50 Jewelers/50 States: Tennessee

for 73 years, you develop a lot of long-term, generational relationships.

It’s kind of an even gender breakdown. Today we have a lot of ladies, because of the designers my wife has put in, who come in and self-shop. It’s really nice and we build wish lists for those husbands who need help in their purchasing.

NJ: What’s the most popular style of engagement ring with your clientele now?

BM: A popular style would be white gold or platinum metals and cushion-cut diamonds, which are very popular with us, as well as ovals, which have come on very strong recently, and, of course, with a halo and diamonds running down the shank of the ring.

NJ: Which social media accounts are important to your business?

BM: We’re very active on Facebook.  

NJ: Do you have e-commerce?

BM: We do not. It’s not for us right now.

NJ: What’s the best piece of advice you’d offer to a fellow independent jeweler?

BM: You know, just give great service. We just received the award of best jewelry store in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the 10th year in the row. There are only, I think, 12 companies in the city that have achieved that for all various, different kinds of business, but we got best jewelry store 10 years in a row and I think it’s because of our service.

We’re not going to let anyone else do something for one of our customers that we can do. Even if we lose money to make sure we stand behind what we sold that customer, we’re going to do it because we’re going to take great care of them.

NJ: What’s a fun fact about you we can share with our readers?

BM: I enjoy what I do. I truly do. It’s really a labor of love for me because I love the people. I’ve been here 47 years. The customers who come into our store are like family for me. I sell engagement rings to young ladies who I held when they were babies; sometimes, I even held their mothers when they were babies.

I love to travel and my wife loves to travel, so we’re trying to do some more of that. For many years I took very little time off and now I’m trying to take some time off so she and I can enjoy traveling together.