On the Job

>>In 1984 Patricia and Brad Mathews embarked into the jewelry business together, selling wholesale and doing jewelry repair for various Naples jewelers. They opened their first retail store, B. Franklin Jewelers of Bonita, in 1991. Now the couple, their two employees and another independent jeweler share the 1,800-square-foot space. We asked Brad Mathews what it's like to work in the jewelry industry in Southwest Florida.

How was the transition to retail? More hours, less money. We've always been service-oriented, so that part of our business was a natural [transition] into retail, but [before] we didn't have to maintain any significant inventory. Now we have to stay on top of it to keep it fresh. You can't have old pieces sitting around.

So how do you set yourself apart? Our focus for many years was custom jewelry. We buy hanks-unstrung pearls-and string them. We do that for other local stores, too. Also, not all the jewelers in the area have lasers, and that allows us to be a little unique. Lasers eliminate the use of torches to fuse gold and allow you to work on heat-sensitive items without removing enamel. I was the first in Bonita to have a laser. It's given me a leg up on the local industry because I know how to use it.

What are you stocking up on for Valentine's Day? In recent years Valentine's Day has turned out to be a good day. But it's usually not real extravagant. Earrings are usually the best sellers, then heart pendants. This year I expect the journey pendants to be the big sellers; it's a graduated diamond pendant that goes from a small diamond to a large diamond. It's got nice sentiment. As time goes on, the diamonds get bigger.