Morrison Smith Fine & Custom Jewelers

Like many children who grow up in family jewelry businesses, Chuck Smith began his jewelry career pushing brooms and going to the post office. Eventually, in High School he learned the craft of polishing fine jewelry, and simple repair work. Charles, Chuck's father, insisted that he "only hired college graduates". With that Chuck pursued his interests of math and science at NC State University. Chuck graduated NC State with a Nuclear Engineering degree. After working for the federal government overhauling nuclear submarines for five years, he rejoined the family jewelry business in 1990. Chuck has worked every facet of the business over the past fifteen years and is now the owner of Morrison Smith Jewelers of Charlotte. Smith has seven master craftsmen working with him at the business, including his father Charles who has been a craftsman since 1954. "It's a small location, " he says "but we have the largest group of jewelers working together in this area, maybe in the state. The uniqueness of our jewelry store is that we have all the craftsmen that work in the jewelry business in our store, such as the goldsmiths, the stone setters, the hand engraver, the machine engraver, the watchmaker, the bead stringer, Certified Graduate Gemologists, plus trained or experienced sales staff with gemological training. Some of them have been working together for 20 or 25 years. We are members of the American Gem Society - a select group of jewelers with proven ethics, who have attained high standards and education in the industry... The Smith's have assembled perhaps the finest jewelry store staff in the country. "We have 80 to 85 percent repeat business. I'm dealing with the fourth generation of some families..." "It comes down to we have a lot of fine products that have a lot of intrinsic value, but we're creating sentiment. And you cannot put a price on that. After someone has had a pleasurable experience in creating something or obtaining something we have created for them, the experience they have from giving that to a loved one is priceless."