Since 1981, the Maggio family has carried on a local tradition of excellence in fine jewelry at their store Reflections In Gold. Founded by the family matriarch, Liz, and operated with dedication and love by her husband, Tony Sr., Liz and Tony Sr. turned the reins of the business over to their grandson, Tony, two years ago, who grew up in the business and learned the craft of appraising, buying, and creating heirloom treasures directly from his grandparents on the jeweler’s bench. With so much experience in the business of making memories through engagement, wedding, anniversary, and special occasion jewelry of all sorts, the Maggios have collected endless stories of how happy their customers have been during their moments of greatest celebration.
“Being premier diamond merchants, we have done countless engagement rings and custom engagement rings,” Tony explains. “People come in with ideas and we design their rings with them. We have a really wide range of styles on hand, and we either help our customers find the perfect ring right from our showcases, our help them craft something beautiful from their own ideas. All of our rings are customizable, and I can make anything the customer wants. An engagement ring is so important, will be treasured every single day, and might even stay in a family for generations. I certainly understand the stress and challenge of finding the perfect ring having searched long and hard for the perfect ring for my own fiancée, Khia.”
Father to 13-year-old son, Ayden, Tony will marry Khia next year, after life returns to normal post-pandemic. Khia will then officially become Ayden’s stepmother, after having been there for him most of his life. Khia and Tony began dating ten years ago this past November, after having been introduced through mutual friends. The tight-knit unit of Tony, Khia and Ayden all take part in running Reflections In Gold, where Khia has also worked for the past seven years.
“I love Khia, she is my best friend,” Tony says. “We’re both Venice locals, went to the same schools. She was two years behind me and even being in the same schools, we just didn’t know each other. Years later, I was randomly hanging out with one of her friends, and then Khia and I became friends. We were both coming out of difficult breakups. We were there for each other and the rest is history.”
Being a diamond broker, the pressure was on when the time came to propose to find a ring that would live up to the reputation for quality and style that Tony has in the business.
“I planned to propose on Valentine’s Day four years ago. Then I held off for six months like a typical idiot guy,” Tony says and laughs. “We had a beautiful ring in the store and my grandfather said, ‘Khia likes that ring, now is the time to do it. You take that ring and propose and we will square up later.’ It was a natural yellow diamond—her favorite color—in a princess setting. I kept putting it off and putting it off. Then in June I was ready and two days later, my grandmother sold the ring to a customer.”
The lesson of his experience, Tony says, is that when someone sees a piece of jewelry they know they must have, they should always go for it.
“I told my grandmother how upset I was that she had sold the ring,” Tony says. “But she didn’t know I was about to take it. I was supposed to propose in February and it was June. Now I was in a bind because I was ready to propose but I didn’t have the perfect ring.”
That summer, Tony’s grandmother and sister, Nicole, went to a major jewelry trade show and sat down with manufacturers to hunt down a gorgeous ring for Tony to give Khia. After much searching, they found one they were sure she would love. When they came back to the shop, they put the ring in the center of a case where they knew Khia would see it. Sure enough, Khia gravitated to the ring.
“She picked it up and put it on and sure enough, it fit,” Tony says. “She had no idea that it was going to be for her. She took a picture of it on her finger, put that on Instagram, and everybody loved it. That was in July and her birthday is in late August. So I put the ring in the safe, kept it secret, and then on her birthday, asked her to get me a cup of coffee. When she came back with the coffee, I was down on one knee and proposed to her. She looked at me and said, ‘You’re joking, right?’ Then she took the ring and put it on and said, ‘No take-backsies.’”
The ring is an art-deco style, has a fishtail coming up the side with a 1.5 carat marquee diamond and a 1.53 halo of diamonds around it. Tony calls it a ‘five table ring’ because when the couple go to fundraisers, people five tables away say, ‘Look at that ring!’
At Reflections In Gold, Tony and his family are in the business of making memories. They know how important finding the perfect piece of jewelry is, and they are always there to help. Personal attention is the Maggio family’s mantra, and they stand behind everything they sell.
“We bend over backwards to help our customers find what they need,” Tony says. “At Reflections In Gold, my grandmother’s founding principle was customer service. We treat our customers like family and help them through every step of the process. We know in a personal way that there will be an important, lifelong story attached to the jewelry our customers take home.”
1975 Tamiami Trail S, Venice. 941.493.1911. ReflectionsInGold.com