In a bright showroom in Vaughan, Ontario, a 50-year legacy sits under the lights beside a very modern future. Heavy Italian gold chains sit alongside custom engagement rings sketched in CAD. A grandmother’s stories about the “old days” live alongside Instagram Reels and late-night DMs.
Victor is standing behind the counter at Sabatini Jewellery, half in the world his grandparents built and half in the world his generation is rewriting.
On the glass, an heirloom ring waits to be refurbished—thick yellow gold, worn soft by decades of daily wear. On his phone, a DM pops up from a twenty-something who found him on Instagram: “Hey, I saw your reel on lab-grown vs natural. Can you help me design a ring under $5K?”
Welcome to the new reality of independent jewellery retail: a third-generation jeweller fielding design questions at midnight, shooting educational videos between appointments, and still taking the time to sit with a grandmother who wants to re-set her original engagement diamond “for the next generation.”
For Victor, none of this feels unusual. It feels like exactly what he was born to do.
“Honouring my grandparents’ work is everything to me,” he says. “They built not just a business, but a reputation. I wake up every day thinking: Am I making my grandfather and grandmother proud?”
That tension—between legacy and reinvention, tradition and technology—is where Sabatini Jewellery now lives. And it is why this family business in Vaughan has quietly become a blueprint for where Canadian jewellery retail is going next.
A Legacy Built in Gold, Handed to a Digital Native
Sabatini Jewellery’s story starts long before Instagram or CAD existed.
Victor’s grandparents, Vittorio and Maria, arrived with a work ethic and a standard: do it properly, tell the truth, and stand behind your work. Over time, they became known for precisely that—old-school service, meticulous craftsmanship, and an almost obsessive respect for the pieces that passed through their hands.
Victor never met his grandfather. Vittorio passed away suddenly before he was born. But his presence is woven into the business.
“I was named after him,” Victor says. “I did not get to shake his hand, but I feel him in the store every day. That is why legacy matters so much to me. I am continuing what he started.”
That continuity is not just emotional. Jewellery Sabatini sold decades ago still walks back in, now worn by children and grandchildren. A bracelet sold in the 1980s comes in for repair. A ring his grandmother designed for a young bride is now being resized for that bride’s daughter. Those pieces have absorbed entire lives—marriages, careers, babies, losses—and then reappear at the counter for a new chapter.
“What I love most about jewellery is that it can be cherished and passed down,” Victor says. “It carries sentimental and physical value. Every piece tells a story.”
The challenge, in 2025, is not whether that story still matters. It is about making it resonate with buyers who grew up “add to cart” first and in-store second.
Rewriting the Rules of Luxury for Gen Z and Millennials
Walk into Sabatini on a Saturday, and you will see a snapshot of the modern Canadian market. A couple in their late twenties scrolls through saved Instagram posts while Victor pulls out loose diamonds. A student comes in asking about a small gold chain, “nothing crazy, but quality.” A dad arrives with his teenager to repair a chain and quietly looks at a ring he plans to buy for his partner. They are not shopping the way their parents did.
“Younger buyers are way more open-minded,” Victor explains. “They love trendy pieces. They are not locked into the idea that it has to be 18-karat or nothing. If they love the design and the quality is there, they will happily buy 14-karat or 10-karat.”
The stigma around entry price points is fading. So is blind loyalty to big brands. Today’s luxury consumer knows what retail rent costs in a marquee mall. They understand that billboards and mega-campaigns do not come free. And they are increasingly asking a simple question: if I am paying this premium, where is it really going?
“A lot of people are noticing that brand-name jewellery does not automatically mean better craftsmanship,” Victor says. “Sometimes you are paying more for marketing than for the actual piece.”
Against that backdrop, small, deeply rooted independents look different. Clients can meet the owner. They can see the bench. They can ask why one diamond costs more than another and get an honest, unhurried answer. That access matters to younger buyers who care about story and ethics as much as sparkle.
“For them, experience and service are everything,” Victor says. “They want to feel seen, heard, and educated. As a family business, we are literally attached to the work. This is our name. It is in our blood.”
The result is a retail environment that feels less like a showroom and more like a consultation studio. Clients do not get rushed. Questions are encouraged. Trade-offs are explained. Budget is treated as a design parameter, not an embarrassment.
