What inspired you to open your jewelry store, and how did your journey in the industry begin?
I was working for a national chain jewelry store and after a few months I thought I can do this better by making people custom jewelry exactly the way they want it and not some overseas piece of stock jewelry that is made with at best ok quality gemstones. I found a highly experienced jeweler (28 years making jewelry) who worked for Rutherford’s Jewelers and the owner was getting ready to retire and close the store. So, I made the jeweler an offer to work with me to make custom jewelry. I was already a Gemologist, so I knew about the gemstones, and he knew how to make jewelry, together we made a complete custom jewelry store. I also went to jewelry trade school and learned to make jewelry myself and with the guidance of my master jeweler, I learned the art of making jewelry as well, which gave me the proper skills to be able to design beautiful jewelry that is also structurally sound and won’t fall apart. The first few years were a challenge, but we made it, and now 40 years later, we have a very loyal following so we must be doing something right!
Over the past four decades, how has your store evolved with trends and customer needs?
40 years ago, the jewelry business was completely different. I think it was actually more difficult than it is today, many jewelry stores are designing pieces of jewelry using CAD computer software which isn’t bad in itself, if you know how to make jewelry by hand but if you have never actually made jewelry by hand then you probably don’t know how to make it structurally well. Just because it looks good on a computer screen doesn’t mean it will hold up well in real life. 40 years ago, there was no social media and today if you have zero social media presence you will probably fade away. People want to read reviews and see what other people have to say about your business. My two wonderful daughters, Carol and Sarah, have guided me through these new and changing times. Both of them have assisted me greatly in keeping the store moving forward in the right direction. Of course they both grew up in the store and probably know how to run a jewelry store better than most for that reason but they definitely need to have credit given to them in keeping me straight in these changing times. Both of them have been traveling with me on gem buying trips from a very early age and I really do rely on their help when traveling. They both have very good natural instincts. And yes, one of them is my favorite daughter and she knows who she is! LOL
What types of jewelry or services are you most proud to offer, and what sets your store apart?
There are a few things that I believe we do very well and making custom jewelry is definitely one of them but dealing with colored gemstones sets us apart from many other jewelry stores. I LOVE colored gemstones; diamonds are nice but colored gemstones are wonderful in my opinion. To see a really high-quality Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Tanzanite, or any gemstones makes you realize why people have loved fine jewelry throughout the ages. Even inexpensive gemstones look amazing when they are of very high quality and the large chain stores can’t carry these because they need a gemstone that they can literally have 10,000 of them all at the same cost to put in their 3,000 stores. How rare can that gemstone be if they can get 10,000 of them all identical? Many gemstones I sell are still very rare and unique. To find
another one just like it would not be easy because in the very high quality gemstones, Nature is not a factory, you just can’t turn on a machine and make high quality NATURAL gemstones, they are legitimately rare, and in some cases much more rare than a diamond of high quality.
Can you share a favorite memory or custom piece that holds special meaning for you?
This is a very difficult question to answer because in 40 years of making high quality gemstone jewelry, there are many pieces that I love but the most important factor is not whether I love it but whether the client that commissions us to make their family heirloom is in love with it. If the client walks out of our store thrilled with the new heirloom that we made for them, then I am happy because that is what we are supposed to do! We make the client happy first and foremost.
How has your business become part of the community, and what does that relationship mean to you?
Over the years we have donated many items for charity events and it gives me great pleasure knowing that someone received a beautiful piece of jewelry and we have also help an organization raise money for a worthy cause!
Looking ahead, what are your hopes for the future of your store and your legacy?
I am not sure what lies ahead for our business because 40 years ago I would not have thought that we would be where we are now. When I first started, I don’t think I thought about the future at all in any meaningful way when I was first starting out. I mean I did look ahead but it was for survival reasons not for legacy reasons. I was just looking ahead to make sure we were going in the right direction and keeping up with the times and changes.
Only recently have I given any thought to what happens after me, and I am not sure what the answer is but it will work itself out, as I have always been blessed. I doubt any great business thinks, “what will my legacy be” in the beginning or even the middle. These businesses, as myself, just want to provide a great product that their clients will love, and the rest just follows if you are doing things correctly.