in art, Bellefleur decided to forgo business and pursue a new form of art: jewelry.

“I was working for another jeweler, and I thought, ‘why am I doing this for someone else when I could be doing it for myself?’ So in fewer than 90 days, we opened New Gild, and I’ve never had a job as fulfilling and valuable as this one where I get to connect with couples in their most personal moments,” Bellefleur says.

She says New Gild is different from other jewelers because their mission isn’t to just sell products and make money, but they strive to connect with clients and genuinely get to know them and what they are looking for.

“We work intuitively from our first contact to nurture ideas that will be right for our clients. At our initial meeting, we ask lots of questions about the recipient, whether it’s for the customer or to be gifted. We often begin fielding ideas at this very first encounter, and we work to ensure that our process is communicated as well,” she says. “This holds true whether we work together to create custom earrings or help to design an engagement ring!”

New Gild offers a full spectrum of jewelry services, including a gallery of ready-to-wear, one-of-a-kind fine jewelry and full custom engagement and wedding jewelry. Bellefleur says they especially like to do custom projects with older pieces of jewelry that are no longer worn.

“We can expertly and lovingly restore rare antiques and vintage items to their original beauty. Our team has extensive gemology experience and can help to identify and care for your special gems as well as source amazing diamonds and precious stones to create new dreams,” she says.

Want to learn all about diamonds? Bellefleur says clients can also come to the store for additional information as well as appraisals, pearl re-stringing, and general jewelry repairs—even watch batteries.

In addition to standard jewelry services, New Gild has a lot more to offer than the typical jewelry store. Bellefleur says New Gild is very involved in the community from employing locals to offering public education curriculum, which teaches people about jewelry to avoid being sold a low quality item at a high price.

For several reasons, New Gild is the new age of jewelers. But with Valentine’s Day coming up, Bellefleur says it can be good to stick to the classics, too.

“Red is a classic for Valentine’s Day, which ensures rubies pride of place as a lover’s gift. Low quality and heavily treated rubies are plentiful, but truly special specimens with bright, vibrant color and an absence of fracture filling are a treat,” Bellefleur says. “We have a .40 carat Burmese ruby that is exceptionally bright and glowing and is sure to bring joy.”

The ruby is set in 14K yellow gold with a 14K yellow gold chain with a lobster clasp and is priced at $1,070. While rubies are a classic choice for the season, New Gild offers all gems and stones to match anyone’s personal style.

Bellefleur says she works to serve all clientele, especially GLBT couples. She says that even before she opened New Gild, she was passionate about making GLBT couples feel welcome and safe, which is reflected in the way she operates New Gild today.

“We are grateful to be a resource for our clients who love each other, no matter who they are,” she says.

Many customers come to New Gild unsure of what it is exactly that they’re looking for, which is where Bellefleur and other staff members come in. Bellefleur says many clients aren’t visual people, so they need the jewelers at New Gild to serve as their imagination.

“We work to establish a connection with our clients to better understand them. We’re constantly trying to get in our clients’ minds to determine what exactly they need and what they or their significant other would truly love,” she says.

As a veteran herself, Bellefleur says it’s important that she gives back to veterans, which New Gild does by offering discounts and special offers to veterans in the area. They also support the community by offering contests and scholarships, she says.

For more information about New Gild Jewelers, visit newgild.com.

New Gild Jewelers
4250 S. Upton Ave.
Minneapolis
612-402-0561