And then there is the most disruptive shift of the last decade: the rise of lab-grown diamonds.
How Lab-Grown Diamonds Changed the Conversation
Victor entered the industry just as lab-grown diamonds moved from curiosity to a mainstream option. That timing, he says, shaped his entire approach.
“By the time I was really involved, lab-grown was already gaining momentum,” he recalls. “So for me, adapting to that was not painful. It was basically the landscape.”
Younger buyers, especially, have embraced lab-grown as a pragmatic way to get the look they want without stretching beyond their comfort zone. Instead of treating lab-grown as a threat, Victor treats it as an educational opportunity.
He walks clients through the differences in origin, price, rarity, and resale expectations. He compares actual stones side by side. He listens to what matters most: size, sparkle, budget, or symbolism.
“Lab-grown has been huge for younger buyers,” he says. “They can get a bigger stone, with great colour and clarity, at a fraction of the price. For a lot of couples starting out, that is a game-changer.”
Meanwhile, soaring gold prices have forced jewellers to rethink their assortment from the ground up. Sabatini has leaned into price-point pieces—still well-made, still beautiful, but accessible enough for someone buying their first “real” piece.
“We want to have options for every age group,” Victor explains. “From someone starting their jewellery collection to someone shopping for a big milestone.” In other words: democratise access without diluting standards. That balance is where next-generation jewellers will either lose or win.
Turning Social Media into a Second Sales Floor
While many long-standing retailers still treat digital as a side project, Victor treats it as a second sales floor that never closes.
Pull up Sabatini’s Instagram, and you will see precisely curated chaos: diamond education, before-and-after restoration shots, custom rings, in-store moments, and quick videos where Victor explains, in plain language, topics that confuse people—like why two diamonds with similar specs are priced so differently.
“The secret is consistency,” he says. “Most people post a few times and expect to blow up. That is not how it works. You show up day after day, even when it feels like no one is watching.”
Educational videos sit next to promotion posts; genuine client stories beside trend-driven designs. The mix matters. It signals that Sabatini is not just selling; it is teaching, celebrating, and participating in the culture around jewellery.
Instagram ads extend that reach beyond Vaughan, targeting people actively searching for engagement rings or Italian gold. Direct messages function as a live chat platform. It is not unusual for Victor to design an engagement ring from scratch with a client who does not walk through the door until pickup.
“We answer DMs late at night, we send videos of stones, we talk through options,” he says. “That level of access is normal to my generation. Clients love it because it feels human, not corporate.”
Then there is his personal account, @victorthejeweller—a behind-the-scenes channel where he talks honestly about gold prices, lab-grown versus natural, and the realities of running a family business. It has become its own brand, complementing the store and doubling as a magnet for younger buyers who want to deal with “a real person, not a logo.”
At the infrastructure level, technology has quietly reshaped how Sabatini designs, sells, and builds trust. CAD software allows Victor to translate clients’ inspiration photos into precise, three-dimensional renderings. A client brings in a screenshot from Pinterest; days later, they are looking at a CAD model of their version of that ring, adjusted for their budget and taste.
Google reviews, meanwhile, have become digital word of mouth. “Client testimonials are essential now,” Victor says. “One search, and a potential customer can see what others experienced. That is powerful.”
For legacy jewellers who built their businesses on handshake referrals, that shift can feel uncomfortable. For Victor, it is simply the new version of the same principle: your reputation is your most valuable asset—now it just happens to live on a screen.
Old-School Values, New-School Tools
The irony of Victor’s position is that he is both the disruptor and the defender. On one hand, he pushes the business to modernize: more social content, more digital advertising, online sales in the near future, tighter use of B2B platforms, and faster communication with suppliers. On the other, he fiercely protects practices he considers non-negotiable.
“Time with the client is something we will never compromise,” he says. “That is surprisingly rare now. We are not interested in rushing people out the door.”
Repairs are still handled with the same seriousness as a six-figure custom project. Old pieces are not dismissed—they are studied, respected, and brought back to life. The store remains a physical space where people can touch, feel, and try on jewellery, not just pick up an online order. When it comes to suppliers, Victor is clear: digital is helpful, but not enough.
