Monday, May 4, 2015

A Jeweler's Reflections


I guess the picture of the green rock above is reason I ended up as a jeweler.  What is this green rock?  It's an emerald and I grew up in the small emerald mining town of Hiddenite, NC.  As a matter of fact, my great, great grandfather's farm is the location of the original Hiddenite emerald find and original mine.

Obviously, I grew up around emerald mining and some of my best childhood memories are from hunting rocks in our families garden where we'd often find gemstones of many varieties.  Yes, I had quite the rock collection as a child and I still do.

So what does all this have to do with The Gold Mine?  Rock hounding as a kid sparked my interest enough to not only become a collector but I also learned how to cut gemstones known as "Lapidary Work".  From there I learned the goldsmithing trade as well as watch repair.

Over the course of several years, I came to work for other jewelers including a very large jewelry chain in NC.  After thinking..."Gee, I could do this better"...my wife and I decided to open our very own jewelry store in 1993 in downtown Hudson.  Thus...the Gold Mine was born and here in 2015 is still going very strong thanks to the good Lord and our wonderful friends & clients.

So...should your son or daughter pick up the rock collecting hobby, don't discourage them!  You never know when you might have the next successful jeweler or jewelry chain originating within your own family!

Take care,

Bill Warren, Owner/Gemologist
The Gold Mine
www.hudsongoldmine.com 
828-726-1009

No comments: