Jewelry

New generation in store at Jewelry to Go: Al and Mary Alvarado to retire after 30 years - Ridgecrest Daily Independent

After 30 years, Al and Mary Alvarado are moving on. The long-time Ridgecrest business owners will be retiring from running Jewelry to Go, but the shop is not closing. Daughter Angela Alvarado and staff will remain.

It will be the latest chapter in a long story for the Alvarados.

The pair met long ago in Bishop. “We have always worked together from the day I met her,” Al said.

“I was his secretary,” Mary said with a laugh.

He owned an office business machine shop back then. They married 40 years ago and relocated to Ridgecrest in 1978. Except for a brief stint working in a bank, Mary has worked with him ever since.

The pair moved from to Ridgecrest from Bishop because they had an office machine contract on the base.

Funds were short, and when a daughter wanted to go to college they started a jewelry business.
“We had like $1,000 to our name,” Mary said. “I started the jewelry business with 12 crosses and 12 chains and a little box.”

The business initially held home jewelry parties, with the hostess getting some sort of compensation. “That’s why it was called Jewelry to Go,” Mary explained.

At first they ran both businesses simultaneously, essentially living off the office supply business.

“So after a year we accumulated a lot of inventory,” Al said. “And we thought we can’t be doing this since this is getting a little risky going to people’s homes we don’t even know, taking all this jewelry.”

The business has always been located in the same place, at 115 E. California Ave. The jewelry component initially took up a corner of the of space.

As time went by, the jewelry business grew. “I took over half the store and he still had office machines in the other half,” Mary said. “We would say [to customers], “are you here for business or pleasure?’” she recalled with a laugh.

Eventually Al sold the office machine business. “He said ‘you’re having more fun than I am,’” Mary recalled.

Since Al was good with his hands the next step was a no-brainer. “We figured if he could fix machines he could fix jewelry too.” she said. He attended GIA repair school to learn to repair jewelry.

A purchase of a laser machine expanded their options. “That made it possible to fix fine gold jewelry, diamond jewelry as well as costume jewelry, heirlooms, eyeglasses and lots of other things,” she said. “It just continued and continued.” The pair went on to travel the globe looking for jewels and have even toured diamond mines.

Angela joined the team 11 years ago and has been in the business ever since. Her significant other Ryan is also trained in jewelry repair. “He will take over where Al leaves off and Angela is going to take over where I leave off and we are going to continue with all the rest of the staff,” Mary said.

Angela is also an artist whose paintings decorate the store. “She is very talented,” Mary said. “She can create things in jewelry just like she can on canvas.”

The two said the store has been the location of many happy and interesting scenes. Mary reminisced humorously about coaching many a nervous gentleman in the finer points of jewelry selection. “I give them Diamonds 101 when the guy is all scared and interested,” she said.

Overall, she said, “we have been able to share in people’s lives in tremendous ways, especially the engagements.”

She remembered one man who had an interesting proposal idea. “He bought a one karat pear shaped diamond solitaire and he was going to put in on the end of his fishing line and throw it out and roll it in.

“I said, ‘please insure it before you do it.’”

The man took her advice.

“He insured it and he did it and it was OK,” she said.

In another touching story, “one time an 80 year old man bought a one karat diamond just because he could. He wanted to pass it on to his daughter,” she said.

This will be Al’s second try at retirement. “He was going to retire two years ago, and then I got cancer. We tried to retire him but we needed him,” she said.

“So then after that, he said I won’t retire unless you retire.”

Al finished the story. “And I said ‘OK, we will retire together.’”

The Alvarados will continue to run the store through Christmas Eve. It will then be closed for inventory  through Jan. 2. When it re-opens, Angela will be at the helm.

“It has been 30 years,” she said. “We have been so thankful for the community and how great its been. We love people, we love to make them happy, make their dreams come true. It’s a passion with us.”

As for retirement plans, the Alvarados plan to stay close to home and spend more time with their five  kids, 14 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren―most of whom live in town.

“We love Ridgecrest,” Mary said. “We’re not going anywhere. We will just continue to travel when we can and celebrate life.”