When a home burns, the aftermath can be devastating. However, more often than we realize, there are treasures in the ashes. We’ve all heard stories of a family heirloom that was spared, against the odds: a piece of jewelry that was tucked just so and escaped total devastation.

Recently, one of our clients brought this ring to us.

It was damaged in a fire at their home in Oregon. When searching through the remains of his house, he found his ring. Although it looks like it might be beyond repair, that isn’t the case. He brought it to us and our jewelers were able to work their magic and make it, almost, like new again. There were a few steps involved in returning this ring to its former glory. They started by soaking the ring in a lye bath in the ultrasonic. (A lye bath is similar to the chemicals used in drain cleaners. Please don’t try this at home. There are safety precautions that are employed and necessary). After a couple hours they took it out and assessed how it looked, then moved it back and forth: cycling it in the speed bright cleaner (a special cleaner for metals) and the regular ultrasonic cleaner (a cleaner for gemstones). Depending on how the item responded, this cycle was continued two to four times.

After that the piece gets a thorough polishing and a final bath in the ultrasonic to remove the polishing compound.

Although it wasn’t the case with this ring, there can be stone damage depending on what stones are involved and depending on the heat of the fire, and what items are in close proximity while it burned. Down the line there can be complications with sizing and repairs, but in general we can restore the finish and make the items wearable again.

This is the Oregon house ring, after our jewelers worked their magic. Beautiful!

Please know that we offer our deepest condolences for all of the people who have lost their homes in the recent fires.

We’d like to offer our restoration services, at no charge, for any of these folks.

It’s just a small way that we can help.

I’m surrounded by beautiful jewelry and I often get to help people choose precious items to mark milestones. This is fun on a regular day, but it’s even better when I get to help friends. Here’s one of my recent experiences.

I know Aaron from Auburn City Fire Department. I was a firefighter with the department back in the nineties, and by the time Aaron came on I was still associated with the Hook & Ladder Company and we worked together on some fundraisers. Since then, Aaron has moved on to work for Sacramento International Airport’s fire department. He contacted me last August because he wanted to propose to his girlfriend, Shelby and he wanted to custom create the ring of her dreams. Let me pause here to explain that I also know Shelby, as she is currently an engineer for Auburn City Fire Department. Our paths have crossed over the years, for fire department fundraisers and celebrations as well. She is not only a good firefighter, but she is a very sweet and nice human. When Aaron contacted me to create Shelby’s ring I was excited to be able to help two people who I enjoy and admire.

Aaron explained what Shelby was hoping for: a princess cut diamond, set at an angle, in white gold, with inlaid turquoise in the custom made wedding bands, that would cradle the diamond in the center. We shared images, sketches, quotes, color samples and diamond grades almost all through text and email. Aaron even gave me a “code name” in his phone so we could communicate and keep the surprise for Shelby. We created the engagement ring in house at Roper’s and we worked with a company named Kabana, out of New Mexico, for the inlaid turquoise bands. They created them to fit perfectly with the engagement ring we had set.

Aaron & Shelby went on a motorcycle trip where he proposed, much to her surprise. I got to see the pictures through Facebook and had tears in my own eyes when I saw the tears in Shelby’s.

As their wedding date approached, Shelby contacted me to create a special ring for Aaron. This was at the height of our shelter in place for Covid19. She and I texted and emailed and found the perfect ring for Aaron. As motorcycles are an important part of their life together, she provided me with a picture of the pattern from Aaron’s motorcycle tire. I worked with another (made in America) company called Lashbrook, and they were able to create a custom ring for Aaron with his own tire pattern.

Their wedding was scheduled to take place in early June, and as we all know, fresh from our shelter in place orders, weddings that did take place at this time were very different than their original plans. Aaron & Shelby had a much smaller event than they had originally planned, but it was filled with special moments. My favorite was the moment when they approached their turnouts and Shelby removed her maiden name (Davis) and replaced it with her new married name (Rea). This part of their ceremony was particular to them and so fitting for who they are.

