McGuire’s Jewelers

Dec 27

In their own words

“We’ve been in Tucson since 1947. We are third-generation with our two daughters working for us. We really love it. We have a family atmosphere here at the store. We have three employees who have been with us for over thirty years, and most of our staff are either family members or close friends.”

-Cyndy McGuire

Jason’s Interview with Cyndy

Jason

We're back on Meet the Jewelers and today we're talking to Cyndy McGuire from McGuire Jewelers in Tucson, Arizona. Tell us about your rich history.

Cyndy

We started in 1947, so we're almost eighty years. We've been in Tucson. We're the largest jewelry store here, family-owned.

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Jason
When did you know you were going to enter the family business?

Cyndy
I came in 1992. The first generation had already retired and it was my husband at the time doing the business. I came in to help. Over the years, we now have our third generation with our two daughters working for us. We all work together. We have a real family atmosphere here. We have three employees who have been with us for over thirty years and most of our staff is well known.

Jason
Did you convince your daughters to join?

Cyndy
One of my daughters is a gemologist. She went to school in California and became a gemologist in Carlsbad. She's just extremely knowledgeable. She enjoys every second of it. They both never thought about doing anything else. They grew up in the store.

Jason
What do you think led to your success?

Cyndy
The first business started in 1947, as a very small clock repair shop. Then it branched into a jeweler supply house when we were located downtown in Tucson. We supplied all the local jewelers. In the early to late 1980s, the advent of FedEx killed that business for us. We had to do something—we just realized, we're going to just turn ourselves into a retail jeweler. That is when I came on board. We still have a lot of jewelers that come in and buy parts, we have a huge inventory of loose stones. We do a lot of trade work.

Jason
How big is your trade group?

Cyndy
We have about four or five jewelers and watchmakers in our shop.

Jason
Do you manufacture everything on the premise?

Cyndy
Anything custom, we'll do it here. Most of our jewelry is already manufactured. We carry a lot of different jewelry lines, a lot of watch lines. We do a huge amount of custom work as well.

Jason
Why do you think people trust you?

Cyndy
We've been here so long and we're very knowledgeable. We aren't going to steer our customers wrong. We're extremely fair. We are not high pressure. Nobody here's on commission, so they love what they do. We have a very low rate of return. That just all kind of contributes to them feeling comfortable shopping here.

Jason
When it comes to proposals, tell me what has been one of the funnest?

Cyndy
We were doing a little advertising in the Cheesecake Factory menu. We had a gentleman who had his entire family come, like twenty family members, and they were all going to go to lunch there. The fiancé was flipping through the menu and on one entire side of the menu was our big giant ad. She waved it around and said, "This is what I want." Everybody at the table tried to not laugh because they already knew that he had bought the ring from us and he was going to be proposing right then, at the Cheesecake Factory.

Jason
Talk to us about some of the great brands you have.

Cyndy
We have a lot of engagement lines. We carry Verragio, Ritani, Beverly K, Scott Kay. The watches we carry: Tissot, Michele. We have a lot of different lines. Esq, Mavado, etc.

Jason
Are there any cool, new brands or trends in the jewelry industry that you're proud of?

Cyndy
One of the trends right now is pink gold. We are getting a lot more requests for engagement rings done in two-tone using some of the pink gold. A lot of the younger generation are getting away from diamond, doing different things with colored stones. Oddly enough, the younger generation, one of their favorite places to come in and look at is the estate case. They want something from the turn of the century, something Victorian and old.

Jason
Tell me, out of all the other great jewelers, what do you think sets you apart?

Cyndy
I think because we are family. The actual owners of the business are here. We're accessible. They can always reach us. Some days, it's kind of like a party, it's not like we're going to work.

Jason
How do customers hear about you now?

Cyndy
Honestly, word of mouth. We do very little advertising. We do commercial. We do run some sales.

Jason
Tell us what's the best way to get a hold of you?

Cyndy
I think just to come on in. We're always here, so that's the best way. They'll always get the same help from anybody.

Jason
Are you very technologically advanced there?

Cyndy
Not so much. We have our website. We don't really sell online. We are fully computerized, but we're really kind of brick-and-mortar jewelers.

Jason
Here's a chance to get to talk to Meet the Jewelers. What do you want them to know?

Cyndy
Just to come in. Once they walk through our door, they'll be our customer for life. They won't want to go anywhere else. Coming in the door, meeting us, and working with us is their first step.