All That Glitters

James Murning

James Murning designs a lot of jewelry — some of it for pretty notable names. You might have seen — and heard — one of them at the recent Super Bowl halftime.

“I design a lot of pieces for musicians,” said Murning, owner of Aurora Jewelry in Easthampton. “I just sent out a piece for Bad Bunny, called the heritage necklace, which essentially is paying homage to Puerto Rico.”

Elaborating, he noted that “the centerpiece is a diamond-encrusted star for the flag of Puerto Rico, and two bezel-set aquamarines represent Bad Bunny’s birth month. And then there are three-dimensional flor de maga flowers, which are the national flower of Puerto Rico, and there is actually a dog tag hanging off the back of the chain with the city coordinates of the city block he was born in.”

For such big-name commissions, “we work with a variety of different people in rock, country, and EDM,” Murning added, but he takes as much pleasure in creating meaningful pieces for everyone — jewelry that’s not only aesthetically pleasing, but offers plenty of meaning in the design itself.

“We also do a ton of repurposing,” he said. “So if somebody comes in and says, ‘I’ve got some stuff from my grandmother or grandfather, these are heirloom pieces, I want to melt them down and get paid cash,’ 90% of the time, if it’s something really cool, I will tell them, ‘you should not melt this. Let us repurpose it and give it a new life.’ We can take the stones out and put them in a new ring; that way, they have a story to tell 20 years from now.”

“If somebody comes in and says, ‘I’ve got some stuff from my grandmother or grandfather, these are heirloom pieces, I want to melt them down and get paid cash,’ 90% of the time, if it’s something really cool, I will tell them, ‘you should not melt this. Let us repurpose it and give it a new life.’”

Just to mention one example, “I had a lady come in one night. She had this incredible, 22-karat solid gold Peruvian cross, handmade in Peru. I mean, the design work and the soldering that went into this it was incredible. And she said, ‘I want you to polish this cross for me; I want to put it in a shadowbox.’”

Instead, he convinced her to repurpose it into three new pieces, one of which was a ring she gave to her daughter. “That was a very rewarding thing — and they’ve come back. They’re really great people. But that was one of those moments where I was repurposing people’s pieces and giving them a new life and a new story. That’s so important. Because once it’s melted, it’s gone. And the cash will be gone, too.

Aurora Jewelers has a wall of engagement photos featuring rings purchased there.

“I love the stories of jewelry. Not only is it art, but you get to hear about people,” Murning went on. “It’s one way you keep people alive. Like, ‘my grandfather bought this for my grandmother in 1915 on 46th Street in New York City.’ You know what I mean? And you can imagine what that scene looked like. So the romance behind it is really nice too.”

One of the most significant aspects of Murning’s business is engagement rings and wedding bands. In fact, he has a wall of photographs on his wall taken by happy couples right after proposals using his rings — another way he sees his job as celebrating history in the making, not just selling jewelry.

“I had a fun couple come in; they said, ‘we’re obsessed with the galaxy.’ And I was like, ‘OK, why don’t I make you a ring that looks like the galaxy?’ And they’re like, ‘you can do that?’ I was like, ‘of course I can.’ It was three rows of diamonds that were circling like a hurricane. And then, in the center, was a mystic topaz which shimmers different colors. So the whole ring looked like the galaxy. And they were blown away by it.”

Murning can wax nostagic when he talks about the value of what he does, and the way his pieces reflect history as much as they reflects light.

“I mean, growing up around my great-grandparents and seeing my great-grandfather get into his light blue Cadillac and open the door for my great-grandmother was … well, you don’t see that kind of culture anymore. It’s just gone. So if I can keep some of that still living, I’ll totally try to do that.”

But Aurora Jewelers has been a success in the bottom line as well.

“Our first full calendar year was 2024, and it was great — way better than I ever expected. In 2025, we did 39% higher. So it just keeps growing,” he said. “There are many factors that come into play when you have a brick-and-mortar jewelry store, not an online business. You just hope that people want to come in and have a conversation. That’s really important. I think COVID really hurt that whole atmosphere of people just wanting to talk to people.”

On a recent afternoon in the Easthampton store, Murning was happy to talk to BusinessWest about the early success of his business, the ways he gives back to the community, and why he’s gratified by all of it.

Shades of a Career

Murning’s path into the jewelry business started at a Sunglass Hut in West Hartford, which he managed when he was around 20 years old. He struck up a friendship with members of the Hannoush family who operated one of their stores there, and was eventually offered a job.

