Shopping for Jewelry in Athens
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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 jewelery don't buy anything
until you have seen their
work. (The detail of their granulation
is incredible. See
the Byzantino
Jewelry website
for examples)
But if you would like even more of
a reason to go there to see their
jewellery, 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 accu-points. He was returning to see if Kosta
could do something about his
back. (When he was
paying for the 22k ring Kosta
joked "the ring is free, the
treatment is $100.")
If you walk down Adrianou Byzantino 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 (01130) 210 324-6605 or fax
324-7079. Let them know I sent
you. Besides being great
craftsmen, George and Kosta are
epicureans and can direct you to
the finest restaurants in
Athens.  The Olympic Committee of Greece
has employed Byzantino to make
a line of jewellery that
was shown at the closing ceremony of
the Olympic Games in Australia in
Sydney, worn on (24) women, (
bracelets, Earrings and Pendents) all
hand made museum pieces. The women
were lighting the flames wearing the
original Greek togas.
This was shown world-wide and this is
a special honor since Byzantino was
chosen to make these pieces
instead of the more famous
designers.
Congratulations to the artists at
Byzantino.They have also introduced a new line of Olympic Wreaths based on ancient pieces from the original Olympics in Greece which were very popular during the Athens 2004 Olympics. If you want to see these and some other examples of their jewelry click here. See also Gifts for some other ideas of what to buy in Athens. |
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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.
Because they make the jewelry and
do not have to buy it from a
wholesaler, their prices are
cheaper since their costs are
lower because they have no middle-man.
You are buying from the artists themselves. They also stand behind all
their work because it is
their
work.
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. Laura has to be
one of the most beautiful women in Athens and should be a star.
Maybe this page will help. Even if she does not sell you a piece
of jewelry you will leave the store knowing more about life
in Greece then you did when you came in. Laura has the gift
of being an intelligent and interesting talker. She is
not just a pretty face.