Over 133 years, Siegel Jewelers has become a Grand Rapids gem

By: Shandra Martinez

Jim and Joel Siegel recognize that what their household has established more than the previous 133 several years holds a distinctive put in many hearts.

What started as a view restore store in downtown Grand Rapids in 1889 when their good-grandfather Joseph Siegel began repairing pocket watches has advanced and tailored to provide the needs of their buyers. Siegel Jewelers has been identified as West Michigan’s leading jeweler, recognised for its personalized consumer provider.

About the many years, Siegel Jewelers expanded to jewellery and turned a vacation spot for generations of families buying engagement rings and other mementos for crucial events. Grand Rapids’ most notable citizens became faithful buyers. Former President Gerald R. Ford purchased an engagement ring for Betty at the retail store.

Joseph’s two sons, Norton and Arthur, joined him in business enterprise. While Norton died early in lifestyle, his son, Miller Siegel, eventually fell in adore with the business enterprise. He arrived with a company diploma from the University of Michigan and a recently titled gemologist diploma.

Many years of progress
Miller was passionate about jewellery, the ethics of the business enterprise and, most importantly, encouraging persons discover the appropriate jewelry to rejoice particular events.

“My father labored well into his 80s, so we labored along with him for a extensive time,” Joel explained, introducing that his mom, Leslie, also worked in the organization. “We bought to commit extra time with our parents and value them a lot more.”

Miller expanded the small business, which at its peak in the course of the 1990s experienced 5 areas throughout West Michigan and Ohio.

“My father never ever retired. He was very concerned, and we talked small business all the time,” claimed Jim, who joined the business enterprise right right after school. More youthful brother Joel came a decade afterwards immediately after finishing school and touring out west, exactly where he achieved his wife.

The brothers divided up obligations, with Joel handling the jewellery facet of the procedure and Jim overseeing almost everything else, from promoting to personnel difficulties.

How business enterprise progressed
The store is in Grand Rapids, not far from Woodland Mall, wherever it experienced a substantial-profile location for 40 many years just before going to a freestanding store at 2845 Lake Eastbrook Blvd., in 2005. Getting operations underneath a person roof is not only efficient but extra economical than leasing shopping mall space.

Over the earlier 20 a long time, the retail store shifted to offering estate jewellery, which now accounts for a majority of its small business. It’s deemed one of the greatest and best estate jewellery sellers in the Midwest, with a lot more than 15 conditions of jewellery professionally restored by its individual workforce of jewelers.

“We have been acquiring difficulties, in influence competing with ourselves since we were selling estate jewelry at significantly fewer than new,” Joel reported. “It held mushrooming. We could pay back more to the community when buying their jewellery due to the fact we weren’t shopping for it for just the raw elements. Then we ended up equipped to transform close to and sell it for considerably less than new.

“So it’s a win-get for the persons who are marketing it due to the fact we’re making better provides and a acquire for the people who are shopping for it due to the fact they are acquiring a better price. It is actually a win for us for the reason that pretty typically we could make a very little extra share-smart than we could on other things.”

At a time when most jewelers send their customers’ jewelry out to be fixed, Siegel Jewelers has a incredibly lively mend business with two total-time jewelers. Personnel consists of credentialed gemologists who appraise and authenticate gems on-premises.

“We attempt to be in people’s lives,” said Jim. “That’s why we have not had a great deal desire in promoting on the online. We believe that conducting company in human being is an important element of what we supply. So we just doubled down on trying to assist clients who want to appear in and do small business with us.”

Using concept on-line
But that does not suggest the retail outlet is not connecting with men and women on the internet. The keep does weekly Facebook stay reveals. 1 of the most popular was a preview of estate sale merchandise.

“A good deal of people enjoy Fb Reside afterward. We typically get about 75, but for the estate sale preview, we had 200 seeing reside,” Jim stated.

The idea came from a consultant. Right after seeing how some other vendors do it, they introduced what is now recognized as “LIVE at Five with Lydia & Friends.”

“We’ve developed in how very well we do it, and we’ve only gotten superior as we have turn into extra seasoned. It looks we have enough information each and every week for about 20-30 minutes,” Jim stated. “We attempt to educate our customers. We have experienced representatives from some of the traces we carry be part of the present through webcam. Just one of the visitors was a San Francisco gem seller, whose line of individualized lockets we are now carrying. We’ll emphasize our jewelry or appraisal solutions and items like that. A big section of the present is permitting individuals know what our staff is able of.”

The Fb Life are hosted by staff members. The store has invested in a compact set with a backdrop and chairs. It is performed at 5 p.m., an hour prior to the keep closes and when customer visitors is light-weight.

Enthusiastic by household, custom
The brothers are impressed by the function of the previous Siegel generations, specifically their father.

“My father was definitely an innovator, always wanting to see how to do things much better to deliver extra price to what we’re accomplishing and construct a far better relationship with people,” Jim reported. “So we’re undertaking a great position of continuing that custom.”

Jim, 74, and Joel, 71, say they have no quick designs to retire. Long-time period, they are making ready for the sixth generation to just take the reins a single day. In the meantime, they see by themselves as additional caretakers than regular owners of the family members enterprise.

“We’ll both move it to our grandchildren or have some variety of experienced supervisor on-premises and hold out for whoever in the household would like to get ownership,” Jim mentioned. “We’re stewards of the enterprise for this technology, and so that frame of mind informs a whole lot of our conclusions and our long run preparing.”

His son, Jaron, who operates aspect-time in the enterprise and oversees promoting is the fifth era. The sixth technology is a growing bunch. Joel has two grandchildren, and Jim has six grandchildren and one on the way.

“Our intention is to present them how good a enterprise this is and that there’s this legacy that very several firms have,” Jim suggests.