A Lifetime of Jewelery on Commercial Street Exuma Fine Jewelry 283 Commercial Street, Provincetown, MA www.exumajewelry.com 508-487-2746 Gunter Hanelt first came to Provincetown from Germany on a whim. At the suggestion of a friend, he brought a sample of the hand-crafted wire necklaces he was selling at flea markets in Germany. Gunter’s first piece of jewelry was a carved wooden bead necklace as part of a high school shop project. His interest in jewelry as objects satisfied his interest in form, circles, spheres and the like. Out of curiosity, he approached a shop in Provincetown to see if there was an interest in his jewelry crafted in Germany. The shop was not interested. However, a woman followed him to the street and asked to buy his necklace. He made another acquaintance, was invited to a dinner party. He had never experienced such hospitality. Friendships developed over the years of going back and forth to Provincetown and his home town in Germany. On one trip, he decided to bring along 3,000 specialized wire necklaces. He sold them in six weeks and thus began his move to Provincetown to make it his home. In 1974 he rented a 1,000 sq. foot space on Shank Painter Road where he employed 20 full time workers to make his wire jewelry designs which he then sold throughout the US in national shows. It was the mid 70’s and Gunter’s interest in fine jewelry, gold and gemstones continued to grow. He employed professional wire-benders to implement his designs that he referred to as “GO’s,” or “Gunter Originals.” He still holds the copyright on his original necklaces from that time period. In 2006 Gunter opened his annex, C.C.’s Cape Cod Jewelry, specializing in nautical-themed silver jewelry. In 2013, Gunter renewed his wire jewelry line. He has 17 necklace designs, six bracelet designs and six earring designs of his specialized wire jewelry line. Gunter’s son Alex has joined him in what is now a family business in its 42nd year on Commercial St. Gunter describes Exuma as a “full-service fine jewelry store” and has several jewelers on premises. Exuma’s extensive collection of jewelry includes Gunter Originals, estate jewelry, an outstanding variety of rings including wedding rings, nature’s gems and natural pearls. Gunter has no desire to retire from this business. “I have developed close relationships with many customers and I plan to continue for years to come,” he said PROFILE 59
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