SLO County jewelry store shared in its customers’ dreams for 40 years. Now it’s saying goodbye
Atascadero is losing one of its most beloved businesses, but the legacy the store leaves for its customers — like its jewelry — will live on much longer.
K. Jons Diamonds and Gems, which has sold fine jewelry to North County customers since 1980, will be closing its doors after the holidays. Owners Stan and Mary Sherwin are retiring after four decades in the gem business.
“Mary and I just absolutely love what we’re doing,” Stan told The Tribune. “But we also love our free time.”
Customers and friends of the couple flocked to the El Camino Real store’s showroom on Tuesday, both to pick out discounted jewelry and to offer hugs and well wishes.
The Sherwins are in the midst of holding a liquidation sale that will likely last until sometime in January, Stan said.
“When you have to sell everything in your house, it takes some time,” he said.
Some longtime customers even came to the store wearing the custom jewelry K. Jons has created for them over the years. Patti Dolengewicz showed off opal pendants Stan helped design for her as gifts from her husband and father.
“He does wonderful work,” she said. “We’re going to miss him.”
Linda Peterman said she’s been a K. Jons customer since the store opened and called the Sherwins “just the friendliest people.”
“I’m really sorry to see them go,” she said.
How they got their start
The Sherwins first started selling gemstones in the 1970s at gem and mineral shows around California. The business is named after Stan’s parents, Kay and John, whose hobby piqued their son’s interest in the trade.
In 1980, the couple opened their Atascadero store, which is visible from the northbound side of Highway 101. K. Jons was initially next door to a butcher shop, Gilbert’s Meats, Stan said.
By the mid-2000s, the original shop had become too cramped. in 2004, the Sherwins built an entirely new space on the same property and tore down their old building.
K. Jons struggled through the Great Recession but survived the economic downturn intact. Throughout the years, the Sherwins’ friendliness, presence in the community and investment in their customers and employees set them apart from other businesses.
“It was never about how we could sell them,” Stan said of his customers. “It was about how we could help them.”
The couple has valued being part of important moments in their customers’ lives. Stan talked about giving proposal advice to men picking out engagement rings. One customer came into the store wearing a necklace he had custom made in memory of a son he lost.
Mary called the outpouring of support from customers “overwhelming.”
“We’ve had so many, just different emails and Facebook,” she said. “It’s just, you know, sad that K. Jons is not going to be a part of the community. Happy for us though ... just that we’ve been here and they’re going to miss us.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
