Timothy Russell II started Diamond in the Rough Jewelry & Watch Repair in March. - The Exponent Telegram (press release) (registration)
Timothy Russell II started Diamond in the Rough Jewelry & Watch Repair in March. - The Exponent Telegram (press release) (registration)
CLARKSBURG — Timothy Russell II opened his first business, Diamond in the Rough Jewelry & Watch Repair, last March, and by doing so joined other entrepreneurs who are slowly bringing business back to downtown Clarksburg.
“I’m a first-time business owner,” Russell said. “I was doing watch and jewelry repairs out of my house, and I’ve worked for other jewelry stores, but this is my first business.”
Russell works at the business side-by-side with his fiancée, Demi Thaler, whom he calls “the backbone of his company.
“Timothy’s got the niche,” said long-time customer Jeannie McConlogue, who’s lived in Clarksburg all her life. “He’s the only one in town to go to for watch and jewelry repair. Before he came here, I was on the verge of having to go to Weston for simple things like getting my watch batteries changed. We were in dire need of a watch and jewelry repair store.
“We used to have three jewelry stores on Main Street within a block of each other,” McConlogue said. “That was back in the day.”
Russell, who is from Clarksburg, earned three degrees from the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, California.
“I earned Graduate Diamond, Graduate Jeweler and Accredited Jewelry Professional degrees,” Russell said. “That school is the best of its kind in the world. They created the diamond graded system: Cut, clarity, color and carat weight.”
Russell returned to Clarksburg in 2009 and started repairing watches and jewelry from his home by word-of -mouth advertising, he said. He moved out of state to work in Erie, Pennsylvania, and then returned to West Virginia.
“I knew if I wanted to do what I enjoyed, no one in this area would hire me and pay what the job is worth,” he said. “I stayed here in Clarksburg because I wanted to be close to my family.”
Russell said his father inspired him to start his own business.
“My father owns his own business,” he said. “He has a prescription pest control company. He taught me honesty and how to treat people well. The most important thing in a small town is word-of-mouth.”
Russell said his business has been doing well, even though he’s been open for less than a year.
“I’ve referred about 10 people to Timothy, and they’ve been more than satisfied,” McConlogue said. “I prefer to come downtown and shop at boutiques like this one because of the ambience and personal touch. Any time you walk in here, Timothy and Demi are warm and welcoming, whether it’s your first time in here or a return customer. I would like to see more specialty shops in downtown Clarksburg.
“There were a lot of specialty shops in downtown Clarksburg in the 1960s and 1970s; that was the place to go,” she said. “Now we’ve become a one-stop shop, like Walmart.
“People who own their own small businesses are better because they have a personal investment,” McConlogue said. “It’s a different kind of service than you would get at a large box store.”