Before Shelby & Aaron left for their honeymoon, they stopped by Roper’s. I got to see their rings, together on their hands. I got to congratulate them in person and wish them well. Working with both of them was special on so many levels. They went out of their way to work with a local, Auburn business. They invited me to be a little part of their story, and I enjoyed every step of the way.

Shelby & Aaron, from all of us at Roper’s Jewelers, we wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!

Let me tell you about my 39 year journey…

In March of 1981, I was a recent graduate of CSUS with a BS degree in Business, expecting my first child, and wanting to find a way to stay home with him.  My mother-in-law, Helen, had been doing the books for the store for 25 years at that point and was looking to hand off some of her duties.  I came in to pay bills and calculate payroll.  It was certainly a different world back then.  Our checkbook was a 3 ring binder with 3 tab checks, and we paid payroll in cash.  It was tedious and painstaking, but it was what I had been given to work with.  Three years later I took over the remaining duties of the daily sales and all reporting to the accountant.  I have great respect for Helen and the job she did for the store. She was methodical and meticulous and gave me a great basis to start from.

All work was done by hand with the aid of a 10 key adding machine.  At times I spent more hours with it than with my family.  Each month there was a 13 column spread sheet to be filled out by the day, calculating sales, repairs, taxes, cash and checks received in, etc.  Of course, at the end of the month it all had to balance.  It was the same with payroll.  Each staff member had an 81/2 x11 page, neatly divided into 4 quarters and all payroll was recorded on these sheets.  They were balanced monthly, quarterly and yearly.  I won’t even go into typing W-2 forms or doing quarterly taxes…

Roper’s Jewelers added a second store in March 1990.  My work load at this time doubled.  By now we had 2 sons, and I had finally moved the office from my dining table to a small room built for me under the store.  The boys often came with me and I still have their artwork that graced my walls of that office, along with my Oakland Athletics paraphernalia.  I still brought work home, many times working into the wee hours after the boys had gone to bed.  Any small business owner knows that you get the work done when you can.

We tried a software program for jewelry stores in the early 1990’s, but it wasn’t what we had hoped for.  So duties, such as counting inventory, a job we wanted the software to handle, still needed to be done by hand.  This meant each staff member had a legal sized note pad and were responsible for writing down the inventory information for each item.  It took days to record all the inventory.  Then, all the note pads were handed to me.  Our inventory system was coded in letters, so I had to transpose the letters to numbers in my head and add it up.  I was very good at it and extremely fast on a 10 key.

Thank goodness!

In the late 1980’s I converted the payroll to checks and by the early 1990’s our checkbook was computerized.  It definitely helped the work load as I also had 2 sons in school and was active in their classrooms and the Parent Teacher Club.

The store went fully computerized with Point of Sale in 2003.  We were one of the first businesses to sign up with this company and I was fortunate to travel with Lisa Henderson to Connecticut for the first ever training sessions.  We were also one of the only businesses to have multiple stores, so the beginning was both fascinating and hair pulling at the same time.  We learned together, but what a change it has made!  By this time, I had moved the financials to Quickbooks, and with the addition of the Edge software for jewelry stores, we really turned a corner.  Our inventory was digitalized, payroll and payables computerized.  I was truly poised to retire…

That all changed on September 12, 2014.  Harvey passed on a Friday night and the following Monday morning I opened the store, flanked by my 2 sons, and spoke to the entire staff at once.  I asked for their support and they rallied behind me.  The store was never closed for a single day, paychecks went out on time.  Doors opened and closed at our regular schedule.  I was able to take care of my team and they took care of me.

My job up to that point had not been an easy one, but the greatest challenges were ahead.  In the 5 ½ years since Harvey left us we have made many changes.  Our telephone and security systems are now of this century.  We have made use of many advantages our software had available, making us able to better serve our clients.  Upgrades I have made, like the job I have always done, are not readily visible but make a difference.

I am proud of the work I have done for our family business and the fact that I held it together in unspeakably difficult times.  I am proud of the advancements and improvements that will benefit the business for years to come.  I am extremely proud of my staff for their professionalism and thank them for their loyalty and friendship.

