After nearly 126 years Young & Co. Fine Jewellery will be closing its doors
A landmark 126-year-old London business will close its doors for the last time this Christmas.
Young & Co. Fine Jewellery is an independent holdout in the world of big-box retailers.
The decision to close comes as a lease for the store's location expires. Owner Bill Young plans to retire while considering an online presence.
The move is accepted but hard to take for long-time employee Deb Grima.
“Well, when you work with someone for 15 years, it’s not just a store or a job; you are family,” she expressed through tears.
Long-time Young & Co. employee Deb Grima in London, Ont. on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)
And, without argument, Young & Co. has truly been a family operation.
Four generations have operated the company, starting with Bill’s great-grandfather, William G Young, in 1894.
“Silverware was a big item back in those days and everybody had silver tea services and silver pieces.”
The business began on Dundas Street in London's downtown.
The original Young's Jewellers location on Dundas Street in downtown London, Ont. in 1894. (Source: Young family)
Since then it has moved, or expanded, to stores in East London, Wellington Square Mall (Now Citi Plaza), Westmount Mall and the current store and Southdale and Colonel Talbot roads.
In 1995, the company also went through a major change. In that year, the original Young’s Jewellers name was purchased by the People’s Jewellers chain.
That stopped Bill from using his family’s trademark, so he just adapted it to Young & Co. and continued until now.
“You have to make a business decision at some point, just as my father and my grandfathers did.”
Bill Young outside the current Young & Co. Fine Jewellers at Southdale Road West and Colonel Talbot Road in London, Ont. on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)
Still, it is a hard reality for long-time customers like Fred Taylor.
“I like the small retail stores as opposed to the big-box ones, so I’m sad to see them closing up.”
Taylor was picking up a necklace for himself. In the last six months, he’s bought his wife, Nancy, new earrings and a big ring at Young & Co.
He loves the service but admits, with a playful laugh, that his pocketbook will be happier.
“It means it’s going to be saving a bunch of money.”
Nancy and Fred Taylor, Young & Co. customers, shop in London, Ont. on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)
But if you go back and ask Deb Grima about the sparkling products in this store, she will set you straight.
She says gold and silver keepsakes are not as valuable in cash as they are in meaning.
“Jewelry isn’t something to wear that is pretty. It has a history. And nobody phones and says, 'Is my ring ready?' They’ll phone and say, 'I left my Grandma’s ring here, and she gave it to me in this year and for this reason, and I wondered if it was ready.'”
Young & Co Fine Jewellery will have a store closing sale which begins Thursday at the location at 3010 Colonel Talbot Rd.
- With files from CTV News London's Justin Zadorsky
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Iran's judiciary confirms rapper Toomaj Salehi death sentence
Iran's judiciary confirmed the death sentence of well-known Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi but added that he is entitled to a sentence reduction, state media reported on Thursday.