Mongillo Jewelers
Mongillo Jewelers
65 years in business and still going strong
Photos / Mongillo’s
In a world where trends come and go, one family-owned jewelry store has been a mainstay in the city of Salamanca since 1958. With years of experience, excellent customer service, and a dedication to craftsmanship that spans three generations, Mongillo Jewelers is a reminder of a bygone era and is everything that online, fast-paced, big-box retail is not. What’s more is that Mongillo Jewelers isn’t going anywhere any time soon! “I still love it!” said owner Mark Mongillo. “I’d go crazy if I couldn’t go to work!”
Mongillo Jewelers began with Mark’s parents in 1958 in the lefthand kiosk of the Ray Evans Seneca Theater, where a barber shop is currently located. “That was our first store, where my mother and my father had two diamond rings and three watches for sale,” said Mongillo. “They lived on their repairs.”
However, the Mongillo legacy goes back another generation to Mongillo’s grandparents, as both sides of his family were small business owners. “My grandfather was a watchmaker and a jeweler in Meadville, and his business ran for 70 years,” he explained. “He sent my mother to school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to the Bowman Technical School, where they taught jewelry and watchmaking.”
Mongillo’s mother, Gloria, was the only female student in a class of 60, and it was there that she met John Mongillo. John was the son of a grocer in Salamanca, and he decided he wanted to become a watchmaker upon graduating from high school. In 1945, Mongillo graduated from the trade school and the couple worked at multiple jewelers until 1953, when they began working together in Gloria’s father’s store. “In 1958, they started their own store right here in Salamanca,” said Mongillo. “They stayed at that location for approximately three years, and then they bought out a jewelry store called Johnson Jewelers, which was across the parking lot from where we are now at 99 Main Street… In 1968, Norton, which is the building we’re in now, went bankrupt, and my father and mother bought the whole building - lock, stock and barrel - in bankruptcy court, and we’ve been here in this location at 85 Main Street ever since.”
Much like his parents, Mongillo grew to love watchmaking, and in the late 1970s, he attended the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking for three and a half years. “There, I learned the hardest thing I ever did in my life: watches,” said Mongillo. Mongillo worked in the family business alongside his parents; in 1991, John passed away, and in 1998, Gloria passed away. Mongillo has been president of Mongillo Jewelers since 1998 and throughout the years has been joined by his children, Jason and Nettie. Now, Mongillo and his sales manager Stephanie McCoy are the faces you’ll see at the store, which offers many unique pieces and services.
Mongillo Jewelers is well known for their beautiful selection of jewelry including wedding and engagement rings, watches, necklaces, wall clocks, and more. Importantly – and what sets a family-owned small business apart from the chains – Mongillo Jewelers offers a range of services that community members have been able to depend on for decades. “We do watch repairs and jewelry repairs,” said Mongillo. “We sell trophies and we do engraving. We service grandfather clocks out of the store right into people’s houses.” Something else that sets Mongillo’s apart from the rest? “When we repair a watch or a clock, we guarantee them for a year after they’re repaired,” he said.
With the holiday season fast approaching, now is the perfect time to visit Mongillo Jewelers and find something special for a loved one! The store is open from 9:00am-5:00pm Tuesday through Friday, and from 9:00am-2:00pm on Saturday. Call Mongillo Jewelers at 716-945-3622 for more information.