“Joe Hannoush [one of the company’s eight founding brothers] essentially took me in, and his kids are the ones who molded me to the person I am today. Without them, there would be no Aurora Jewelers. Joe was a staple in my career.”

He credits several other mentors with influencing him along the way, including Marc and John Green of Lux Bond & Green, a family jewelry business with a 127-year history.

“Everybody deserves some type of luxury. It doesn’t matter if you’re a farmer or if you’re a construction worker, it doesn’t matter. People like to feel good.”

“I managed one of their locations in Glastonbury, Connecticut — a Rolex store,” Murning said. “And I was very honored to be able to go to Rolex trainings, which not many people get to do. To put myself in that position, where I was able to be inside the room with all these Rolex executives, was a really big thing.”

He also took some courses with the American Gem Society and eventually got to the point where he felt comfortable opening up his own jewelry store, and Aurora Jewelers opened its doors in Easthampton two years ago.

Aurora now sits in an expanded space on Union Street in Easthampton; Murning originally operated out of a smaller spot next door.

“When I walked in there, it was studs, no floor, no ceilings, completely exposed, it was gutted. And I immediately saw exactly what I wanted the store to look like,” he said, from the layout to the color palette, dominated by a blue shade called Salty Dog. “I wanted something that would aesthetically showcase the midnight sky, because that’s the only time the aurora borealis comes out. So there’s significance to everything — the coloring of the store, the greens, the purples, the blues; those are the colors of the aurora.

“Every jewelry store I’ve ever been in, aesthetically, has always been kind of white walls, light gray, and aesthetically, I’m not that kind of person. I’ve always been volume turned up, big color palette. And people have received it really well.”

James Murning has ambitions to expand his brand, including in Boston.

But running a business is much more than picking out wall colors.

“I was nervous in the beginning because I didn’t know I didn’t know if Western Mass. could handle a luxury store, and I got told by a few people that this would be better in Boston,” he recalled. “But I said, ‘you know, everybody deserves some type of luxury. It doesn’t matter if you’re a farmer or if you’re a construction worker, it doesn’t matter. People like to feel good.”

The ‘luxury’ description, he said, comes from the fact that he sells more exclusive and higher-quality items — many of which he designs himself — than other stores.

At the same time, giving back to the community is a priority for Murning, and he accomplishes this in a variety of ways, from being a major sponsor of Girls on the Run Western Massachusetts to sponsoring Easthampton athletic programs.

“The people who run Girls on the Run are amazing people, just incredible human beings,” he said of the organization, which blends a life skills curriculum with healthy activity for girls, culminating with a celebratory 5K run each spring and fall. “It’s a great cause. I went and volunteered this past fall. They do a Sneaker Soiree fundraiser, and I told them I’ll raffle off a diamond, and I’ll do some other stuff to help raise as much money as I possibly can.”

Then there’s a group of Easthampton High School students Murning has dubbed the Easthampton Sandlot; he even has a movie poster of The Sandlot that they’ve all signed.

“They’re convinced I’m in the mafia. They think I’m making millions of dollars and drive a Ferrari,” he joked. “But I have always encouraged them. And I tell them, ‘if you get a B-plus or better in school, I will rent a Rolls-Royce and drive you to New York City on graduation weekend, and I will take you to dinner wherever you want in New York City.’ This is important to me because I see a lot of myself in the youth. And I’ve been doing this since I opened the doors.”

“Boston is so consistent because there are so many young people out there, and they’re going to talk to one another: “where’d you get your ring? Where’d you get your ring?’”

He also just started the Aurora Foundation, to which he’ll dedicate a certain percentage of the year’s revenues to help deserving but needy local students attend college — with the goal of expanding it to much more good work. And he created the Aurora Achievement Award, which acknowledges an Easthampton High School basketball player who shows the most leadership or morale-building qualities — another program he’d like to expand.

What’s Next

Murning has a few business plans in the works, including the Foundry on Union, a luxury gift store that will open this summer in his first, smaller space next door, specializing in corporate gifts. He also recently released the first engagement ring created for a new private label called Daybreak. And he’s been making plans to open a location in Boston, where he said he already has a following.

“Out here, the population is a little less, so we’re hitting somewhat of a ceiling with certain things — it will be heightened again, then it’ll drop back down, then heighten again and drop back down. Boston is so consistent because there are so many young people out there, and they’re going to talk to one another: “where’d you get your ring? Where’d you get your ring?’”

What they’ll hear is that their friend got it at Aurora Jewelers, a small business whose owner has some big plans to create more jewelry — and more memories.