Cedar Park Jewelry - Cedar Park
Cedar Park Jewelry - Cedar Park
Written by Robert Bell Friday, 21 November 2008
The store handles repair work on timepieces ranging from wristwatches to clock towers.
Though the atmosphere at Cedar Park Jewelry is laid-back, the customer service and attention to detail are anything but. The store’s exotic fish drift about lazily in their tank near the door, but owner George Poe darts around his waters answering the phone and helping customers with everything from complicated custom orders to simple adjustments and everything in between.
Poe began designing jewelry in 1980, started Fairmont Jewelry in Pasadena, Texas, in 1990 and opened his store in Cedar Park three years ago. He has five employees, including two jewelers and a watch repair expert. That roster allows for very fast turnaround on repairs and custom pieces, Poe said. He and his crew will work on just about any brand of watch and can usually have it back on a customer’s wrist in a day or two. All watch repairs are done in house.
“We don’t have to send stuff off at all,” he said.
Cedar Park Jewelry has handled repair work on timepieces ranging from tiny wristwatches to giant clock towers. Poe enjoys the alchemical aspects of his occupation — or “turning old gold into new gold,” he said. Much of his workday is spent buying precious stones and minerals from customers. Out of every 10 customers who walk through the door, six are there either to sell or inquire about selling gold.
Most of the metals Poe buys are destined for the smelter to be melted down and reborn as new pieces of jewelry. In October, the price of gold reached $925.05 an ounce on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That is down slightly from a brief March peak of more than $1,000 an ounce. This is the main reason why so many people are selling Poe their old jewelry. Five years ago, gold was selling for just less than $400 an ounce.
Though the price of gold is slightly lower than it was a few months ago, “it’s still a great time for people to cash in and eliminate some debt or do whatever they need to do,” said Bryan Aaron, a sales associate at Cedar Park Jewelry.
Poe does not carry many of the big-name jewelry brands because he can sell essentially the same pieces for hundreds or even thousands of dollars less, he said.
Many of his orders are for detailed custom creations.
Regarding the ongoing economic downturn, Poe said he has noticed some slowdown in business. But, he added, there will always be birthdays, weddings and anniversaries.
Cedar Park Jewelry, 601 E. Whitestone Blvd., Ste. 112, 259-9430, www.cedarparkjewelry.com
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