“I was an art major, and once I started taking jewelry courses, I took them from my sophomore year up through college,” Gaylene said.

She went on to graduate from Indiana University of Pennsylvania where she majored in metal smithing while learning how to repair jewelry.

Although she has been in the jewelry business for 40 years, for the last 30 or so years, she has been a permanent fixture in Jamestown and the surrounding area, and she has been in high-demand for repairing jewelry.

You could say she’s a rare gem, no pun intended, that will be hard to replace.

Gaylene Lindell stands near a jewelry case at Gaylene’s, 3045 Fulvanna Ave. Lindell will be retiring and closing Gaylene’s. P-J photos by Michael Zabrodsky

Gaylene has announced her retirement. And with the announcement, she will be closing her jewelry store, Gaylene’s, 3045 Fluvanna Ave.

“It’s time,” she said. “Forty years is enough. I’ve got 30 years in my own store. Before that, I did repair work for a lot of the different stores in the area. ”

Gaylene said the best part of her business was the people and customers. She said that during the years first generation customers would have children, and they would do business with her, and the second generation of customers had children, and they also did business with Gaylene.

“It’s just wonderful,” Gaylene added. “I’ve met so many friends. I can’t even count them all. That’s the best part. That’s what I’m really going to miss.”

One downside, she said of the business, is the repetitive nature of the repairs. She said her eyes and hands worked better when she was younger.

Rings, she said, were the items she liked repairing the most.

“When people pick them up after they’ve been repaired, and they’re all clean and shiny, there’s always that ‘wow, this looks great moment,'” she said about ring repair. “And it’s so fun to give that (repaired ring) to somebody (and) to see them light up when they get excited when they see it again.”

Gaylene said it’s her job to show the customer a piece of jewelry, give a description, and then let the customer decide on what is best for her or him.

“My job is to show you what I have, explain it to you, and let you decide what’s going to work for you both in price and what you’re looking for. And I ask questions. I always tell people to ask questions, because you want to know what you’re getting. You want to compare. You want to make sure you’re comparing apples and apples,” she said. “You want to make sure you know that it’s a genuine stone.”

For anyone wishing to be a jeweler, Gaylene offered some advice: “You have to like it. You really have to like it. You have to pay attention to detail. And you really have to respect that you have somebody else’s piece(of jewelry).”

Gaylene has no regrets about being a jeweler. When she was younger, her father, a part-time mechanic, would bring her to his garage where he introduced her to tools. So she learned how to use the tools which helped her with her career.

“I had a knack for it and I was able to do it,” Gaylene said about being a jeweler. “The art major in me, allowed me to do design work over the years. And the technician in me allowed me to do the repair work, so it worked out really well.”

Gaylene is having a store closing sale starting Tuesday and running until June 22.

And for retirement, Gaylene said she is moving south and will be enjoying her time walking on a beach.

“I have been very blessed. I’m lucky. I know I am.”