1987
A storefront opens on Ali’i Drive.
Kona Inn Jewelry was founded in 1987 by the Goldscharek family, who opened a small storefront in the Kona Inn Shopping Village — a cluster of plantation-style buildings facing the water on Ali’i Drive, the main road through Kailua-Kona.
From the beginning, the idea was simple: do the work by hand, on-site, and build pieces people would actually hold onto.
The Location
In the heart of a historic Kona town.
Ali’i Drive runs along Kailua-Kona's waterfront, past Kailua Bay and some of the island's oldest landmarks. The Kona Inn Shopping Village itself occupies the site of the historic Kona Inn hotel, giving the street — and our storefront — a sense of place that's hard to manufacture.
It's a short walk to the water in either direction, and that proximity to the ocean has shaped the materials and motifs we reach for again and again: gold, black pearl, and island-inspired form.
Every October
Front row for the Ironman World Championship.
Kailua-Kona has hosted the Ironman World Championship since 1981, and Ali’i Drive is the race's defining stretch — the finish line that thousands of athletes and spectators have crossed or cheered from for decades.
Being a family business on that same street means we've watched the town transform every October for almost our entire history. It's part of what makes Kona, and our storefront within it, feel different from a typical jewelry shop.
How We Work
Every piece touched by hand, on-site.
We don't send work out. Design, casting, stone-setting, polishing, and repair all happen at the bench, inside our own shop. That's slower than outsourcing production — and it's the only way we've ever wanted to do it.
It also means when you bring a piece back for resizing or repair ten years from now, the people who made it are often the same people fixing it.
Today
Still family-run, still on Ali’i Drive.
Kona Inn Jewelry continues to operate as a family business, offering custom design, bridal jewelry, repairs, watch service, and Hawaiian heritage pieces from the same Kona Inn Shopping Village storefront.
We'd love to show you the bench, talk through an idea, or simply say hello — stop in, or start the conversation online.
Plan Your Visit