Ron George Jewelers

Nov 9

In their own words

“I love that we’re in a historic area of Annapolis. It’s like going back to colonial times, except without the horses. It’s a great town and ties in perfectly with what we are about: We become part of people’s families. I don’t mean that in a corny way. I had a couple come in yesterday to show me their newborn baby. They bought the engagement ring from us, we designed and made it. I know them, you get to know each other. You’re part of their story.”

-Ron George

Jason’s Interview with Ron

Jason

We're back on Meet the Jewelers and today we're talking to Ron George in Annapolis, Maryland. How did you get into the industry?

Ron

I come from a big family. There's eight kids and the first five of us were born in about six years. My dad ran out of money for college by the time it got to me. I decided to go to trade school and my grandparents had started jewelry stores back in 1923 in Syracuse, New York. There's still one up there called Diana Jewelers. It's run by my cousin, Elizabeth.

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I decided to go into a jewelry trade school, Bowman Tech. It was in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and you'd sit there from eight in the morning until five in the evening working on little pieces of jewelry. You had to get it perfect, or you couldn't move on to the next thing. The first thing I had to build was pillbox perfect 45-degree angles and every corner filing it that way. If you file too much, you had to start over. If he cut a chain and I had to repair it, I didn't pass unless you could not tell where I repaired it.

Then I went up to Syracuse, New York. At that time there were no jewelers, so I set up a shop at the age of twenty-one and started doing work for stores in Syracuse, including my two uncles’. I realized that, if I started taking courses at Syracuse University, I could probably get everything done by one or two o'clock and then go to work in the shop. I paid my way through Syracuse University in four years and just kept going from there. Went to New York and worked for a while. Got into some of the arts, did a little soap opera, met my wife - she was a ballerina. We came back down to Maryland, where I'm from. I love the water. We started a business here and bought a home on the water. And it’s been wonderful. We've raised six kids.

Jason
Six kids and in the amount of time, like that. Are they joining the industry too?

Ron
My son, Sam. He never liked to be on the floor or, talking a lot. He loves working on things. He went to a photography school. He taught himself all about computers and he does our web page. We have his photography in the store. We have people coming from quite a distance to have his designs. We keep winning all those awards, Best Place to Buy a Diamond.

John-Michael, his younger brother, said he wanted to work in the store, and he came into the business and he learned. He is a tremendous designer and a stellar goldsmith. And then the other children, my two daughters have worked in the business now and then, they worked summers. They've gotten to know what we do and it's been a great family business.

Jason
When customers come to your store, what's the feeling you're trying to create?

Ron
We're in a historic area of Annapolis. We're on Main Street, which is two long blocks. You walk in any store and you'll meet the owner. It's like going back in time to colonial times, except without the horses and the smells. It’s just a great town, and that in and of itself ties in perfectly with what we are about. We become part of people's families. I don't mean that in a corny way. You just do. I had a couple coming yesterday to show me their newborn baby. They bought the engagement ring from us. We designed it. Often, they're having us design and make that piece. Sometimes we like using parts that are very intimate to the person who's getting the gift. These are pieces that have special meaning to people, and I love being a part of that.

I had a woman come in last week, and she was in tears. She had a filigree ring that was her grandmother's and it was crushed and part of it was missing. We're going to make it for her. We’ll do hand cutting and remake it for her. We're just going to make it look like it did when it was new. It's just so powerful. It's very special to us.

Jason
You don't have to list all the charities and associations, but tell us a few that your family business gives back to.

Ron
I'm a director for Chesterton Academy. It's a great program. I was involved in the legislature for years, a certain education subcommittee. I've always been involved. Years ago when I was in New York, I ended up leaving all the acting and went to work at Covenant House helping kids out on the street, getting young women out of drugs and prostitution. I’ve always been involved in activities to give back and help the community.

Jason
Here's your chance to say whatever you like to Meet the Jewelers. We want to hear from you.

Ron
Go to someone you can trust. You need to know what to look for, not just in diamonds, but in all the gemstones. Look for an owner who's also set up the bench. He knows everything about his business. And that's important.