BUCKTOWN — A "We Buy Gold" sign will never hang in the Radiance Fine Jewelry storefront, even though it technically can.
Jeweler and designer Rebecca Dohe said that wasn't the main message she was trying to get across with her new business license.
As a secondhand dealer of precious and metal objects, Dohe said that she could now do legally what many had been doing in her industry for quite some time: buy back gold.
Dohe dubbed it a "recycling program" and applied for the $1,100 license about six months ago (a standard retail license is $250). She envisions the new service to be geared toward people who want to sell their outdated baubles containing gold or precious metals and mount the stones in new settings.
Dohe will apply credit for the value of the metals toward the cost of the new pieces.
She doesn't expect to attract the same clientele as pawn shops and stresses major differences.
"A pawn shop offers several opportunities to get money. We do not offer loans. We pay for items with a check. We do not give cash and we do not sell any used jewelry here," she said, adding that she will use discretion in buying. "If a guy looks shady and doesn't have the right credentials or qualifications, well, I do not want to buy his gold."
With muted purple walls, candy bowls on the counter, and a doorbell ring required to gain entry, there is little resemblance to a pawn shop inside the 1,500 square foot shop started up back in 2006 at the northernmost edge of Bucktown, near Damen and the Kennedy expressway.
In addition to promoting the new service through her customer email list and word-of-mouth, another advantage to obtaining the secondhand dealer license is that it will allow her to partner with jewelry estate-buying companies such as Beneficial.
Beneficial struck a partnership with Radiance to run four yearly buying parties onsite, the first two planned for October and March.
