The name Blase DeNatale has been synonymous with fine jewelry in Lacey Township for 40 years. Before settling in the Town Square shopping center on Route 9 and Lacey Road, where it has existed since 1988, the jewelry store was located in the Cobblestones plaza and, before that, briefly in downtown Barnegat, in 1982 and ’83.

But the family name and reputation go back much farther, to founder Biagio “Blase” DeNatale, who established his eponymous store in New York’s Little Italy at the turn of the 20th century.

He arrived in the United States from Italy already a trained engraver and watchmaker, and he brought his four sons into…