Warren jeweler gives $199 necklaces to those hit by job loss, foreclosure

As of Thursday afternoon, the Warren jeweler had given away about 70 necklaces.

STAFF report

WARREN — Downtown jeweler Thom Duma Fine Jewelers is participating in a necklace giveaway for anyone who has lost his or her job recently or experienced foreclosure of their home.

The West Market Street jeweler gave away about 70 necklaces as of Thursday afternoon that were made by eastern Pennsylvania jewelry designer Petra Azra.

Azra and Duma collaborated on the cost of the necklace, which is sterling silver and known as the Unity Heart. It has a retail value of $199, said Jacki Duma.

Through the day Thursday, dozens of people who had lost their job at Delphi Packard, General Motors, the Warren Police Department, Magna Seating, Kraftmaid, Severstal and other locations received one of the necklaces, Duma said.

Azra alloted 100 of the necklaces to Duma and 13 other jewelry stores throughout the Midwest to try to bring happiness to those who have had setbacks because of the bad American economy, Duma said.

Among those who came in for a necklace were Ivette Leon and Art Pierson of Warren, who qualified because Ivette had experienced financial problems in recent years while in between jobs and had her home go into foreclosure.

“Anything right now helps with the way things are, even if you’re working,” Pierson said. “I think everybody’s making cuts [in their personal finances] right now,” he said. “I know we have.”

Those receiving a free necklace must show documentation of their lost job or foreclosure.