He’s continuing a family tradition.
Jacob Ripa closed his Hazleton, PA, jewelry store and moved away 14 years ago.
Now, he’s back.
The former city councilman, who has worked in New York, is opening a new store in town, continuing his family’s longstanding tradition in the business, the Standard-Speaker reports. The original Ripa Jewelers was started in 1949 by Ripa’s father, named Jacob, and uncle Al.
The new business was set to open this week.
During his time away, Ripa held various roles in the jewelry industry. He’s currently a partner in a diamond company.
In 2016 he developed a fine jewelry section for a department store in New York.
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“I thought, if I’m building somebody else’s …,” he said, according to the Standard-Speaker.
This store will be smaller than his old one, and he’ll sell diamonds mainly by appointments.
Read more at the Standard-Speaker
Honoring a Legacy: How Smith & Son Jewelers Exceeded Every Goal With Wilkerson
When Andrew Smith decided to close the Springfield, Massachusetts location of Smith & Son Jewelers, the decision came down to family. His father was retiring after 72 years in the business, and Andrew wanted to spend more time with his children and soon-to-arrive grandchildren.
For this fourth-generation jeweler whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918, closing the 107-year-old Springfield location required the right partner. Smith chose Wilkerson, and the experience exceeded expectations from start to finish.
"Everything they told me was 100% true," Smith says. "The ease and use of all their tools was wonderful."
The consultants' knowledge and expertise proved invaluable. Smith and his father set their own financial goal, but Wilkerson proposed three more ambitious targets. "We thought we would never make it," Smith explains. "We were dead wrong. We hit our first goal, second goal and third goal. It was amazing."
Smith's recommendation is emphatic: "I would never be able to do what they did by myself."
