A.L. Jacobs and Sons, a family-owned jewelry shop in Point Loma, moved four months ago from Liberty Station into the Village at 1055 Rosecrans St.
“I’d been in Liberty Station for eight years, and I just felt it was time for a change,” said third-generation jewelry store owner Chris Jacobs, a Point Loma Optimist and a member of the Point Loma Association (PLA), a nonprofit dedicated to beautifying and improving the Peninsula.
“This space presented itself, and I just liked the whole idea of Point Loma Village,” said Jacobs, who added that the retail space he now inhabits was previously a stand-up paddleboard place.
“I’m developing a little bit of a pattern because the last place I had been in in Libery Station was a surf shop,” he said.
“Where I was before, people couldn’t see me from the street,” pointed out Jacobs. “Now I’m right on the street, so it’s more visible. And I just like the vibe that Point Loma Village has. It’s just really a cool place. I know all my neighbors well.”
Jacobs was born in Point Loma and has lived there all of his life.
“It’s amazing how many people I grew up with who are still here,” he said. “If you moved here, you were smart enough. I was just lucky to have been born here.”
Jacobs hasn’t changed his jewelry shop’s business model much, other than to concentrate more on his estate jewelry department, which he described as a “fun area.”
Estate jewelry is anything that’s secondhand, said Jacobs, noting it doesn’t have to be any particular age, as compared with antique jewelry, which has to be at least 100 years old.
Jacobs is always looking for “new and interesting” jewelry items to include in his collection. The jeweler said, most commonly, the estate items he carries are from people who’ve inherited jewelry from relations that are “just not their style.
“We can either repurpose, redesign pieces like that, or I can work with them on a consignment basis to find the best possible market for it (jewelry),” Jacobs said.
A.L Jacobs and Sons jewelers and gemolgists carries everything from rings, bracelets and pendants to necklaces, including wedding rings. The jeweler also does watch and jewelry repairs. Jacobs also designs beautiful custom jewelry, and can even show customers 3D computer simulations of what their custom-made jewelry would look like.
Jacobs’ grandfather started the family business in downtown San Diego in 1937. It was originally located at Fifth Avenue, then moved a couple of times elsewhere downtown over the years before relocating to Liberty Station in 2007.
“I was one of the first retailers to move into Liberty Station,” Jacobs said.
The jeweler talked about why he became active with the PLA.
“It’s just a great organization whose whole idea is just to beautify the Point,” Jacobs said. “I like that.”
Jacobs encourages the public to come in and browse in his one-person, one-stop jewelry shop.
“I think people will find different things here that are not your traditional mall type of things,” he said. “Plus I give the personal touch.”
A.L. Jacobs and Sons gives a 10 percent discount to military customers.
Jacobs said what he likes best about the jewelry business is being able to share in people’s lives by “giving them something really special. It’s a nice business to be in.”
For more information, call (619) 955-5007. ail [email protected] or visit www.ALJacobsandSons.com.