Ronald Scott, owner of Scott’s Jewelry, is retiring after 47 years in business. The store is closing with him. The store has a long history, starting with Thomas Bell opening the store in the early 1900s.

Scott detailed his own history with the business, stating he had been in business since 1977, and in the current location since 1987. He told how they suffered a fire in 2002, and recovered with the help of the insurance company.

He reflected on the history. “It’s been a lot of wonderful experiences with a lot of wonderful customers.” Scott was also president of the Georgia Jewelers Association from 1992-1993. He is also a past president of the Kiwanis Club.

Scott described the business and the study necessary to run it. “It’s an interesting business. I had to go to schools, correspondence courses, and in-resident schools, to learn how to identify gemstones and gold, and that’s been a very interesting thing in my life, and I’ve enjoyed that very much.”

He talked about the challenges involved. “There’s dozens and dozens of different types of gemstones, and it’s a challenge to be able to figure these things out using the equipment that we have. Sometimes it’s very hard to do, and nowadays you have to be able to learn how to separate natural diamonds from laboratory grown diamonds” Scott told how that was a big issue for jewelers today. “Laboratory diamonds are much less expensive, but they have all the chemical, structural properties and beauty and durability of natural diamonds.” Scott did say value differed.
“The supply of them is unlimited, and natural stones, natural diamonds, will probably hold their value very well over the next decades, and so it’s a matter of a choice.”

Scott recounted interesting experiences he had as a jeweler, including business trips to Antwerp Belgium. He told how he was also able to visit nearby locals with his family. “That was exciting, and we enjoyed doing that about 17 times until 911, and that sort of put a stop to it at that time.”

Scott told how he carried the usual stones sold by jewelers, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, amethysts and garnets. When asked what one of the most unusual stones he ever carried was, he stated Alexandrite. “Alexandrites, the birthstone for June, is a rare stone, and you rarely see fine quality alexandrites.” He told how they can change color under different kinds of lights, like fluorescent or ultraviolent.

Scott listed the items for sale during the store’s closing. “We have all kinds of things, anything you can find in the jewelry store, bracelets, rings, earrings, all types of things, anything you can think of.”

Scott told how the closing sale had kept him busy. “I’ve got more people working here than we’ve ever had before, but. . .we’re all staying busy and enjoying helping customers find things that they need.”

He told how there was plenty of opportunity for more business, with a large inventory available in addition to merchandise offered by the liquidation company.

Scott told of his plans for retirement. “I would like to retire and enjoy my retirement for as long as I can, and take care of my family, and maybe I can learn to play golf or read a lot and get sleep in my chair at home a lot more.” While Scott didn’t have a specific timeline for closure, he did say they would be open through Christmas.