Jewelry stores are everywhere in New York; there are big jewelry companies like Zales and Kay Jewelers, countless privately owned businesses, and even jewelry departments in nation-wide department stores. Despite the great influx of jewelry availability, especially in Astoria, the novelty of the Greek Jewelry store has not been lost. Greek jewelry stores represent a major staple of the Greek-American culture in Astoria.

Featured Jewelry Store: Thessaloniki Jewelry

On our trip to Astoria, we visited one jewelry store in particular: Thessaloniki Jewelry. Located at 31-32 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, NY 11105, this Greek jewelry store is particularly well known in the Greek community of Astoria, New York.

Thessaloniki Jewelry first opened in 1979 through the efforts of Theodore Moskokarfis and his wife, Kiriaki. As we observed on our visit, the store offers a wide variety of designs representing all different time periods in Greek history, including Ancient Greece, Byzantium, and the era of Alexander the Great (Moskokarfis)¹⁴, as well as beautiful modern pieces.

The success of Thessaloniki Jewelry can be attributed to their superb quality, hospitable and accommodating attitudes, and wide variety of beautiful pieces offered in many different materials. Thank you to Theodore and Kiriaki Moskokarfis for taking the time out of their day and business hours to interview with us and teach us more about the Greek culture in Astoria!

Why Greek Jewelry Stores?

Greek jewelry stores play an integral role in upholding the Hellenic culture in America, providing support for the Greek Orthodox religion, and creating ties with the community in Astoria.

Cultural Importance

Greek immigrants living in the United States are, in a way, severed from their homeland, despite the technology that has made it possible to communicate with their relatives almost instantly. Thus, the presence of Greek jewelry stores in Astoria, the center of Greek-American life in New York, serves as an aesthetic connection to the immigrants’ roots.

One common motif in Ancient Greek art and architecture is the meandros (Μαίανδρος in Greek), commonly referred to as the Greek Key. It appears as a series of continuous twisting lines that form a right-angle spiraling pattern, as pictured below.

“The meander can be described as one of the most important symbols in Ancient Greece, because of its connotations with unity and infinity; the continuous interlocking lines and repeated motif reflects the fluid movement of the ocean wave, and thus the eternal flow of things, the meandering of life. It also symbolizes the everlasting bonds of friendship, love and devotion” (Hamburger 1)¹⁵.

Because of its significance within the Greek culture, jewelry with the symbol of the Greek Key is often given as a marriage gift to the bridegroom in the Greek community. Therefore, it is important for Greek jewelry stores to exist within Greek-American communities like Astoria, so the needs of the immigrant community can be met, as displayed through the pieces at Thessaloniki Jewelry.

A big part of the Greek culture is the “evil eye.” The evil eye “is a glance believed to have the ability to harm those on whom it falls, [which] can come from anyone at any moment, or you can draw it to yourself” (Amvrazi 1)¹⁶. Anyone can experience the effects of the evil eye, which can include sudden headaches, nausea, lightheadedness, and sudden pain, among other symptoms (Amvrazi 1). Of course, there are cures to the evil eye curse, but Greek tradition has a proactive approach: charms that ward against the evil eye. Greek jewelry stores offer a variety of authentic evil eye charms on different pieces of jewelry that Greeks regard as important symbols of protection. Thus, Greek jewelry stores are entirely necessary to uphold Greek tradition in Greek-American communities.

Significance in Religion

As one might observe, religion represents a defining characteristic in the Greek culture, namely the Greek Orthodox religion; Greek-American immigrants have upheld the importance of religion in spite of their assimilation into American culture. The most important symbol of the Greek Orthodox faith, as in any Christian faith, is the symbol of the cross, which the followers of the religion wear.

The most important of all the crosses followers of the Greek Orthodox religion adorn themselves with is the baptismal cross. The baptismal cross is the cross that babies are given by their godparents right after their baptisms as a reminder of the sacrament. The baptismal cross, however, cannot be bought from anywhere; it must be an authentic Orthodox cross. Greek jewelry stores carry a huge importance in this instance, as they are the main providers of Orthodox crosses in the Greek-American community. Without these jewelry stores, it would prove much more difficult for Greek-Americans to correctly connect with their religion.

Apart from crosses, Greek jewelry stores also carry a variety of other religious symbols, including icons and charms of different saints. Thessaloniki Jewelers is a great example of this, as the pictures above and below display.

Community Ties

Overall, Greek jewelry stores like Thessaloniki Jewelers prove central to the Greek-American community, especially in Astoria. They help facilitate the creation of strong bonds within the community, itself. Greek-American immigrants become more connected to their roots through the jewelry stores. The stores, in turn, act as support systems for their mainly Greek-American clientele and build life-long customers and friends through the services they provide.

-Mariyanthie Linaris