I walk by Real Jewelers twice daily on my way to the Metro, and the tantalizing trays of loose stones always catch my eye. I missed my train one day and went in to ask about their ability to locate stones to make earrings to match one of my rings. By the end of my conversation with Mory, I knew he has been in business for 30 years, how many children he has and their levels of education, that he personally handles delivery of extremely high-end pieces by hand, and he is quietly passionate about what he does. We ended up discussing not just the initial project I intended, but several projects I've been putting off because I couldn't find a decent jeweler I could trust.
A week after our initial meeting, I stopped in, figuring "What the heck! Let's dive right in!" The first project I left with Mory was a watch, crafted 80 years ago by my Great Great Uncle at HIS jewelry store in Coronado (San Diego). This watch was handed down from my Great Great Aunt, to my Grandmother, to my Mother, to me, and will ultimately go to my daughter. Several years ago, a local, reputable, family jeweler "repaired" it. They "claimed" to have cleaned the watch, bungled the replacement of a lost sapphire, and advised me there was nothing to be done about the badly chipped crystal, which could not be replaced due to its unique curvature. I have since never worn the watch, due to the fact I've been afraid I'd further damage it, plus the entire watch assembly had simply...fallen out.
Mory handled the piece with respect and skill. He quoted a price for cleaning and discussed options for repairing the crystal. He then placed the watch on a scale (conveniently placed, in view, at the counter) in order to weigh its gold content. This was significant, and we discussed the watch's value based on gold content alone. Mory then smiled, shook his head, and told me he was unable to live with the horrible sapphire replacement (I was hoping he'd say that!). Out came two trays of sapphires! Alas, no instant match was found, but with promises he would find one, I left my family-built and treasured, one of a kind, heirloom, irreplaceable watch with, for all intents and purposes, a complete stranger.
Two and a half weeks passed (I wasn't even thinking about it yet), and he called to say the watch was ready. HOLY COW! I could easily see it had never been cleaned (as he had pointed out). He had taken apart & cleaned the entire works and said it was very well crafted. He got technical, saying something about completely sealing it under pressure (i.e. in a vacuum) but still warned me not to swim with it on...as if! He refused to tell me how long he and a colleague spent looking for a suitable sapphire. And...he found a replacement crystal. He returned the old one to me and showed me the packaging from the replacement, which was original to the era. Someone, somewhere, has collected these things, and Mory knew to look for it. They hand polished the gold, protecting its original crafted texture. He provided an appraisal for insurance purposes and did not charge me a single cent over the quoted price. I am understandably ecstatic.
Why did I tell you all of that? I could merely have stated: Mory is a PASSIONATE JEWELER who DEEPLY CARES about what he does, and he happens to have gained my COMPLETE TRUST. But wouldn't all positive reviews say that? I wanted to tell the story behind that claim.
In the year 2020, I took a chance and left an irreplaceable family heirloom from 1940 with Mory at Real Jewelers. It did not occur to me, until after the job was complete, that it is quite possible he cared about that watch more than I did. He certainly understood it better and worked to educate me about it. He was passionate about and put great effort into its repair and is understandably proud of the final outcome. I brought him scraps in a box; he returned to me a valuable treasure I can actually wear and, eventually, share with my daughter.
Epilogue: I drove up the very next day with another project. He advised restraint and kept me from overdoing something. He has yet to try to sell me anything! I've been sitting on projects, because I haven't found a jeweler I could trust. This is no longer a problem. I will happily travel the 54 miles to work with Mory. I look forward to benefitting from his advice and guidance, as he combines my bits and pieces of inherited family treasure, creating usable pieces that still honor the past.
Mory said to me, "Gold, diamonds, treasures...they have 'value' when kept in a safe. But when you wear them, they have real value. When you care enough to wear a piece with sentimental value, why wouldn't you have it look exactly the way you want?"
I didn't make that up. He really said that. This jeweler is a gem. read more