Chris Cassese

Chris Cassese: Talking about Tools of the Trade

Chris Cassese’s stardom on YouTube stands as only one piece of proof that he’s among America’s top experts on jeweler’s tools and supplies.

After all, how many people do you know with a YouTube jewelry video, one among a series, that’s gained more than 4,000 hits? In it, he explains a state-of-the-art metal tester that determines a piece of gold’s authenticity and caratage.

Indeed, one of Chris’s roles at Kassoy Jewelry Supply is determining the value of new-to-the-market jeweler’s equipment that’s sent to him for referral to leading clients around the country.

“Keeping up with all the latest equipment is vital to my work,” says Chris, a GIA trained AJP (Accredited Jewelry Professional) who’s been with Kassoy for five of his many years in jewelry.

Kassoy covers every area of the jewelry industry – from gemological equipment and jewelers bench tools, to packaging and jewelry displays, to loupes, scales, and pretty much everything else.

“Keeping up with all the latest equipment is vital to my work,” says Chris, a GIA trained AJP (Accredited Jewelry Professional) who’s been with Kassoy for five of his many years in jewelry. Yes, he’s long in the business for a man of 30.

You see, Chris got the jewelry bug very young. By the time he was 14, he was eagerly traveling to jewelry shows around Long Island with his grandmother, Mary Brusich, a jewelry hobbyist.

Soon, Chris was designing pieces and purchasing equipment all on his own. He quickly entered the profession. From his high school days in Lindenhurst, Long Island, through his college years and beyond he worked at jewelry manufacturer A.J. Goldfarb.

“They started me out in shipping, and soon got me involved in quality control, receiving, and sales,” explains Chris. “I guess you could say they gave me an extensive jewelry education.”

Before coming to Kassoy, Chris went work at Tourneau Watches, where he was immersed in retail sales. “To know what you’re talking about in watches is no easy matter,” he says.

To understand Chris, you need to know about the one piece of non-jewelry-related equipment that means a lot to him: his 6.1 liter, V8, 4-wheel drive Dodge Ram gas-gobbling pick-up truck.

With his friends, he escapes in it to the wind, surf, and sand at drop-dead gorgeous Democrat Point, on the remote west end of Fire Island, off the Long Island coast.

You can’t get to Democrat Point without a state permit and 4-wheel drive – and no one’s ever heard Chris complain about that.