Tom Nelson
Nelson Jewelry, Spencer, IA

Tom Nelson is the fourth-generation owner of Nelson Jewelry in Spencer, IA, a family business with roots dating back to 1885. He grew up in the store — sweeping floors for pay in M&Ms, soldering charms in high school, and learning the trade hands-on — before formal training in watchmaking, hand engraving, and business. Officially full time since 1989, Nelson pairs technical expertise with a caring personality he once thought might lead him to be a funeral director. A longtime RJO member, he’s also a self-described “fart in a frying pan,” happiest when he’s busy — whether that’s mentoring staff, cooking ribs on his Traeger, or plotting the next RV trip to a national park.

ONLINE EXTRA: Q&A

How did you get started in the jewelry business?

I started emptying garbage cans at 10 or 12 years old. Every night we swept the floor. The bookkeeper at the store was my mom’s aunt, and she always had a bag of M&Ms in her drawer, which was how I got paid. I soldered dozens of charms onto bracelets in high school. I was leaning toward being a funeral director for a career. My wife has always told me I would have been good at that job. I guess I have a caring personality that fits that mold.

My dad had a partner in the store for a number of years, and their buy-sell agreement was that if one sold, the other one had to buy them out or they both sold. Dad asked me if I was interested in working in the store for a career, and I said yes. I went to watchmaking school in Paris, TX. I heard about Gem City College in Quincy and did the jewelry and hand-engraving courses there. I went on to a small community college and got a business diploma. My last day of college was December 15th, 1989, and I officially became a full-time participant in the store.

What’s your approach to jewelry retail?

This is a very sentimental type of business, whether it’s fixing someone’s old ring or selling them a brand new ring they’re going to get down on one knee with. You have to be keenly aware of that and understand that the people on the other side of the counter have a strong tie to most of the product they’re either having worked on or buying.

What are your hobbies?

I love to hunt and fish. I have a cabin in Canada with five other partners on a remote lake. It’s a fly-in property that we fly in on a float plane. That’s my place to get away, or my “happy place” as my sisters say. I try to get up there a couple of times per summer.

My wife and I have a fifth-wheel trailer so we do a lot of RV travel. Our type of camping is more like “glamping,” as they call it. We try to take at least one good-sized trip every year. Last fall, we visited all five national parks in Utah over three weeks. We’re going to South Dakota to hunt pheasant soon.

We’re huge Iowa State Cyclone fans. We have season tickets to the football games as well as men’s and women’s basketball. We take the camper down for the games. Iowa State built an RV village right next to the stadium and we love that.

Are you involved in the jewelry industry outside of your store?

I belong to a think-tank group and every six months we go to one of our member’s stores to break it down and tear it apart. I’m also on the Merchandise Review Committee for IJO. We joined RJO in 1990. By far one of the best business decisions my dad ever made. I was just out of college at the time. I’ve been on the Merchandise Review Committee since 2000 or so. RJO has grown so much in so many great ways. More importantly, I’ve seen what it’s done for my store. I wouldn’t be anywhere near what my store has grown into without RJO. It’s such an amazing group.

What do you do at home when you’re not working?

My wife has always referred to me as a “fart in a frying pan”; I always have to be doing something. When I get home at night, I have a glorified storage building that’s heated and air-conditioned. We keep our fifth-wheel RV out there, so I’ll go out there and dink around. Or in the garage or the yard. We do a tremendous amount of yardwork, a lot of our own landscaping. I watch a lot of football and basketball games, too.

What’s your overall outlook on life now?

Nine years ago in June, I was diagnosed with leukemia. Two years later, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The leukemia hit really hard. I’ve got it forever and just have to keep it in check. When the prostate cancer hit, I really realized that life is short. It wasn’t like I never took time off before, but when those two things hit, I said, “Alright, I’m not going to die in my store.” My mindset isn’t the same as some of these guys who work in their store until they’re 90. I can’t express enough how incredible my staff is. They allow me the time to be able to be away from my store.

What inspires you on a daily basis?

What inspires me is helping customers find that piece that lights up their eyes. I’m not on the sales floor a lot anymore; I want my staff to collect the commissions and things like that. They actually do most of the buying now since they’re the ones on the sales floor and know what sells. My staff is like, “Did you buy this? Who’s it for?”

It’s still a great business. It’s certainly more difficult than it ever has been. But it’s still the people who make it. 90% of your customers are great people. When you’re in a store that’s coming up on 100 years old, when the multi generations come in, that’s really cool.

Nelson Jewelry started in Forest City, IA in 1885 by my great-great-grandfather (about two hours east). My great-grandfather had a couple of brothers and dad in that business and opened up this store in 1928. You have people bring pieces in that we sold in the 1920s, 30s and 40s. We have a curio cabinet full of old ring boxes, watch boxes, stuff from Nelson Jewelry that people found in their mom’s or grandmother’s closets.

Do you have any kids and/or grandkids and/or pets?

I have two daughters that are grown and five grandkids. My youngest daughter has two sets of twin boys, 23 year-olds and 9 year-olds. My oldest daughter has a daughter that’s 14 now, adopted from Ethiopia. She’s the smartest most beautiful girl.

I have a two-and-a-half year old labrador named Lucy. I had another lab who unfortunately passed on New Year’s Eve. Lucy has been coming to the store since she was a puppy.

What is something that most people don’t know about you?

I’m a “Friends” addict. I love that show. And “Elf.” I have to watch “Elf” two or three times every season, if not more.

What’s your favorite thing to eat?

I love barbecue ribs, good ones. I love to cook any kind of meat on my Traeger. I love to cook, period. A close second would probably be walleye right out of the lake.

What’s your favorite place to visit?

Any national park. We’ve visited 17 so far. The one at the top of the list would be Glacier National Park. In a perfect world, if we were to retire, we’d probably have a spot to park our RV on a lake in the woods in Montana or Minnesota. We’re going to try it full time when we retire and see if we love it.