Sep 17, 2008

Clark’s Jewelers celebrates 25 yearsBy Susan SchellGateLine.com

Gig Harbor, WA — Lora Morford grew up in the jewelry business.

Her father, Russ Clark, started Clark’s Jewelers in downtown Gig Harbor in 1983. The business moved to its current location in the 1990s and is now celebrating its 25th anniversary.

When Clark retired in 1999, he handed the store to his daughter, to whom he taught the business, inside and out.

“I learned so much from my dad,” Morford said. “From changing batteries in watches to buying the best quality diamonds.”

Morford does all the buying for the store and has vendors from Seattle to the East Coast. She designed her own wedding ring and said people comment on its beauty daily.

While doing a custom design, Morford said it’s important to know some background of how the piece will be used and who will be wearing it.

“We do a little fact-finding of how they live their lives,” she said. “We find out if they want something just for evening or daily wear.

“People are a bit hesitant sometimes to have a custom-designed piece, because they assume it will be cost prohibitive,” she added. “When it is a ring of a lifetime and it just has to be perfect, custom can be the way to go.”

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