Rialto Jewelry

Nov 15

In their own words

“If you come into the store, it’s going to have a small-town feel. We’re here to help you more than sell you something. That’s not our goal. Everybody’s going to leave happy at the end of the day. If I can’t help you, I tried my best. I appreciate the opportunity. I’m here to solve problems. I love what I do. I try to do as best as I can for what people need here.”

-Luis Guerra

Jason’s Interview with Luis

Jason

We're back on Meet the Jewelers and today we're talking to Luis from Rialto Jewelry from San Antonio, Texas. Tell us a little bit about how you got into the industry.

Luis

It started when I was a kid. My dad worked at a Zales in Alice, Texas. From there, he ended up working at a small independent jewelry store in Alice. In 1984, there was an opportunity to buy a jewelry store from somebody who had passed away. My parents were married, so he went with a leap of faith. He bought the jewelry store and I grew up in the business. I helped out a little bit here and there in the store, but mostly in the background answering phones. I knew the business, I knew everything.

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I ended up graduating high school and went to the University of Texas at San Antonio, finance major. It came down to that last year where you're like, “What am I going to do with my life?” I liked the jewelry industry a lot. I've always loved it, especially diamonds and custom jewelry. In 2007, we bought a little store that was down the road. They had gone out of business or were retiring and it was just a little shop, but we gave it a shot. My dad helped me a little bit. I called him here and there to find out who to order from. About a year and a half later, I moved to the location that I'm at now. It's been about ten years at this location and sales have grown every year. It's been a great journey and we've changed a lot of things. I feel like we do a lot of things that are different and it's been great.

Jason
How does it feel knowing that you’re part of this family business?

Luis
It's a great feeling. There's something really nice about taking my family to the jewelry shows. My dad and I go to all jewelry shows—we go to at least three shows a year. He buys for his store, I buy for my store—it's grown us a lot closer. My mom will go, my wife will go, we try to take our kids sometimes. We're introducing them to the industry and it's a lot of fun.

Jason
Are there any causes or nonprofits that your store supports?

Luis
Locally, we do a lot of church stuff. We have axe bracelets we donate to churches. This past year, I've gotten in contact with the Ronald McDonald House. They'll do some auctions and we'll try to get with them. My family earlier had to deal with some cancers, so the Ronald McDonald House is an awesome organization.

Jason
When somebody walks into your store, tell us about the feeling of entering.

Luis
It's your small-town feel. It’s almost like we're friends right off the bat. We're here to help you more than sell you something. That's not our goal. I'm not here to try to force people into sales. I'm just here to solve problems. I love what I do.

Jason
Who is your ideal customer?

Luis
Honestly, I'm not going to tell you I have a perfect customer. We're very inviting to everybody. It doesn't matter whether you want a battery, a custom ring, or even if you want a $40,000 ring. We're going to treat everybody the same.

Jason
Are there any pieces right now that you want to highlight for us?

Luis
We have a lot of different things in the store, some unique pieces. Lately, baguettes have been on fire here. The baguette rings with the rounds on the outside are selling like crazy. Even necklaces that were baguettes. Baguettes have been coming around. Overall, the pieces look really beautiful.

Jason
Tell us about some brands you carry.

Luis
One of our main bridal lines is Gabriel & Co. We sell a lot of engagement rings. They're a great company, great manufacturer. We have Elle Silver. Their silver line does really well for us. We also deal with a lot of manufacturers that are part of IJO, Independent Jewelers Organizations—we’re part of that. We carry a little bit of everything.

Jason
Can you tell us about a fun proposal or an engagement ring experience you were part of?

Luis
We had one this past year where they actually proposed in the store. It was really neat. We did their rings for them, custom rings. The day before, they dropped off flowers, wine, and other stuff the gentleman wanted to use. When they came to pick up the rings, he got down on his knee and proposed right here in the store. At that point, the flowers came out, the wine, everything. It was really inspiring.

Jason
Tell us where you see the industry evolving with technology?

Luis
Every year is different, especially in custom. The 3D printer has really evolved. We do a lot of CAD, 3D printing. The new thing that just came out not too long ago is technology with lab-grown diamonds. This technology is changing the industry a lot. Printing and showing the customer the wax is a huge thing. It saves us a lot of time.

Jason
Tell us, people coming in, why should they trust Rialto Jewelers?

Luis
For starters, I'm always here. We're not your regular mall store. The expertise that you're going to get here is completely different. When it comes to knowledge, in general, we offer so much. I'm a GIA diamond graduate, the other girl that works here is a GIA diamond graduate, I have a gentleman here who is a registered gemologist appraiser. The fact that we can do everything for you speaks volumes. We get people from out of town, hours away, just to come in and get a custom piece.

Jason
What do you want to tell everybody?

Luis
Just consult with us if you have any questions about anything, we're more than happy to help. Anything you want can be done. All you have to do is walk in here and ask.