Lewis Jewelers

Jan 14

In their own words

“As kids, my brothers and I hunted rocks. We had an uncle who took us to a lapidary shop where you could take rocks to be cut and polished. We thought that was the neatest thing ever. We saved our money and bought some lapidary equipment. The guy who owned the lapidary shop offered us 25 cents to cut some of his rough slabs. We also had a little tumbler. When my brother turned sixteen, he went to work at a jewelry shop to learn trade work, how to set stones, solder chains, things like that. Two years later, when I turned sixteen, I went to work in a jewelry store behind the counter. That’s how we started.”

-Tim Lewis

Jason’s Interview with Tim

Jason

We're back on Meet the Jewelers and today we're talking to Tim Lewis from Lewis Jewelers in Moore, Oklahoma. How did you enter the jewelry industry?

Tim

My older brother by two years, he and I as kids would go out and hunt rocks. We had an uncle who took us to a lapidary shop when I was about ten, he showed us that you could take these rocks and they could be cut and polished. So, we saved our money, bought some little lapidary equipment.

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As we got to know the guy who owned the lapidary shop, he would offer us twenty-five cents of stone to cut tabs out of some of his rough slabs. We figured out that you could rough out the cab and throw it in a tumbler and you could do hundreds of these things. So as little kids we figured out technology was a whole lot better than working hard. We would take those back to him and trade cabochons for more equipment. Our interest early on was cutting and polishing rocks. When my brother turned sixteen, he went to work at a jewelry shop learning trade work, learning how to set stones, size rings, and solder chains. Two years later, I went to work in a retail store behind the counter.

We didn't know what we were doing, we just knew we loved what we were around. It was a lot of fun to make, a lot of fun to sell. When I was nineteen and my brother was twenty-one, we decided to open our own store. We've been working together now for forty-four years and still having fun.

Jason
How do you think your parents feel about that?

Tim
Our dad and mother came from very humble beginnings. I remember when I was about three, we lived in a home that didn't even have running water. It was an outhouse and across the backyard was the bathroom. Our dad, when we told him we were going to open a store, he said, “There ain’t no way you boys will do any kind of business selling that stuff.” It was motivation to prove dad wrong. It didn't take long to have some success.

Jason
Tell us some exciting moments that were some big wins.

Tim
When we told dad that we were opening a store in a little shopping center, we said, “Dad, we'll probably do up to $100,000 in that store.” He said, “There ain't no way you boys will do that kind of business.” I'll never forget the day we did $100,000 in that store. It was fun to throw it in his face, but he was incredibly proud of it. At that point, we were successful. Recently, I've had two more of my staff named to the Forevermark Carat Club. I've had six women named to the Carat Club, which means for six years they designated us some of the top salespeople in the country for Forevermark carats and larger. For a store in suburban Oklahoma City, we're really proud of that.

Forevermark is a diamond that De Beers sets aside, a Type 2 diamond, a natural 2A. It's responsibly sourced and comes from places around the world where it's incredibly important to people in Botswana or Namibia. Not just for the people that work in the industry, but all the ancillary businesses in that town.

We're not high-pressure, we just want to give them the information they need to make a decision.

Jason
Tell us what it’s like when you open the doors.

Tim
It's a large store. We have almost 9,000 square feet in a freestanding store. We're alongside an interstate. The first comment almost every time somebody steps in is, “Wow, I didn't realize it was this big.” We have this immense selection. We have eighty-four showcases. More than 40% is exclusive to bridal and engagement rings. In addition to that, we have our own in-house factory. If we don't have what they want, we can easily customize it or custom make it without having to farm it out to somebody else. We do CAD/CAM, 3D printing, casting, finishing, setting. We do everything in-house. That’s what makes us different.

Jason
What's the size of the team?

Tim
Well, we have five sales ladies on the floor, plus myself. And I have five full-time jewelers.

I've got generational customers, they've been coming to me for literally generations now, and sending their kids back when they need rings. We've always had the philosophy, if we can make a customer a relationship over an engagement ring, they'll continue over the years to come back when they're ready to buy something else.

Jason
Out of all the jewelers in the area, why should they trust you and work with you?

Tim
Frankly, I work in an area with some fabulous jewelry stores. My competition here is top-notch, some of the best in the country. We give you a one-stop-shop. When they come to my store, we're probably going to get to know them and we're going to remember them when they come back. I think that's so critical. We try to make everybody feel like they're our favorite customer.

Jewelry is a fun product because we deal with people in a very joyful situation. Either they're about to get engaged, or they're celebrating a new baby, anniversary, or birthday. My staff understands how to help them celebrate, help them commemorate a joyful occasion. They love being part of that.

Jason
Talk a little bit about some of the causes and charity work that you do.

Tim
My brother has actually been the mayor in our town for about twenty-four years. He doesn't get paid for that job. It's just something that he does and runs the town hall meetings. On my side, my wife and I support more than thirty missionaries on a monthly basis from around the world.

I've had just today two different requests to support local charities and we'll probably support them. That's just what local business people tend to do. It's not about getting rich, it’s not about making money, it's about a lifestyle. We've been very blessed. It's nice that we can give back. I fully believe that when you're kind to people they remember you.