Made In NY: Staten Island Business Makes Custom Lockets

Published in NY1 News, By: Shazia Khan
12/16/2011 06:53 PM
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Just in time for holiday shopping, NY1's Shazia Khan looks at products from New York City in her week-long series, "I Got It Made In New York."

As the holiday orders pour in, the staff of Pictures On Gold works overtime to meet the increased demand for their year-round bestseller: lockets with lasered-in color photos.

"Customers easily upload, e-mail or mail in their photographs to us, we digitally enhance it in the computer, we laser it inside the locket, and we make it waterproof, scratchproof, and it’s really, really high-definition", says Daniel Schifter, co-owner of Pictures On Gold.

The owners of the retail shop Casale Jewelers in Dongan Hills launched picturesongold.com about 10 years ago. Schifter heads the family-run business from the backrooms of Casale.

He says he personally configured the machinery he trained on in Europe to deliver the unique service from his hometown.

"It’s a big plus for us and it’s a big plus for the customer. We turn around in one day. It's shipped same day, sometimes the next day," says Schifter. "A lot of the variety that we do are children, babies, deceased loved ones, families, boyfriends, girlfriends."

While the lockets are made onsite, customers can take creative control from the comfort of their living room, not just choosing the picture, but designing all aspects of the locket from engraving to embellishing. Customers can also come down to the shop.