Roper’s Jewelers is a family business.  It was started by a family, it’s employees become family, and it’s a part of the family of businesses that support the community of Auburn.  I’m grateful that I have the chance to hand off the business to two of our most dedicated staff members, Lisa Henderson and Peggy Seitzinger, who are just as committed to Auburn.  And just as they support Auburn, I hope you’ll support them and welcome them as leaders of Auburn’s business community.

I’ll stay busy as a full-time Grammy, pie baker, Star Trek fan, traveler, gardener, Crossword puzzle fanatic and amateur quilt maker.

It was my hope to have a big retirement bash and use it as a fundraiser for the Gold Country Fair Heritage Foundation.  I hope you’ll join with me in supporting this worthwhile group working to better our beloved Fairgrounds.  If you would like to donate, click here:

Tuesday, June 30th, from 11:00am to 2:00pm, I’ll be handing out Hotdogs in front of our Downtown Store at 818 Lincoln Way.  Please come by to say hello and get a hotdog!

I’m happy to report that we were busy the first few days with Mother’s Day gift shoppers. Then we started to worry again, but we didn’t need to. After the Mother’s Day shoppers came the fellas who told us things like, “we had an anniversary during shelter in place, and I couldn’t wait for you to be open!” or another fella who told his sweetie that he knew exactly what he was giving her, he just needed Roper’s to open back up! Then came the graduation shoppers: parents and grandparents who wanted to give an extra special gift to their graduates. We’ve received all of these folks with joy and gratitude. We understand that everyone is living in a strange new world, and the fact that you have chosen to support Roper’s Jewelers means the world to us. Even those of you who haven’t needed jewelry yet, but stick your head in the open door and tell us, “So glad to see you’re open! Welcome back!” You make our hearts smile!!

If you’re one of the folks who isn’t comfortable coming in yet, we understand that too! We are happy to offer curbside pick up/drop off. We have an online store at www.RopersJewelers.com or email us (peggy@ropersjewelers.com) or call either store. We’ll make the magic happen!

The moral to this story is simple, The Roper’s Jewelers family and staff are grateful to be your Hometown Jeweler today, as we have been for the last 64 years. We celebrate our community today and look forward to celebrating in the future.

I implore you to remember, that lots of these moms aren’t dealing with one star student who adores their daily studies. Oh no, these moms are teaching children in different grades with different learning styles and patience levels. Some have online instruction, others are trying to follow the lesson plans that they are provided. Do I feel sorry for these moms? No, that’s not where I’m going with this. What I feel for these mom is RESPECT. Because, although they did sign up to be the mom in their home, they didn’t go to school to be an elementary grade or middle school teacher. They’re following lesson plans that they didn’t create, and trying to learn the new math right alongside their children.

And remember, these moms don’t get to give it all up at the end of the day and put their feet up with a glass of wine. Nope. When school is handled, they also get to figure out how to do their own work, manage the laundry, the housekeeping and the meal preparation (because remember, at this school, the moms are also the custodial staff and the lunch ladies!) They get to figure out how to get the groceries purchased (do they take the kids to the store at “recess” time?) While also encouraging outdoor play and exercise. I’m talking about the exercise for the kids. When do the moms “get to” exercise in this scenario? Great question. Another puzzle to figure out.

I don’t mean for this to sound like the moms do all the work and the dads don’t do anything. Not at all. I just know, that of the people I know, it’s the moms who are taking the brunt of most of this. Can we make it all stop? Not yet, but we can try to make the days a little brighter for Mom.

Mother’s Day is May 10th (for those of you who have lost all sense of day and time, that’s in about a week and a half). This year, more than ever, please remember to thank and honor the mom in your life, the mom in your home, the mom who is doing an amazing job of keeping all the balls in the air. We have jewelry in all price ranges, and we can make some Mother’s Day magic. For the time being, Mom may not get to go out and celebrate, but a beautiful birthstone pendant will look great on her for her next Zoom meeting.

Stackable rings with her children’s birthstones will help the homework pick up sparkle, just a bit more. And even if no one else sees it, a diamond pendant that shows Mom how much you love and appreciate her, will warm her heart, and isn’t that what matters most?