– Harry and Judy Adwar (center) opened Adwar Casting in 1972 and were later joined in the business by sons Gregg (l) and Keith.
“We work hard to make great castings and provide our customers the tools to be highly profitable selling our castings,” says their son Keith Adwar, who owns the company now along with his brother Gregg, who is acting president. Adwar Casting offers more than 172,000 styles including bridal, two-stone rings, earring climbers, initials, ladies’ rings, men’s rings, earrings, bracelets, charms, religious pieces and more. All are delivered with the Adwar tradition of excellent quality and craftsmanship. By offering castings instead of finished pieces, customers can do more custom work with Adwar’s styles.
Harry and Judy opened their business in New York City, and after the sons joined the business – Gregg in 1981 and Keith in 1984 – the company made a change. “We were in the same location in Manhattan until 1994, when we moved to Long Island where we built a state-of-the-art factory,” Keith says. “Our mother and father have since retired to Florida, but during the summer months are always coming in to see what we are producing.”
Gregg’s son Taylor now works for the company as well, and Keith adds proudly: “There has been an Adwar in the casting room every single day we’ve been in business, since 1972. We’re a small family caster. You can call here and get myself or Gregg on the phone. We’re an integral part of the production, ensuring the best quality partnered with the best customer service in the industry. We’re not the biggest guy around, but we think we’re the best.”
New Generation Brings Change
The Adwar brothers, (l-r) Keith and Gregg joined their parents at Adwar Casting in the 1980s and have since taken the company to new heights.
Along with embracing change, Gregg and Keith appreciate the things that haven’t changed, namely a loyal clientele. “We have many customers who did business with our parents,” Keith says. “My parents remind us of it every day! We have customers who have been doing business with us since 1972, and a lot of them. We do business with the children of clients who our parents did business with.”
Adwar Casting serves more than 10,000 customers, including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers. “We work with a variety of mom and pop stores, guild stores, a lot of chain stores, and large manufacturers all over the country,” Keith says.
Remaining a true casting company is key to Adwar Casting’s success. Adwar Casting sells either a raw casting or a casting polished and assembled. “We don’t want to compete with our customers. Our competition is more interested in selling finished pieces with diamonds and competing with their own customers. Most of our retail stores have a jeweler and a setter in their store, so they can do more of their own thing with our styles.
“We aim to help our customers make a highly profitable sale, and if we do that job correctly, we will always do well. The retailer is selling the experience of his store, along with our quality and design.”
Made in the U.S.A., Start to Finish
Adwar Casting’s manufacturing facility on Long Island is state-of-the-art, fitting for an industry leader in design and product innovation. It features “the most modern equipment in the industry, including the latest in platinum and palladium technology.”
“CAD/CAM is really the future – and it’s the present,” Keith says. “We make new models every single day, stay up with the trends and get our products out there with the best quality. That’s where the future is. There’s always a new trend, and our model-making staff is quite agile. We can take any one of our newest styles, and we can alter the model for an extra charge and get it out in less than 10 days.” Adwar keeps no castings in stock, but with automation the company is quickly able to ship out most castings within 24 hours. By quickly meeting its customers’ needs, Adwar saves them the trouble of keeping a large quantity in stock.
In addition to the Long Island facility, Adwar maintains a 47th Street NYC showroom. “Gregg works out of the showroom, and customers come in to see our newest styles while they are in the city to see their diamond and/or chain supplier,” Keith says. “Even though we do the majority of our business from the catalogs and our website, customers from all over the country come into the showroom. It’s great to see clients and get to talk to them about the newest trends or how they see business progressing in the future. That’s the main reason we have a presence in the city. There’s no manufacturing there; all of the manufacturing is done at the factory on Long Island. Everything is made in the U.S.A., which is a really big point for us.
“When we came out with our new catalog last October, people were so impressed that we go from start to finish here. It means a lot. I think people are tired of sending their money out of the country.” Adwar’s latest 140-page catalog is its largest since 1980, and it includes the company’s newest and most popular mountings. Offering both classic and modern designs in a comprehensive selection of castings, the company is consistently adding new products to its extensive line of original styles. Casted precious metals include 14-karat and 18-karat gold, platinum cobalt, platinum ruthenium and palladium.
The catalog also features a touching tribute to Harry and Judy: “We remain a New York based family business, and are proud to continue our parents’ hard work and commitment to being ‘big enough to serve, and small enough to care.’ Our parents remain a vital part of our business, and we honor them by maintaining their dedication to making the finest jewelry castings in the industry.”
Keith says his parents “are very proud that the business is still in existence and that we’re doing well. Usually the second generation in a jewelry business kills it quickly. Less than 33 percent of all family businesses survive to the next generation. With the third generation, it’s less than 14 percent. The fact that we’ve grown much larger since our parents started is wonderful and something we are very proud of.”
Contact Adwar Casting at 800-255-7755, sales@adwar.com or www.adwar.com.
