GQ South Africa Featured Liry's Jewelry: Premium Gold Without the Premium Markup
In September 2024, GQ South Africa published a dedicated feature on Liry's Jewelry with a headline that gets straight to the point: "Liry's Jewelry: Your Source for Premium Gold at Accessible Prices."
That headline is something we've been trying to communicate since day one. GQ said it better than we usually do.
What GQ Covered
The feature focused on the core thing that makes Liry's different from most jewelry stores — the ability to offer genuine, high-quality gold jewelry at prices that don't require you to take out a second mortgage.
GQ explored how we do it, why most stores can't match it, and why that matters to the customer standing in front of a jewelry case trying to figure out if they're getting a fair deal.
The answer, as GQ laid it out, comes down to how we're built as a business.
Why Our Prices Are What They Are
This is something we're happy to explain clearly because the jewelry industry is not known for transparency on pricing.
Most jewelry stores — including big national chains — don't buy directly from manufacturers. They buy from distributors, who buy from importers, who buy from manufacturers. Every step in that chain adds markup. By the time a piece reaches the display case, the customer is paying for four or five layers of margin that have nothing to do with the gold itself.
We don't operate that way. We built direct relationships with manufacturers in Italy — some of the best gold manufacturers in the world — and we buy directly from them. We also make many of our pieces by hand in our Tampa workshop, which means we control the entire process from raw material to finished product.
That's how we sell genuine 14kt gold Miami Cuban link chains, bracelets, and other pieces at prices that genuinely reflect the value of the gold — not the value of a supply chain built to maximize margin at every step.
What "Premium Gold" Actually Means
GQ used the phrase "premium gold" and we want to be specific about what that means at Liry's:
- Solid gold — not plated, not filled, not hollow (unless explicitly labeled)
- Certified karats — 10kt, 14kt, 18kt, and 22kt, guaranteed and verifiable
- Italian sourcing — gold sourced directly from Italian manufacturers with centuries of expertise
- Handmade construction — our Miami Cuban link chains are made by hand using traditional techniques in our Tampa workshop
- Lifetime karat guarantee — every piece we sell carries a lifetime guarantee on the karat
When GQ calls it premium gold, that's what they're referring to. The quality is real. The difference is that we don't charge you for a middleman you never met.
Men's Jewelry and the Liry's Customer
GQ is a men's publication and it's worth acknowledging that a significant part of our business is men's jewelry — particularly Miami Cuban link chains and bracelets. This has always been our core.
A handmade Miami Cuban link is not a simple piece of jewelry. It takes weeks to make. The craftsmanship involved in getting that flat, tight, interlocking link pattern right is something most machine-made chains can't replicate. When you wear one, you can feel the difference.
Whether you're buying your first chain or adding to a collection you've been building for years, we're here to help you find the right piece at a price that makes sense.
Read the Full GQ Feature
Read the complete GQ South Africa article for their full take on what makes Liry's worth knowing about.
Read the full GQ South Africa feature →
Browse our full collection of handmade gold chains and bracelets at lirysjewelry.com, or call us at (813) 888-8590 with any questions. We're always happy to talk jewelry.