Following World War I and the growing popularity of costume jewelry, Rhode Island played a significant role and grew to be the Jewelry Capital of the World. At his time, George Tanury, Sr. worked alongside his father and brothers in the jewelry industry of Rhode Island learning and eventually running metal finishing and electroplating divisions for in-house jewelry houses and job shops. The family grew. At age of 14, George Jr. began his after-school job joining his father and uncles to learn the metal polishing and electroplating business.
At the age of 21, George Jr. began his full-time work in the Research and Development Labs of Technic, Inc. a World-renowned company for special applications of precious metals. He furthered his education with programs specific to the metal finishing industry, studying electroplating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, metallography at Brown University, and completing the American Electroplaters' Society Plating School. George Jr.'s position in Technic's Labs afforded him a unique opportunity to collaborate with chemists with advance expertise in the field of metal finishing applications that were in demand by the growing aerospace and computer industries.
G. Tanury Plating Building
In 1973 father and son, confident in their collective knowledge and experience, began their own Business, G. Tanury Plating Company, dedicated exclusively to high-quality metal finishing. Their modest first location occupied just 4,400 square feet and was quickly outgrown. Today, G. Tanury Plating maintains its dedication to high-quality metal finishing and needs all of its current 30,000 square foot facility to meet the needs of varied industries that require specialized applications of precious metals.
In 1985 Ken Cabral joined the company. Ken's education includes engineering studies at the University of Rhode Island. Like George Jr., Ken completed the American Electroplaters' Society Plating School and has a background working in his three-generation family business in electroplating. In 2004, Ken was made a partner in G. Tanury. Today, Ken is vice president of the company and continues to bring the company forward while maintaining the high-quality standards set two generations ago.
The collective knowledge and experience of the principals of G. Tanury Plating Company is the tradition and the strength that the company was built on and why it continues to be sought-after for the unique expertise they provide. The family business was started with costume jewelry but today is designing and supplying applications for medical equipment, musical instruments, and house lighting. Further, Ken and George Jr. are frequently asked to consult by international companies in Mexico, Peru, Columbia, Canada, and China.