Gus Jones opened the first shop in the coal-mining town of Bargoed in 1903. One hundred and twenty-three years later the bench is still in the family. His grandson Michael Noel Jones runs the trade today, the flagship sits on Frogmore Street in Abergavenny, and the authorised Clogau Welsh-gold register has not had us off it in decades.
Four lines of work across the three branches, with the heaviest specialism in Clogau Welsh-mined gold, in-house watch service and independent valuations.
We are on the Clogau authorised-stockist register for the valleys, and the Bay Bond, Tree of Life and Black Mountain ranges are kept in stock at Abergavenny. The metal is mined in tiny quantities at Bontddu in Gwynedd, and a Royal wedding ring has carried a piece of it since 1923. St Justin pewter and silver sits alongside for the Celtic ranges.
Six watch houses are stocked across the three branches, and the bench will fit a strap, replace a battery and pressure-test a Seiko while you wait. Service exchanges and crystal replacements are taken in at the counter and turned around in two to three weeks depending on the movement.
In-house sizing and soldering for gold, silver and platinum. Pearl restringing on knotted silk. Bracelet alterations and chain repairs while the shop is open. Independent written valuations for insurance and probate, signed and dated, in a format the major insurers accept without question.
Unwanted gold, broken chain, mismatched earrings, old rings, scrap. Tested, weighed and quoted in front of you against the day's market. No appointment needed. The shop has been the South Wales valleys' gold-buyer since long before the dedicated-cash-for-gold high-street chains existed.
The original Bargoed shop closed in March 2024 after 120 years. The stock and the regular Bargoed customers moved across to Blackwood, ten minutes up the road.
14a Frogmore Street NP7 5AG
01873 855102The flagship. On Frogmore Street, three doors from the bakery, opposite the Market Hall.
113 High Street NP12 1AD
01495 367498The valleys branch. Ear piercing on Saturdays. The Bargoed stock came here in 2024.
17 Bethcar Street NP23 6HH
01443 804325On Bethcar Street under the white-stone fascia, the red lettering still done in the original style.
The first shop is small and the town is busy with the colliery shift. Watch repairs come in from the miners. Engagement rings come in from the chapel weddings. The shop survives the inter-war slump and the long decline of coal, and by the time it incorporates as a limited company in 1976 it has been four shops across the valleys for half a century.
Today the trade is in its third generation. Michael Noel Jones, grandson of the founder, is the managing director. Patrick Michael Jones joined the board in 2002, and Miranda Kirstie Jones in 2021. The original Bargoed shop closed in 2024 after a hundred and twenty years; the rest of the family trade is still on the bench at Abergavenny, Blackwood and Ebbw Vale.
“It was a very good business until the year 2000. That was when it got more difficult. The only reason we're closing the Bargoed shop is because it's not viable. We are disappointed that we've come to this. It was my grandfather's shop.” Michael Noel Jones, Managing Director · Caerphilly Observer, 2024
Clogau gold is mined in small quantities at the Clogau St David's mine in Bontddu, a half-day's drive north of Abergavenny in Gwynedd. Every official Royal wedding ring since the 1923 marriage of the then Duke of York has carried a piece of it, and the modern jewellery house has built ranges around the metal that we hold in stock and re-order from week to week.
14a Frogmore Street
Abergavenny NP7 5AG
Phone · 01873 855102
Email · sales@gusjonesjewellers.co.uk
Nearby · Three doors from the bakery, opposite the Market Hall. Five minutes from Abergavenny railway station.
Walk-ins welcome. Watch battery while you wait, ring valuations on the day, repairs taken in at the counter. The shop is open six days a week, the bench is on it every day.
Anything from a Clogau ring you cannot find on the shelf, to a watch that has stopped, to an old gold chain you want valued or sold. We answer every enquiry from the same inbox the three branches share, usually within two working days. Or call the flagship on 01873 855102 any weekday between 09:15 and 17:00.
For repairs and valuations, you are welcome to bring the piece straight in. No appointment, no posting your jewellery to a website. The bench is open every day the shop is.
Yes. We have been on the Clogau authorised-stockist register for the South Wales valleys for the entirety of the brand’s commercial existence. Tree of Life, Bay Bond and Black Mountain are kept at Abergavenny in current sizes, with sister pieces at Blackwood. If the exact piece is not on the shelf when you come in, we can call it up from the other branches and have it ready, usually within two working days.
Yes. Walk in any weekday between 09:15 and 17:00 and we will swap a battery at the counter. Quartz watches typically while you wait. Seiko, Citizen and other automatic or pressure-tested watches we take in at the bench and turn around in two to three weeks depending on the movement. Pricing is quoted before we open the back.
Yes. Independent written valuations on the shop letterhead, signed and dated, in the format the major insurers accept without question. We assess at the bench in the shop, never by photograph, and we give back the piece on the same visit. Turnaround for the written report is usually a week. Probate valuations have a slightly different format, ask at the counter.
Yes, every weekday. Bring in scrap gold, broken chain, mismatched earrings, old rings or unmarked metal we can test. We weigh in front of you on a calibrated scale, test the carat, and quote against the day’s market price. No appointment, no posting your gold to a website. If you accept the quote we pay the same day in cash or by bank transfer.
No. After 120 years the original Bargoed shop on Hanbury Road closed in March 2024. The stock and the regular Bargoed customers moved across to Blackwood, ten minutes up the road. Abergavenny, Blackwood and Ebbw Vale are the three branches still trading.