“B2B makes sense with gold prices and risk,” he admits. “But for us, nothing replaces seeing jewellery in person—feeling the weight, seeing the finishing, appreciating the craftsmanship. That physical connection still matters.”
Sabatini works with suppliers through a mix of traditional printed catalogues, live chats, and social media. It is not either-or; it is both. The common thread is responsiveness. Texts are answered. Messages are returned. Relationships are nurtured. Inside the store, the human touch is everywhere. Clients are greeted, offered water, coffee, or Sabatini’s signature espresso. On special occasions, there is gold champagne. Engagement ring appointments often turn into extended conversations about family, careers, and future plans.
Technology might get the client to the door. What happens next is still very much analogue.
Learning Faster Than the Industry Changes
Ask Victor how he keeps up with an industry where trends, pricing, and platforms seem to shift weekly, and he does not reach for a complicated framework. He reaches for curiosity.
“I am always reading,” he says. “Articles, magazines—including this one—industry sites, social media. But the most valuable source is still people who have actually done the work.” At the top of that list is his grandmother, Maria. Five decades in the business have given her a perspective that no online course can replicate. She has seen multiple gold cycles, style revolutions, and economic shocks—and outlasted them all. “She always has insights and stories,” Victor says. “Nobody knows more about jewellery than her. I try to absorb everything.”
That mix—digital information plus real-world mentorship—has shaped how he thinks about design, marketing, and customer psychology. Retail has become his lab, teaching him how people actually behave, not just how they say they behave. He has watched clients freeze at the counter when overwhelmed by options, then relax when he breaks the process into simple steps. He has seen how budget insecurity can make someone hesitant to ask for what they actually want. He has learned where to push and where to step back.
Being young, he argues, gives him a natural advantage in adapting to these realities. “We grew up with technology,” he says. “New platforms, new tools—they do not scare us. And I do not have decades of ‘this is how we have always done it’ in my head. I came in when the new way was already normal.”
But youth is not a strategy on its own. His real edge is how he combines that comfort with tech with an old-world work ethic.
“You cannot just have ideas,” he says. “You have to execute. The biggest lesson so far is that consistency beats talent. Show up, learn, adjust, repeat.”
The Future of Sabatini – and the Future of the Industry
Look ahead five years, and Victor sees Sabatini as both a physical destination and a digital brand. He wants the Vaughan showroom to remain what it has always been: a trusted neighbourhood hub where people bring their most meaningful pieces and their biggest moments. But he also envisions a stronger online presence, a more robust e-commerce offering, and a bigger role as an educator and storyteller.
“My account and Sabatini’s account will keep growing,” he says. “We will keep sharing trends, insights, and stories that make jewellery meaningful.” That consistency and growing presence will continue to introduce new clients to the Sabatini name, naturally leading them to the store.
The client base will continue to expand beyond the immediate community, and so will the Sabatini name-eventually becoming a household name far past its local roots. But the values will not change: clarity, honesty, and the kind of service you remember. Zoom out, and his ambitions are bigger than a single storefront.
“Young jewellers are the future of the Canadian industry,” he says. “There is a huge need for more of us. I hope what I am doing encourages others to get involved.”
He points to the cultural moment we are in, where jewellery is everywhere—on athletes, musicians, influencers, and everyday people who use it as a core part of their identity.
“Now is an incredible time for jewellery,” he says. “Everyone wants it. The question is: who is going to serve that demand in a way that feels real and sustainable?”
His advice to those just starting is disarmingly simple. Be willing to start anywhere: a retail job, a bench apprenticeship, an online store, a social account. Learn constantly. Read. Ask questions. Watch how clients behave. Take customer service seriously—answer messages, be flexible, communicate clearly. Do not expect overnight success.
“You will not blow up in a week,” he says. “But if you love it, stay consistent. If you have passion and stick with it, I truly believe it will work out—even if you do not have a family legacy behind you.”
And then, in a very Gen Z twist on an old-school mentality, he offers something that used to be reserved for people who walked through the door.
“If any young jeweller needs advice or wants to talk about the industry, I am available,” he says. “Reach out.”
In a business built on heirlooms, that might be the most powerful signal of all: the next generation is not just inheriting the keys. They are opening the door.
