WHAT ON EARTH IS
VALLEY JEWELERS?
![[Jim's Photo]](jimshop.jpg)
![[Store Photo]](ourstore.jpg)
![[Teresa's Photo]](teshop.jpg)
First, please allow me to introduce myself--my name is Jim Hurd, a Graduate Gemologist since 1986, who has been in the gemstone and jewelry business, originally as a hobby, since 1980.
In 1985, I gave up my previous fifteen-year career as an engineer, and opened The Gem Shop, since renamed Valley Jewelers, on the premise that, given a choice, most people would go a little out of their way to patronize a store which has the same quality merchandise at a lower price and/or a better value for the same price (not to mention the unique custom-made items available only at Valley Jewelers).
In 1987, I met, then married a wonderful Brazilian lady (now a U.S. citizen) who was working at a gem show in Tucson, Arizona. Since that time, Teresa, who joined me in operating the store, has become an accomplished stonesetter and jewelry designer.
"Word of mouth" has been our most successful mode of advertisement until now, and brings in about 90% of our new customers. Mix that with our walk-in traffic, and you have a successful, struggling small business. We need to let more people know that Valley Jewelers has better values, and the internet appears to be the modern way to do it.
One question very frequently asked of us is:
"HOW CAN YOU SELL QUALITY JEWELRY AT LOWER PRICES THAN THE LARGE CHAIN STORES, WITH THEIR VOLUME BUYING POWER?"
The answer has almost as many facets as a diamond, the most important of which are:
1. If we do not manufacture the gold mounting ourselves, we purchase the blank (empty) mounting directly from the factories at distributor prices--eliminating the middlemen.
2. Over the years, we have purchased thousands of rough gemstones from miners or their agents. We send them to well trained gem cutters in Sri-Lanka and Thailand, then reimport the cut stones--this eliminates several middlemen.
3. We personally fabricate, or complete the fabrication of, more than 90% of the finished items offered for sale by Valley Jewelers on our internet catalog, and about 60% of the items in our store.
4. We do not try to compete where we cannot be competitive. For example the discount "clubs" (among others) purchase in such a large volume that they can sell items with a markup so low that it is not profitable for us to stock them. Wherever we are able, however, we will special order and sell these items to you at or below the discount prices. Our edge is service. For example: need it sized?...The initial sizing is free. We also offer free cleaning and polishing for any gold item we sell--for as long as we are in business.
5. In order to minimize overhead, and thereby keep prices within reason, we personally operate the store and do most repairs in-house.
6. Finally, and perhaps the primary reason that we are able to sell quality gold jewelry at lower prices, Valley Jewelers was opened, not as an investment to become rich, but as a means to earn a living while engaged in work that we truly enjoy. We seem to be succeeding in doing that, and, with the many customers who have also become our friends, who can say that we aren't also richly rewarded?
If you have read this far, thanks for your interest...
Jim & Teresa
Return toValley Jewelers' Home Page
email: jhurd@valleyjewelers.com
We have an eBay store (mainly items other than jewelry, but sometimes estate jewelry pieces), that Jim maintains as a hobby, where you can find lower priced items (lingerie, kitchen items, books of all kinds, vintage cameras & lenses, collectibles, etc.) that we find at estate sales and auctions. Most of these items are new, or used in near new condition (all lingerie is new), unless the item is rare--If you'd like to check it out,
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR OUR EBAY STORE
CLICK HERE FOR OUR BUSINESS HOURS
CLICK HERE FOR OUR LOCATION MAP
VALLEY JEWELERS
516 CENTER AVENUE
MARTINEZ, CA 94553
Phone/Fax: 925-313-9335
"HOW CAN YOU SELL QUALITY JEWELRY AT LOWER PRICES THAN THE LARGE CHAIN STORES, WITH THEIR VOLUME BUYING POWER?"
The answer has almost as many facets as a diamond, the most important of which are:
1. If we do not manufacture the gold mounting ourselves, we purchase the blank (empty) mounting directly from the factories at distributor prices--eliminating the middlemen.
2. Over the years, we have purchased thousands of rough gemstones from miners or their agents. We send them to well trained gem cutters in Sri-Lanka and Thailand, then reimport the cut stones--this eliminates several middlemen.
3. We personally fabricate, or complete the fabrication of, more than 90% of the finished items offered for sale by Valley Jewelers on our internet catalog, and about 60% of the items in our store.
4. We do not try to compete where we cannot be competitive. For example the discount "clubs" (among others) purchase in such a large volume that they can sell items with a markup so low that it is not profitable for us to stock them. Wherever we are able, however, we will special order and sell these items to you at or below the discount prices. Our edge is service. For example: need it sized?...The initial sizing is free. We also offer free cleaning and polishing for any gold item we sell--for as long as we are in business.
5. In order to minimize overhead, and thereby keep prices within reason, we personally operate the store and do most repairs in-house.
6. Finally, and perhaps the primary reason that we are able to sell quality gold jewelry at lower prices, Valley Jewelers was opened, not as an investment to become rich, but as a means to earn a living while engaged in work that we truly enjoy. We seem to be succeeding in doing that, and, with the many customers who have also become our friends, who can say that we aren't also richly rewarded?
If you have read this far, thanks for your interest...
Jim & Teresa
Return toValley Jewelers' Home Page
CLICK HERE FOR OUR LOCATION MAP
VALLEY JEWELERS Phone/Fax: 925-313-9335
516 CENTER AVENUE
MARTINEZ, CA 94553