Home Business St. Thomas business @Work: Cardow Jewelers

@Work: Cardow Jewelers

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April 7, 2005 – It's hard to write anything about the Cardow Jewelers empire without mentioning its founder, William Dowling.
Dowling first opened a store for travelers in 1954. Eight years later he formed a partnership and a name with Claude Caron that would prove to be legendary to shoppers from around the world. The name "Cardow" took the "Car" from Caron and the "Dow" from Dowling. In the early years the store specialized in perfumes, gifts and jewelry. It was only when Caron left the partnership that the store began to focus on jewelry alone.
When he died in the fall of 2003, a tribute published in the Source said, "Bill Dowling was a study in personal values. He was a jewelry store owner whose only jewelry was his Massachusetts Institute of Technology class ring and an unpretentious wrist watch; a successful hotelier whose main residence was a room on one of his properties, and an engineer by training who in the computer era employed a string and a level to lay out the entrance to his second resort."
Even with that personal rebellion against technology, Dowling would surely appreciate the new direction his protégés have taken in making Cardow jewelry available to customers online. The website, www.cardow.com, was launched in December. While the site is still in its infancy, shoppers will find it has all the latest trends in jewelry, old favorites and a section with clearance items.
Website sales aside, Cardow still claims to have the largest selection of jewelry, the widest price points to accommodate any shopper, and the most loyal customers.
Cardow has a team of experts who choose diamonds, gemstones, and other fine jewelry from around the world. Cardow manufactures most of the jewelry designs, which go directly from the factory to the sales floor, keeping prices relatively low.
There are timeless pieces in jewelry that will always be in style, the most classic being a diamond solitaire. But the industry also follows fashion trends. Currently popular designs include the diamond "O," colored gemstones, and the Cardow exclusive reversible ring.
"The jewelry is becoming more colorful, with more feminine, multi-colored stones. Now we have much more white gold and filigree," says Odile de Lyrot, vice president. She continues with a laugh: "When you change trends in jewelry it's much more expensive than fashions."
"By having our own factory we can react quickly to fashion trends," says Bill Christie, director of stores. "We listen to the sales associates, they listen to the customers."
According to Christie, Cardow is the island's largest employer in the jewelry industry, with 155 people on the payroll. A third of their employees have been working there for 20 years, and the average length of employment is 15 years.
"We have a low turnover. Mr. Dowling always called it a large family," says de Lyrot. From the person who tags the jewelry as it comes in, to the upper management, "there's a sense of belonging to the same flow."
Mike Lotterman, director of human resources, says, "I think we're a tight-knit company and work with our employees to find out what's important to them besides their job. We say they’re the gems of the business."
And the employees can be big customers as well. "We want them to enjoy the jewelry and wear it," says Lotterman.
Sales associates are now seeing the third generation of customers walk through the door, including visitors and Virgin Islanders. The repeat business speaks of high levels of customer satisfaction.
"If Cardow has been in business since 1954, there is quality. We make a point of standing behind our merchandise," says de Lyrot.
Cardow has five St. Thomas locations: two on Main Street, two in Havensight, and one at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef. Stores are open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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