Fourtané offers precious objects from people’s pasts, giving history to jewelry.

Jewelry has come a long way since John Bonifas began working in the industry in the ’60s.

“It was a different world back then,” he says with nostalgia, despite the fact that back then, he had to work in smoke-filled rooms, sweeping floors and emptying out ashtrays. But he was hooked.

In 1985, he bought Fourtané, an antique and estate jewelry store in Carmel established by Loyola Fourtané in the the 1950s. From there, Bonifas didn’t change much.

He kept the store’s business model, buying and selling previously owned jewelry. “When people think estate jewelry they think, ‘Oh, so this is a dead person’s jewelry,’” he says half jokingly. “Usually our buyers don’t know who owned it.”

Despite the lack of a personal history, the jewelry still draws attention from customers around the world. “People don’t know what they want,” Bonifas says of his customers approaching eclectic pieces in the store’s collection – which includes carved bone brooches, deep forest green emerald rings and blush-tone pearls so unique that no two pieces looks the same.

He explains that when a customer does find something, it’s truly theirs: “It’s not like walking into a Macy’s where you can buy one ring but there are thousands of others,” he says. The rarity adds to the value and customers see it as an investment, something they wear on special occasions or pass down to their kids.

Bonifas doesn’t have any particular piece he thinks he’ll pass on to his kids for now, but he has already passed down an appreciation for vintage accessories to his son, Josh Bonifas, who established the watch section at Fourtané in the ’90s. So deep is Josh’s passion for vintage watches – and especially Rolexes – he was even featured as an appraiser on PBS’s Antique Roadshow.

“People today still value Rolex – they just know,” Josh says.

The brand’s history and reach in popular culture is what Josh believes keeps all kinds of customers coming through the door: “You never know who will walk in.” He points out a man wearing a T-shirt, flip-flops and khaki shorts and says, “He’s a huge vintage car collector.”

For that reason, something else hasn’t changed from the store’s original founding either: keeping customer service knowledgeable, yet casual – to the point where even the security guard likes to crack jokes occasionally.

“It doesn’t matter if we’re selling to a major collector or someone who’s been saving to buy one piece,” Josh says. “The casual vibe here is deliberate.”