Finch Jewelers

Apr 1

In their own words

“My father has pictures of me as a young kid, probably about five, just sitting on the shop floor. And he’d give me a little handsaw and pieces of metal, and I would just saw away at them and call myself a jeweler. And I had my little visor like they wore back at the bench. And I just thought it was the neatest thing. I started out cleaning glass and bringing customers their repairs. It was my first job, and it’s going to be my last job. It snowballed into my gemology degree and being a second-generation owner.”

-Jessica Finch

Jason’s Interview with Jessica

Jason

Come with me to Meet the Jewelers. Today, we're excited to introduce Jessica Finch from Finch Jewelers in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Did you always know you were going to enter the family business?

Jessica

I did. My father has pictures of me as a young kid, probably around the age of five, sitting on the shop floor. He'd give me a little handsaw and little pieces of metal, and I would saw away at them and call myself a jeweler. I had my own little visor that they wore at the bench. It was my first job, it's going to be my last job. It started out with me cleaning glass and bringing customers their repairs. It snowballed into my gemology degree and me now being a second-generation owner.

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Jason
What do you love about jewelry itself?

Jessica
I love the people. I love to see the expression on a man or woman’s face after they have spent hours, days, weeks coming up with a concept and me being able to bring that to fruition. The way their eyes get large and their smile gets big, it just makes my job so worth it.

Jason
Tell us what your specialty is.

Jessica
About 10 years ago, my father saw a change in our industry, it went from just purchasing right out of the case to customers wanting to have their own special piece. At the time, he was working with another jeweler who did not want to invest in the technology side of our industry—CAD programs and CNC mills. That's when he branched out on his own. It was a large investment, but it has since paid off. We’re in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and it's easy to be able to work via email when you have CAD technology. People come to us because you won't find anyone more tech-savvy than my father and the other jewelers that he has trained to be here. We're able to produce just about anything for you.

One of our taglines is “We blend Old World craftsmanship with New Age technology.”

Jason
When somebody comes into your store, what is the ambiance like?

Jessica
We're all family and friends in here. None of us work on commission. We like to pride ourselves on having a very relaxed atmosphere. You're going to be greeted by a smiling face, we're going to ask if you'd like to drink. You'll be greeted by my chocolate lab, Ruger. He comes to work with me. It's a very warm experience.

Jason
If you're going to sum up your store’s aesthetic in three words, what would they be?

Jessica
Very country chic. Lots of natural wood and stone elements. We cater to everybody. I produce things that are really contemporary and things that are very classic. I have six jewelers here, five of them like to do some of their own work and put it in the case to display their style choices. They're all different. We have something for everybody.

Jason
Are there any standout pieces that you've created?

Jessica
My father loves loves loves opals. We have done some pretty amazing opal pieces. Last year, he celebrated 50 years in the industry. He did a few really knockout pieces for his 50th anniversary collection. One was this stunning Australian opal. It was so rich, blues and greens and little pops of yellow. He likes to use mixed metals. While he loves yellow gold, he does know that a lot of women like white, so he did this gorgeous two-toned piece using an eight-carat opal.

Jason
Where do you see trends going?

Jessica
You start seeing trends recycle. Right now, I'm doing a lot in yellow gold and it's really refreshing. A lot of fashion pieces and engagement rings are being done in yellow gold. We're in a trend where things are a little more simplistic and putting a lot of focus on the stone of choice, whether that be a diamond or a color gemstone. More with twisting metals, braiding metals, different finishes on them to add contrast and depth to the piece. Gemstones have gotten a little more geometric. We're seeing some hexagonal-shaped cut gemstones being set with some small diamonds around them.

Jason
A lot of customers want to know about lab-created stones. What's your thought on that?

Jessica
The lab-created diamonds have been around for a while, but they are now getting introduced to the market full force. People are asking about them as alternatives. I think it's going to depend on what your personal taste is. I find that people that are very environmentally conscious are coming in asking me more questions about lab-grown diamonds. I am very open to educating my customers and saying, “Here's one option. And here's a second option.” I will go through the pros and cons of both, and let them decide what is the best choice.

Jason
Tell us about a fun proposal experience.

Jessica
I try and tell my clients that less is more. I remember when my husband proposed to me, I saw it coming because he overthought the whole thing. He ended up stuttering through the engagement spiel. And he was getting frustrated because things weren't quite going as he planned. I tell my customers, “You two already love each other. You want it to be special and memorable. But really less is more.”

A gentleman was going to Paris with his girlfriend. He was planning on proposing under the Eiffel Tower. He had us design a ring that had elements of the Eiffel Tower incorporated. They took a really cool picture of the ring right next to the Eiffel Tower. It was neat, very elaborate.

Jason
You do a lot in the community. Any key charitable causes that are top of mind?

Jessica
There are so many. I try to give a little to everyone. I'm part of an organization called Fête en Blanc. It means Party in White. It is a pop-up party at a secret location every year. The mysteriousness of it is that people don't know where they are going until the day before the event. It's a really great night of the community getting together to learn about your neighbors while raising money, either children or arts that it goes to.

Jason
Why should we come into your store?

Jessica
If you want a really nice experience, a custom piece that is made by local artists that pride themselves on their workmanship and quality, you're not going to go wrong stopping in here. And if you do, bring a dog bone for Ruger.