101-Year-Old Jeweler Shares Her Secret to Staying Sharp and Purposeful

At 101, most people are long retired. But not Ann Angeletti. Six days a week, she opens the doors to Curiosity Jewelers in Cresskill, New Jersey—a shop she’s run since 1964. “If I retire, I would die,” she told ABC 7. “I can’t stay home.”

Ann’s life is a testament to purpose and grit. Born in Brooklyn, she left school early to help at her family’s grocery store. During WWII, while her husband served overseas, she worked in a Navy Yard and later as a waitress. In 1964, she spotted a vacant shop for $85/month. Something told her to take the leap—and it became a lifelong calling.

Today, Ann still works with her daughter and granddaughter, and makes weekly trips to New York City’s Diamond District to manage suppliers and clients. Her hands—steady from decades of shaping gold and setting stones—still get the job done.

Her secret to staying sharp? Routine, discipline, and passion. “You must get up. You must shower. You must eat. You must take care of yourself. You must exercise,” she says. And above all, “If you don’t like what you’re doing, then change.”

New Jersey is home to over 2,600 centenarians, but few shine like Ann. More than her age, it’s her outlook that inspires: a belief that meaningful work and joy in the everyday can keep the mind—and heart—young.

“Work keeps me alive,” she says. “It’s what I love.”