Joseph Rea & Co

They have two shops in the city centre. There’s one in Ann Street and one in Castle Lane. I’ve always used the Castle Lane shop. The great thing about places like this is that they’re a local, independent jewellers, which means they’re much more realistic about prices and get a lot of trade from word-​of-​mouth and repeat customers.
And because it’s a long established family jewellers they very much built a reputation entrenched in older values and ideals — their attitude when they started off (at a time when Belfast was a more cash-​strapped place) was obviously that if they provided a personal customer service, gave a good price and a decent discount for, say, wedding rings, then your friends and family would come to see them when they were looking for similar items. It worked, too. There are people who won’t go to any other jewellers, at least until they’ve checked out Joseph Rea first.
They have a wide selection of all kinds of jewellery, carry out repairs on watches and jewellery, and also buy scrap gold that’s no good to you anymore.

There’s just something exquisite that draws you to Joseph Rea’s shop window even if you have no intention of buying anything. Maybe the fact that it’s a family run store that has been around Belfast for years, or the ‘Established since 18 – ’ sign, but it just exudes quality in a way that chain stores such as Lunn’s and H. Samuel’s could never emulate. If I’m ever deliberately out looking for an expensive piece of jewellery (rarely, I tell you) then Joseph Rea’s is my first stop. You just can’t go anywhere else; they’re unbeatable.