• Ray Griffiths

  303 Fifth Ave., at 31st St., Ste. 1910; 212-689-7209; raygriffiths.com

  As a young jeweler, Ray Griffiths was trained to make and repair intricate pieces of the British-peer variety. Thirty years later, he’s beyond expert at restoring vintage pieces and evaluating old stones for recutting. Nearly all work is done in-house, and he doesn’t automatically brush off small jobs. (Quotes start at $500.) Currently on his workbench: a damaged 1850s diamond-bow brooch, part of a suite belonging to a European family; a gem-encrusted fifties charm bracelet; and a grandmother’s engagement ring, on which he’s updating the setting and adding stones for a young fiancée. “It was $2,500 for the refurbish, and I gave her a ring worth around $15,000,” Griffiths says.

From the 2011 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine