Leaving a Legacy, Not a Burden
This week’s episode of A Century of Luxury & Legacy was a little different for me.
I had the honor of traveling to Lafayette, Louisiana, with my daughter Emma, and while we were there, I had the chance to sit down with Matt Stuller. Instead of me doing all the talking and asking the questions, I asked Matt if he would interview me.
He graciously agreed.
And I’m glad he did, because some of his questions took me places I probably would not have gone on my own.
A Hundred Years of Family in the Jewelry Business
This year, our family is celebrating 100 years in the jewelry industry.
My grandfather started in 1926 in Detroit, working in a trade shop. My dad and uncle eventually took over in the 1960s, and I apprenticed in the 1970s.
That makes me a third-generation bench jeweler.
But I was also the first generation in our family to really move into the retail side of the business.
Today, my son Joseph represents the fourth generation.
When I look back over those generations, one thing I find interesting is that nearly every generation, at one point or another, tried to leave the jewelry business.
My dad and uncle both left and pursued other opportunities before coming back.
I did the same thing.
The fact that our family business has made it to 100 years was never guaranteed. There were many points along the way when it could have stopped.
That makes me even more grateful that the torch is still being carried.
I Was Told to Go Get a “Real Job”
My dad actually discouraged me from getting into the family business.
He wanted me to go to college and get what he called a “real job.”
College was never really my thing, so growing up in Detroit, I went to work in the factories. There were plenty of good-paying jobs in the auto industry, and that seemed like the direction I was headed.
Then I developed a hernia.
Back then, the surgery meant spending a couple of nights in the hospital, and afterward I was told I could not go back to lifting heavy things.
But I could lift a piece of jewelry.
So I went back to the jewelry business as a temporary solution.
That temporary solution became permanent.
Funny how life works sometimes.
Falling in Love With the Customer Side
The more I learned about jewelry, the more I enjoyed it.
At the same time, working in the family trade shop could be difficult. My dad and uncle did not always have a healthy partnership, and my brother Dave and I had ideas about how the business could grow.
Another one of my brothers, Danny, was working at a retail jewelry store in a mall in Dearborn, Michigan.
Because I was something of a workaholic, I would finish at my dad’s shop when it closed at 5:00 and then drive to the mall to work with Danny until 9:00.
That was where I began to experience the retail side of jewelry.
I started meeting customers.
I started building relationships.
I started doing side jobs and creating jewelry directly for people.
And I discovered something I loved.
It wasn’t just making jewelry.
It was being part of someone’s story.
Cold Metal and Hard Rocks
I’ve said for years that, at the end of the day, all we really sell is cold metal and hard rocks.
But that’s not what people are really buying.
They’re buying a celebration.
A memory.
A commitment.
A milestone.
Sometimes a piece of jewelry represents the beginning of a life together. Sometimes it commemorates decades of marriage. Sometimes it becomes a piece that is passed down long after someone is gone.
That is what makes this business so meaningful to me.
Jewelry becomes attached to stories.
And over the years, I’ve been blessed to be part of a lot of those stories.
A Ring Inspired by a Stained-Glass Window
One of the stories Matt asked me about involved a gentleman who wanted a very special engagement ring made.
There was a stained-glass window in a chapel at Notre Dame that had meaning to him, and he wanted that design incorporated into the ring.
We worked through the entire process with him.
We took photos and videos along the way.
Eventually, after the ring had been cast, we invited him in to see it.
My store manager asked if he wanted to see how it looked on her finger.
He immediately said no.
He wanted his fiancée to be the first and only woman to ever wear that ring.
That stuck with me.
Later, he proposed to her at the base of Victoria Falls.
Years afterward, Emma and I had the opportunity to visit Victoria Falls ourselves, and I remember thinking about that couple and that ring.
Those are the moments that make this industry special.
Some Fun Jewelry Questions
Matt also threw a few quicker questions at me.
What is my favorite metal?
For years I would have called myself a platinum snob.
I love working with platinum, especially for setting stones, although I can’t say polishing it is my favorite task.
I also love 18-karat royal gold because of its rich color.
My favorite gemstone?
Blue zircon.
The life in that stone is incredible. The depth of blue and the way it jumps out at you is hard to beat.
And one of the highlights of my career was being chosen to create a special ring for owners connected with Chick-fil-A.
We helped bring their vision to life, and the finished piece eventually became an award-winning design.
Those are experiences I never take for granted.
The Question That Meant the Most
Toward the end of our conversation, Matt asked me what I hoped for the next generation.
That question goes much deeper for me today than it would have years ago.
When I had my tractor accident about 12 years ago, I came very close to losing my life.
And afterward, I had to face something uncomfortable.
If I had died that day, I would not have left Joseph a legacy.
I would have left him a thorn in his side.
The business was heavily in debt.
We did not have strong systems.
We did not have the processes in place that would allow someone else to step in and carry things forward smoothly.
That realization changed the way I looked at the business.
I began to ask myself what I truly wanted to leave behind.
From Burden to Legacy
Coming out of that season, I made it a goal to get out of debt.
I wanted to begin saving money.
I wanted to put systems and processes in place.
I wanted to build something that could continue without everything depending on me.
And most importantly, I started praying about it.
I asked the Lord to help me become a better steward of what had been entrusted to me.
Over the past 12 years, that has transformed the way I think about business.
Legacy is not simply keeping a company alive.
Legacy is preparing something well enough that the next person can carry it without being crushed by it.
What I Hope for Joseph
My hope for Joseph is simple.
I want him to be a good steward of whatever is entrusted to him.
If one day there is a fifth generation who wants to continue the family business, that would be wonderful.
If there isn’t, that’s okay too.
I don’t believe a legacy is successful only if a family business lasts forever.
I hope this business provides Joseph with a good living.
I hope it helps him take care of his family.
I hope it gives him opportunities.
And I hope that when the torch is passed, he receives something that is healthy enough, strong enough, and organized enough that he can decide what the future should look like.
That is a far different goal than simply saying, “Keep the family business going.”
Carrying the Torch
One hundred years sounds like a long time.
But when I look back, I realize how fragile that 100 years really was.
There were so many opportunities for it to end.
So many decisions could have gone differently.
So many people could have chosen another path.
That’s why I don’t look at this anniversary with pride as much as I look at it with gratitude.
I’m grateful for my grandfather.
I’m grateful for my dad and uncle.
I’m grateful for the lessons, even the difficult ones.
I’m grateful that Joseph is here to carry the torch today.
And I’m grateful for the opportunity I still have to prepare that torch before I hand it to him.
Because in the end, I don’t just want to leave behind a business.
I want to leave behind something worth stewarding.
Something that blesses the next generation instead of burdening them.
That, to me, is what legacy is really about.
This week’s episode of A Century of Luxury & Legacy was a little different for me.
I had the honor of traveling to Lafayette, Louisiana, with my daughter Emma, and while we were there, I had the chance to sit down with Matt Stuller. Instead of me doing all the talking and asking the questions, I asked Matt if he would interview me.
He graciously agreed.
And I’m glad he did, because some of his questions took me places I probably would not have gone on my own.
A Hundred Years of Family in the Jewelry Business
This year, our family is celebrating 100 years in the jewelry industry.
My grandfather started in 1926 in Detroit, working in a trade shop. My dad and uncle eventually took over in the 1960s, and I apprenticed in the 1970s.
That makes me a third-generation bench jeweler.
But I was also the first generation in our family to really move into the retail side of the business.
Today, my son Joseph represents the fourth generation.
When I look back over those generations, one thing I find interesting is that nearly every generation, at one point or another, tried to leave the jewelry business.
My dad and uncle both left and pursued other opportunities before coming back.
I did the same thing.
The fact that our family business has made it to 100 years was never guaranteed. There were many points along the way when it could have stopped.
That makes me even more grateful that the torch is still being carried.
I Was Told to Go Get a “Real Job”
My dad actually discouraged me from getting into the family business.
He wanted me to go to college and get what he called a “real job.”
College was never really my thing, so growing up in Detroit, I went to work in the factories. There were plenty of good-paying jobs in the auto industry, and that seemed like the direction I was headed.
Then I developed a hernia.
Back then, the surgery meant spending a couple of nights in the hospital, and afterward I was told I could not go back to lifting heavy things.
But I could lift a piece of jewelry.
So I went back to the jewelry business as a temporary solution.
That temporary solution became permanent.
Funny how life works sometimes.
Falling in Love With the Customer Side
The more I learned about jewelry, the more I enjoyed it.
At the same time, working in the family trade shop could be difficult. My dad and uncle did not always have a healthy partnership, and my brother Dave and I had ideas about how the business could grow.
Another one of my brothers, Danny, was working at a retail jewelry store in a mall in Dearborn, Michigan.
Because I was something of a workaholic, I would finish at my dad’s shop when it closed at 5:00 and then drive to the mall to work with Danny until 9:00.
That was where I began to experience the retail side of jewelry.
I started meeting customers.
I started building relationships.
I started doing side jobs and creating jewelry directly for people.
And I discovered something I loved.
It wasn’t just making jewelry.
It was being part of someone’s story.
Cold Metal and Hard Rocks
I’ve said for years that, at the end of the day, all we really sell is cold metal and hard rocks.
But that’s not what people are really buying.
They’re buying a celebration.
A memory.
A commitment.
A milestone.
Sometimes a piece of jewelry represents the beginning of a life together. Sometimes it commemorates decades of marriage. Sometimes it becomes a piece that is passed down long after someone is gone.
That is what makes this business so meaningful to me.
Jewelry becomes attached to stories.
And over the years, I’ve been blessed to be part of a lot of those stories.
A Ring Inspired by a Stained-Glass Window
One of the stories Matt asked me about involved a gentleman who wanted a very special engagement ring made.
There was a stained-glass window in a chapel at Notre Dame that had meaning to him, and he wanted that design incorporated into the ring.
We worked through the entire process with him.
We took photos and videos along the way.
Eventually, after the ring had been cast, we invited him in to see it.
My store manager asked if he wanted to see how it looked on her finger.
He immediately said no.
He wanted his fiancée to be the first and only woman to ever wear that ring.
That stuck with me.
Later, he proposed to her at the base of Victoria Falls.
Years afterward, Emma and I had the opportunity to visit Victoria Falls ourselves, and I remember thinking about that couple and that ring.
Those are the moments that make this industry special.
Some Fun Jewelry Questions
Matt also threw a few quicker questions at me.
What is my favorite metal?
For years I would have called myself a platinum snob.
I love working with platinum, especially for setting stones, although I can’t say polishing it is my favorite task.
I also love 18-karat royal gold because of its rich color.
My favorite gemstone?
Blue zircon.
The life in that stone is incredible. The depth of blue and the way it jumps out at you is hard to beat.
And one of the highlights of my career was being chosen to create a special ring for owners connected with Chick-fil-A.
We helped bring their vision to life, and the finished piece eventually became an award-winning design.
Those are experiences I never take for granted.
The Question That Meant the Most
Toward the end of our conversation, Matt asked me what I hoped for the next generation.
That question goes much deeper for me today than it would have years ago.
When I had my tractor accident about 12 years ago, I came very close to losing my life.
And afterward, I had to face something uncomfortable.
If I had died that day, I would not have left Joseph a legacy.
I would have left him a thorn in his side.
The business was heavily in debt.
We did not have strong systems.
We did not have the processes in place that would allow someone else to step in and carry things forward smoothly.
That realization changed the way I looked at the business.
I began to ask myself what I truly wanted to leave behind.
From Burden to Legacy
Coming out of that season, I made it a goal to get out of debt.
I wanted to begin saving money.
I wanted to put systems and processes in place.
I wanted to build something that could continue without everything depending on me.
And most importantly, I started praying about it.
I asked the Lord to help me become a better steward of what had been entrusted to me.
Over the past 12 years, that has transformed the way I think about business.
Legacy is not simply keeping a company alive.
Legacy is preparing something well enough that the next person can carry it without being crushed by it.
What I Hope for Joseph
My hope for Joseph is simple.
I want him to be a good steward of whatever is entrusted to him.
If one day there is a fifth generation who wants to continue the family business, that would be wonderful.
If there isn’t, that’s okay too.
I don’t believe a legacy is successful only if a family business lasts forever.
I hope this business provides Joseph with a good living.
I hope it helps him take care of his family.
I hope it gives him opportunities.
And I hope that when the torch is passed, he receives something that is healthy enough, strong enough, and organized enough that he can decide what the future should look like.
That is a far different goal than simply saying, “Keep the family business going.”
Carrying the Torch
One hundred years sounds like a long time.
But when I look back, I realize how fragile that 100 years really was.
There were so many opportunities for it to end.
So many decisions could have gone differently.
So many people could have chosen another path.
That’s why I don’t look at this anniversary with pride as much as I look at it with gratitude.
I’m grateful for my grandfather.
I’m grateful for my dad and uncle.
I’m grateful for the lessons, even the difficult ones.
I’m grateful that Joseph is here to carry the torch today.
And I’m grateful for the opportunity I still have to prepare that torch before I hand it to him.
Because in the end, I don’t just want to leave behind a business.
I want to leave behind something worth stewarding.
Something that blesses the next generation instead of burdening them.
That, to me, is what legacy is really about.