Since their last trip to Antwerp in 2004, cellphones have
opened up a whole new world of buying and selling. “Jessica
took pictures of finished and rough diamonds, and as soon
as she posted them on Facebook, people at home were
texting saying, ‘I want that one!” said Earl.
“When I asked how long it takes to polish a diamond,”
said Jessica, “I was told it could take two days or two years.
The time it took was according to the diamond.”
“Diamonds have a grain just like wood,” said Kathy
Butler. “They have to study it, which could take months for
a larger diamond to decide the best way to cleave it and then
polish the facets.”
Determining a diamond’s color, the second most
important characteristic in the 4Cs, is actually about
determining its lack of color. The less color the higher the
grade. According to the color grade scale, D-F diamonds
are colorless and extremely rare. “Once you get past Z, you
get into your ‘fancy’ colors and the rarity and value picks
up again. In Antwerp, we have to determine color by sight
alone,” said Earl. “Kathy is great at it. When you get there,
choosing a diamond is all about experience and knowledge.”
Diamonds purchased on this particular trip ranged in size
from a half to five carats.
In addition to Antwerp, “RJO holds two shows each year
at different locations in the United States that is exclusive to
members of the RJO buying group. In January, the owners
of K E Butler Jewelers attended the show in Nashville,
Tennessee, to select spring/summer merchandise and will
purchase for their fall/winter selections in Schaumburg,
Illinois, this summer.
Where it all started–
Gay Jewelers, Inc.
As fascinating as I found the history of Belgium’s five
centuries of diamond trade, the nearly six and a half
decades of K E Butler Jewelers interested me even
more. As a three-generation business in our community,
their story is deeply rooted in the history of our community.
The remarkable narrative begins with Kathy’s father, Alby
Gay.
Born in 1921, Alby was the fourth of Henry and Ruby
Gay’s nine children. Born in Kibbee, Georgia, a small
unincorporated community to this day, his family moved
around the area following fieldwork as sharecroppers. When
WWII broke out, eighteen-year-old Alby enlisted and was
appointed to the Army Air Corps. (The Air Force was not
formed as a separate branch of the United States Armed
Forces until 1947 after the war was over). Stationed in Great
Britain, he worked on instrument panels in planes.
When Alby contracted tuberculosis, he was sent home
for treatment. “During both World War I and World War
II in the US Army, tuberculosis was the leading cause of
discharge,” according to the online Journal of Military and
Veterans’ Health. Alby was given a choice: He could either
go to Charleston, South Carolina, or Denver, Colorado, for
treatment. He chose Denver for one reason only: “He said
if he’d gone to Charleston, he knew his family would try to
come and care for him, and he didn’t want to be a burden
to them,” said Earl. The “history” section of the store’s
webpage gives more detail: “For treatment, the doctors cut
out two of his ribs and collapsed his lung by laying a brick
on it.”
It is certain Alby would not have chosen the events that
led him to Denver, but it is just as certain if given a choice,
he would not have chosen a different path. If he had not
gone to Denver for treatment for TB, he might never have
met his wonderful wife, Glenrose Mumm.
The two married in August 1946 at Mt. Pisgah Baptist
Church in Kibbee, Georgia. While Alby continued to recover,
Glenrose found work at the paper mill in Savannah. When
Alby came down with TB a second time, they returned to
Denver once again for treatment. Following his discharge,
Alby enrolled in the Joseph Bulova School for Watchmaking
in Denver.
“Bulova was a well-known watch company in America at
that time,” said Earl.
According to the veteranswatchmakerinitiative.org,
“The Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking was started as a
non-profit institution to provide training and rehabilitation
for disabled World War II veterans….” Its purpose was “to
repay, in some small measure, the sacrifice and service of
returning disabled veterans after the Second World War.”
According to a 1947 newsreel footage of the Bulova School
of Watchmaking, “1,400 jewelers promised employment
for graduates.”
After graduating from the Bulova School of
Watchmaking, Alby and Glenrose moved to her hometown
of Yuma, Colorado, where he found work at Fenster’s
Jewelers. In addition to using his skills in watchmaking, Alby
also learned how to run a business. Not long after the birth
of their Kathleen (Kathy), the small jewelry store could not
support two families. “Mr. Fenster was an older gentleman,
and Alby offered to buy him out. But he wasn’t ready to
retire,” said Earl.
In 1955, Alby moved his family back to Georgia with
plans to open his own jewelry and watch repair store. But
times were tough, and banks had little money to loan.
Luckily, Alby’s Uncle, Teddy Allmond, agreed to give his
nephew a loan, and Gay Jewelers was open for business that
August specializing in watch repair and repair of electric
shavers.
A month or two later, “Mr. Alby had a cousin, Dick
Bailey, who was getting married and wanted to buy a
diamond. The store had very little revenue, but Alby went
to Ewing Brothers Co., a diamond and jewelry wholesaler
in Atlanta, from whom he purchased watch parts hoping to
purchase a diamond for his cousin. The company agreed to
sell him a ½ carat diamond (to be paid for within 30 days)
based on his good standing as a Standard Oil Charge Card
holder,” said Earl. “They changed the name from Ewing
Hometown Living At Its Best 27
/veteranswatchmakerinitiative.org