By Susan E. Campbell
Gemset has relocated to 72 Henry St. after nearly 30 years at the Downstreet Marketplace on Broadway.
The new location is slightly smaller, but it offers the convenience of off-street parking for those stopping in to replace a watch battery, have their jewelry repaired, or shop the collection of vintage jewelry and original creations for which owner Stan Lynn, a master jeweler, is well known.
Stan and Judith Lynn relocated to Saratoga three decades ago to be closer to their children, who at that time were attending Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Binghamton and University of Massachusetts. The Lynns had been in the U.S. since 1976.
Originally from South Africa, Lynn remembers sitting at his kitchen table as a young man, teaching himself the art and science of working with precious metals and gemstones.
“No family member was already in that field to teach me,” said Lynn. “I started from scratch.”
“I enjoy gemology and working with gold. I am more of a goldsmith than anything else,” he said. “Often people will come in and ask me to mold something for them.”
Customers have asked Lynn to create mass pieces, such as lapel buttons for State Farm’s managers around the country, he said. Gemset is also a destination if a jewelry item needs to have a stone replaced.
“There are 70,000 to 80,000 colored stones in inventory including white diamonds, which are the most popular,” said Lynn. “I can replace whatever has been lost or broken.”
Lynn said he is well known for collecting and selling vintage pieces that come from all over the world.
He has been director of the New York State Jewelers Association. He was also president of the Jewelers Advisors Committee, a self-regulatory group that assists jewelers in litigation.
Gemset is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. Its phone number is (518) 583-9688.