KAWARTHA LAKES- 70 years ago Johnsons Jewellers opened its doors Lindsay. The original location was at the end of Kent Street. “It’s probably one of the oldest, longest established businesses in town,” John Gennaro, the current owner told Kawartha 411. “For that we are very proud.”
Gennaro purchased the business 6 years ago. “Although we aren’t the original family we’ve kept the tradition of having a family business and a family run jewellery store in Lindsay”
The Store moved from the end of Kent Street to its current location at 157 Kent Street in the 60’s although it was only half the size it is today. “They shared the location with a shoe store and then in the early 80’s the Johnson family purchased the other half of the building” Gennaro says. Two generations of Johnsons owned the store previously. Gennaro hopes to continue the family tradition. ” They couldn’t make a third generation but with any luck my family will be able to.” But he’s not relying on luck he’s building personal relationships. “When you have personal relationships with families they become multi-generational where the second generation will purchase from me and hopefully the third generation will purchase from my children.”
Gennaro sold jewellery wholesale for about 20 years before taking the leap and becoming an entrepreneur. ” I loved jewellery and I was looking for a sole proprietorship and a friend of mine introduced me to this business,” he recalls. “I worked here for about three months and then I purchased it.”
When he first took over the business Gennaro says he was excited about all the sparkly merchandise but soon realized what really makes him happy is to see his clients happy. ” Now it’s more about the personal interaction with the customer, seeing the emotions and the feelings that go with every purchase they make here.”
Johnson’s is a full service jewellery store offering in-house repairs and free cleaning. They also provide custom pieces. “If you can dream it we can build it” is Gennaro’s motto. “If you have a piece of jewellery that you’ve seen that you think you might like but you wish it was a little different well we can make your wish come true.”
If you have a piece of jewellery you would like to re-purpose they can do that too. ” If somebody comes in with grandma’s ring and they like a couple of the stones but it’s a bit outdated, not quite antique yet, if it’s yellow gold and you like white gold or if the diamonds are in a cluster and you want them in a row, we would look at what you have and see what we could use from that to make you a design to suit your style.” Gennaro says with a sparkle in his eye.
Gennaro and his wife are serious about jewellery and finding something unique. The couple are embarking on a diamond buying trip to Antwerp Belgium at the end of September. ” Antwerp is the diamond capital of the world. About 75% of the worlds diamonds, whether rough, cut polished or finished, go through Antwerp. This gives us access to the largest diamond houses in the world.”
They will be buying diamonds for the store as well as taking custom orders from clients. “Diamonds are as individual as people or snowflakes, no two are the same,” Gennaro says. “Whatever your budget, I can find you the best diamond in the price and parameters you’ve set.”
Seventy years from now Gennaro hopes his children will be exactly where he is now, selling smiles to people who have heard stories about their parents when they owned the store.
For more information on ordering a custom diamond or designing a unique piece of jewellry email John at [email protected]
