Birzon Jewelers

May 22

In their own words

“We would love younger people to carry on the tradition [of jewelry] like their parents did and pass it down to their children and grandchildren. There’s a lot of sentimental jewelry that people acquire from family. It’s nice to convert that into something they can wear, whether it’s remounting or reconfiguring a certain item when the style’s dated. We can make it more current. You don’t put a price tag on it when it’s sentimental.”

-Keith Birzon

Jason’s Interview with Keith

Jason

We're back on Meet the Jewelers and today I'm talking to Keith from Birzon Jewelers. How did you get into the industry of jewelry?

Keith

It's a family business. My father and uncle started it in 1952. I started in the business in 1988. I wanted to do my own thing after college, and then I made the career change in 1988. It's been 31 years now.

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Jason
Are any other family members still in business with you?

Keith
My cousin was and then when my uncle passed away, she wanted out of the business. She was probably involved in twenty years of it, and then ten years ago, we bought that side of the family out. She is no longer involved.

Jason
Probably still a family business at heart, though?

Keith
Exactly. It's different than your typical chain store. On a personal level with your customers, you start seeing generation after generation still coming in.

Jason
Tell us about your ideal customer. Who comes to your store?

Keith
In the past, we never marketed our name. It was more of a wholesaler-type business, all done with referrals. Before the Internet, we did very well with that concept. Today we took out the wholesale name in our Birzon Jewelers name—it used to be Sid Birzon Jewelers Wholesale. It's a little bit more competitive with the Internet these days. We always love the younger people to become customers and carry on the tradition like their parents did, and they pass it down to their children coming in, and their children, grandchildren. We love the younger customers. The older customers dealt with my uncle and father, so they're out of the buying field now. It's nice to get their children and grandchildren.

Jason
Tell us about the custom design experience you guys offer?

Keith
Usually, they have an idea in their head or a picture that they like. A lot of times, they see something in sterling silver and they want it in gold. We come up with a drawing, usually a CAD drawing for them. Once they approve it, agree on the price, then we produce it. It takes about four to six weeks from start to finish. There's just so many styles available that it's not hard to find some casting, and we work with manufacturers. We have casting books. We don't overcharge, we basically just charge a fee for the CAD design and everything else is relative.

Jason
How much is the CAD design fee if you get started with designs?

Keith
Usually, it's between $200 and $250. I don't know what the industry really charges. Some charge $500 extra, but we keep it reasonable.

Jason
Tell us about your brand and what it represents?

Keith
We've always been honest with our customers. We don't try to take advantage. We don't try to pull anything over them. Seeing that we've been in business sixty-seven years, our reputation means a lot in the public.

Jason
Where do you see the trends going in your store? Where do you think your location is going five-fifteen years from now?

Keith
I'm fifty-eight years old, so I might still be involved in the business, or maybe I can get one of my kids involved. Right now they're pursuing their own careers, but not looking that far out. A lot of the trends that some of the big box stores and chain stores are selling, it's not always quality. They're selling more and more sterling silver and gold plating. That's never our cup of tea. We have quality pieces, and go for quality and not quantity. I would just maintain that level of quality for us. That's what we're known for, rather than selling the inexpensive stuff.

Jason
Tell us about a customer experience or proposal that made you so happy to help somebody?

Keith
There's a lot of sentimental jewelry that people acquire from their parents or grandparents, and it's nice to convert that into something that they can wear. Whether it's remounting or reconfiguring a certain item that’s dated. We'll just make it more current and it means a lot to them. It's nice that they carry on that sentimental value. People are always acquiring jewelry. They want to custom make something, or take the diamonds out to make something. Sometimes it's once a week, sometimes it's twice, three times a month. It's surprising how many people acquire jewelry.

Jason
Why do people trust you?

Keith
I don't know, maybe my good looks. That's just a joke. Again, I think it's the amount of years that we've been in business. I'm an honest person. If there's any doubts, either I won't take their jewelry or I'll try to write down information for them. Our longevity helps our reputation. Just because it's your own business doesn't mean you can take time off. You actually work harder because you want this business to succeed and you want your customer's next generation to come in.

Jason
What drives you to wake up every day and provide such great service?

Keith
Just helping the customers out as much as I can. It's not a business where I get rich. I'm making a living and helping my employees as well. I have one employee who has been with us for fifty years.

Jason
50 years! What's their name? Let's give them a shout out.

Keith
Her name is Esther Cologne.

Jason
Esther Cologne. Is she there by any chance?

Keith
No, she already left. We just made up a little diamond bracelet for her, because she worked here for fifty years, she enjoyed that. We had two other salespeople that worked for thirty-five to forty years, but they've retired. We treat our employees right.

Jason
Do you have any specific lines or a piece of jewelry in your showcase that you want the world to know about?

Keith
Our main bridal line is Gabriel & Co. Gabriel & Co. is a great website to work with and to view thousands of their products online. We were never known to carry a lot of name brands. We made a lot of jewelry ourselves. We would order castings from manufacturers, pull the required stones or diamonds, and then my goldsmith would assemble it. We never believed in overpaying for designers, which happens, but I know they have a lot of marketing to do and that's why they sometimes charge a little extra for that. We're known for our prices to be very reasonable without paying for a name.

Jason
Are there any local causes, charities, or nonprofits that your store gives back to?

Keith
We get a lot of individuals coming in representing organizations and we'll do donations. Can't give to everybody, because there's just so many causes out there, but we do donate some merchandise.

Jason
This is your platform. What would you like us to know?

Keith
Our reputation proceeds us. We're always reasonably priced. We carry quality jewelry. We have quality at the right price and we are definitely trustworthy.