Jewelers band together

The jeweler community is a tightly linked chain.

Owner of Coeur d’Alene Fine Jewelers, Gary Bower, has been a jeweler since he graduated high school in 1976. He moved on from his first job shoveling gravel in Anchorage, Alaska to apprentice under a third generation master jeweler from Russia.

And the rest is history.

“My dad worked for a jewelry company, and I was a high school student looking for a job,” Bower said. “There was a jeweler looking for an apprentice. And I have an apprentice working for me now.”

There are fast-track schools for becoming a jeweler, but it’s one of those things you just have to do.

“You just kinda have to dive into it and hope for the best,” Bower said.

Bower learned most of what he knows now from people asking, “Can you do this for me?” and trying to figure it out, he said.

But there are always people in the jeweler community willing to help. It’s a niche field and there’s always demand, so crafters can call on fellow jewelers when needed.

“It’s a nice little network,” Bower said. “It wasn’t a big competition thing. Everyone is so nice here like they were in Alaska.”

Bower can still reach out to his former coworkers from his time jewelry-making in Alaska to lean on them for advice, or coworkers from his years working at a jewelers in Spokane.

“If I need something, I can call them,” Bower said. “If they need something they can call me. There’s a jeweler in Spokane that can do the casting in (Computer Aided Drafting). I’m too old-school to learn those computer programs.”

In Bower’s repair and jewelry shop, he still does hand sketching for designs and concepts. He carves wax casts, and he does the bulk of his work by hand.

“We try to do as much as we can,” Bower said. “But the detail with CAD is amazing, especially with 3D printing. You can 3D-print stuff that I can’t begin to do by hand. But there’s some things you can’t print. And some people just want it all done by hand.”

If a customer requests something more ornate than he can create, Bower collaborates with his peers, but he always tries to make his customers happy.

“Clark’s down the street will send people to me,” Bower said. “They only have one jeweler, so they just won’t do repairs. We pretty much do everything we can.”

Bower is diligent, sometimes working long hours or taking work home, in order to satisfy his customers and provide a timely service for whatever people need.

“Gary is probably one of the most honest people that I've ever met, and his integrity is amazing,” said Nick Goodsen, who started apprenticing under Bower over a year ago. “There’s so many opportunities where he could make an extra dime. But every time he’s proven to be very honest – with me and my pay and reimbursements, and with his customers.”

Goodsen stumbled onto a new career path when he was looking for an engagement ring.

“When my wife and I were looking for a ring for her, I went to another jewelry store and when I left there I just felt so turned off,” Goodsen said. “And then I walked in here and met Gary, and I left this store feeling like this is where I was going to buy the ring.”

Bower learned that Goodsen owned a lawn care business, and they worked out a barter for services. Goodsen would maintain Bower’s lawn in exchange for his wedding rings. Through that relationship, and long conversations on the details of jewelry, Bower invited Goodsen on as an apprentice.

“Not in a million years would I have thought that I would be here,” Goodsen said. “It was a doorway that opened and I walked through it. The talk is me apprenticing for now and eventually Gary will retire.”

Goodsen is in the early steps on a career path to becoming a jeweler, and he’s saving to eventually buy the business from Bower.

“The first winter that I was here I felt like I was a little puppy following Gary around,” Goodsen said. “Now I feel like I’m independent and he can just give me a whole stack of stuff to do. One of the things I really enjoy about this is I’m probably looking at 100 different tools that I don’t even know what they do yet.”

Eventually, as he learns the nuances and skills of all the materials, Goodsen can take a series of skills tests to become a certified Master Bench Jeweler. Bower passed his final test for certification in 2000.

“I wouldn’t call myself an overly creative person,” Goodsen said. “It’s a craftsmanship and mastery sort of job. That’s my favorite part, all the different metals. Some are softer and some are harder, some melt slower…”

The median annual wage for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers was $46,640 in May 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“After I was certified as a Master Bench Jeweler, I figured I could go get a job anywhere,” Bower said. “And I saw an ad in Bellingham, and through connections I had in Anchorage I applied and was accepted.”

From Bellingham, Bower moved to Coeur d’Alene, where he commuted for 10 years to Spokane. The toll of his commute eventually pushed him into running his own business. He had often been an independent contractor in his previous jobs, so formally running his own business was a natural transition.

“Originally we were looking for a small place downtown, for just a trade shop,” Bower said. “Not necessarily a storefront. Sales and business isn’t really my forte. I’m a jeweler.”

But when the Coeur d’Alene Fine Jewelers was listed for sale in 2017, Bower and his wife had to jump on the chance.

“I wasn’t looking to get into retail, but the opportunity worked out,” he said.

The location where Coeur d’Alene Fine Jewelers is now has been a jewelry store for more than 30 years, Bower said.

In his small retail storefront, Bower avoids marketing and works through word of mouth referrals, often from competitors, and stays busy through the year.

“I just try to do my best,” he said. “I work hard to get things done in a timely manner. We just work hard to get it done quicker than the competition.”

Bower focuses on doing good work and serving his customers, a trait he attributes to all the businesses that have taught him what he knows. And on teaching Goodsen what he knows.

“I’ve worked for some great people over the years, great store owners,” he said. “And it’s just something that we did. It’s been the standard. Plus we’re just nice guys down here.”