True Tales: The Gallstone Necklace

Published

17 years ago

July 2, 2008

Here’s a bead stringing adventure I had about 15 years ago. A lady walked up to the counter with a zip lock baggie full of brownish-colored beads about a half inch in diameter. They were irregular in shape and had no holes for stringing. It seems that the lady had just been released from the hospital and before she left, the doctor handed her this bag full of the gall stones that he had removed from her gall bladder. You guessed it! I had to drill a hole in each one and string them onto a necklace for her to wear. They had the consistency of hard clay and were kind of fragile. The smell during the drilling process was less than desirable. My thought at the time was, “Who would want to wear something around their neck that would remind them of such a painful experience?”

DAVID B.,
PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA

Family Legacy, New Chapter: How Wilkerson Turns 89 Years of History Into Future Success

After 89 years of serving the Albany community, Harold Finkle Your Jeweler faced a pivotal decision. For third-generation owner Justin Finkle, the demanding hours of running a small business were taking precious time away from his young family. "After 23 years, I decided this was the time for me," Finkle explains. But closing a business with nearly nine decades of inventory and customer relationships isn't something easily managed alone. Wilkerson's comprehensive approach transformed this challenging transition into a remarkable success story. Their strategic planning handled everything from advertising and social media to inventory management and staffing — elements that would overwhelm most jewelers attempting to navigate a closing sale independently. The results speak volumes. "Wilkerson gave us three different tiers of potential goals," Finkle notes. "We've reached that third tier, that highest goal already, and we still have two weeks left of the sale." The partnership didn't just meet financial objectives—it exceeded them ahead of schedule.