OCEAN CITY – At D.A. Kozma, a hobby has turned into a business, crafting stones and gold into exclusive pieces of jewelry as well as offering unique services.
Dan and Adrienne Kozma are the owners of D.A. Kozma Ltd., a fine jewelry manufacturer that has recently re-located to the Food Lion Shopping Center where Route 50 meets Route 611 in West Ocean City.
D.A. Kozma has been in business for 35 years spreading its wings in multiple locations around Ocean City, starting on Somerset Street in downtown Ocean City to the 45th Street Village to the Tanger Outlets across the bridge in West Ocean City and now to their new location.
“We prefer more freedom,” Adrienne Kozma said. “We are a mom and pop store in that we have always been unique in what we have to offer.”
Dan Kozma began the business after growing an interest in rock collecting and invested many years in the hobby.
“He is a craftsman of sorts,” Adrienne Kozma said. “It was natural for him to go from rock collecting to gold and silversmithing.”
Adrienne Kozma began working for Dan as a second job in college when her position became “more permanent”, she joked, as the two eventually were married and had a family.
D.A. Kozma started out small by visiting craft and flea markets and street fairs, sharing their goods throughout the 1970’s. In 1978, the business opened its first location in downtown Ocean City where they offered mostly handmade items.
When the business began to grow, they moved to the 45th Street Village where D.A. Kozma continued to expand in popularity and picked up a loyal customer base along the way.
The Kozmas travel the world, including Indonesia, Hong Kong and Thailand, where they seek out loose gems to create their own jewelry that would be unique in appearance from the rest.
“We always have something a little different from everybody else,” Adrienne Kozma said. “We value and are conscious of our customers, so that they are getting the most for their money. We always want to offer quality pieces of jewelry for a better price.”
D.A Kozma offers a wide variety of fine jewelry, including 14 carat yellow and white gold, silver, platinum, diamonds, gem stones and vintage/estate jewelry that has been out of circulation, which adds to the store’s unique collection.
The Kozmas believes what they have to offer is distinctive in its traditional look and there is a wide variety of items to choose from to please many different styles. Price points are aimed to please everyone as items are sold anywhere from $10 to the thousands.
Besides jewelry, the store has a collection of large geodes, metal wall art, decorative glass pieces and other gift and decorative items for sale.
D.A Kozma is also service oriented where repairs and custom jewelry are done on premises.
“We live here and are part of the community, so we treat people right and they leave here happy,” Adrienne Kozma said.
Another service the business offers is one that has become more and more popular over recent years and that is gold and silver buying, whether its jewelry or coins.
Dan and Adrienne Kozma explained more people are finding interest in “cleaning house”, and either trade old jewelry in for cash or to make an old piece of jewelry into something new.
They furthered that the value for gold and silver have reached close to record high these days and customers are receiving more for their old jewelry then what they paid for it years ago.
“It is a way of recycling,” Adrienne Kozma said. “A piece of gold or silver jewelry will never be wasted; it will be used for something new, and will never be wasted.”
Dan Kozma added that D.A. Kozma has invested more than three decades into the business and have gained a well-versed knowledge and experience in evaluating and placing value on the item being traded in.
“We like it when people bring in stuff, it is like treasure hunting,” Dan Kozma said.