House of Gold & Diamonds: Golden Castle revamps its store, continues featuring a unique collection

SPARTA - Golden Castle Jewelers has unveiled its new gleaming store layout, featuring clean and modern lines and a more welcoming lobby. Owned and operated by Steve Bitlisli, Golden Castle has been offering quality jewelry to area shoppers for the past 18 years. Working with gold, gems and precious stones has been the Bitlisli family business for generations. Steve Bitlisli says he started “building jewelry from scratch” when he was 13 years old in his native Turkey. With the help of his wife, Ilana Levy, a wholesale diamond dealer in New York City, the Bitlisli family tradition of offering unique pieces at great value continues in the Sparta store. “We guarantee the customers direct import prices,” says Bitlisli. “No customer is ever turned down, and we strive to work with them and satisfy their needs.” Aside from its one-of-a-kind collection, Golden Castle is also a full service jewelry store, offering repairs and resetting of family heirlooms. “We will repair anything and everything, from diamond settings to outdated jewelry.” Bitlisli says his store can redesign an old-fashioned item or even copy a piece from a picture. “We work with molds, and we finish by casting, polishing, and setting stones,” he explains. The store is currently displaying a collection of unique “double-hearted” diamonds. According to Bitlisli, every stone in this collection is hand cut to create two hearts within each diamond. Golden Castle Jewelers’ collection includes watches, rings, necklaces, and porcelain and crystal gift items, along with precious and gemstone pieces in 14- and 18-karat gold and platinum. In addition to an array of the latest in diamond jewelry, there is a collection of estate jewelry and other precious and gemstone jewelry pieces. As part of its full service, Golden Castle offers a “wish book,” where customer choose a particular item and enter that selection into a gift registry book, making the information available to a gift buyer. “It takes the guesswork out of choosing a gift for an anniversary, birthday, or whatever,” says Bitlisli. Another program allows clients to upgrade jewelry purchased at the store. “We stand behind our product, and we aim to please,” says Bitlisli. “We have been here for 18 years, and we are planning to be here at least another quarter century.” Golden Castle Jewelers is located at Sparta Plaza, 191 Woodport Rd. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursdays; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. For information, call 973-729-0344.