Business is booming for jeweller Chesley Harford Jr. who recently opened up shop on Court Street.

In fact Mr. Harford says he would be completely swamped with work if he had not augmented the stock of his original work with pieces he's bought from overseas.

"Since I've been here I've found that so many people who walk in expect to walk out with something,'' he said. "I do still have some clients who will wait for a piece to be specially designed, but so many come in and want to get something to match the outfit they'll be wearing that night.'' Specialising in gold and silver, Mr. Harford said earrings are his best selling item.

"Women buy earrings like how they buy shoes,'' he said, "They want to match them up with their different clothes. I can sell a lot of earrings.'' Aiming to quench the high demand for jewellery, Mr. Harford said he's been driven to do more buying.

"I used to be chained to the workshop when I was in St. George's,'' he said, "but I cannot do that here.

Explaining that he buys "unique original pieces'' from around the world to sell in his new store, Mr. Harford said it's important to actually see the items.

"I only select merchandise put before me,'' he said, "I never do any ordering. This ensures a good quality and weight, where ordering might leave me disappointed,'' he added.

Jewellery store a hit "You will never see what I have here anywhere else on the Island. I've concentrated on brining in different cultural pieces representing different ethnicities.'' Mr. Harford has brought in jewellery from Chile and Colombia in South America, Egypt and Ethiopia in Africa and from Greece.

But he has not stopped custom designing and showed off a huge gold pendant he was working on which would feature several diamonds. He said he also tries to keep up with the demand for his custom-made wedding rings.

A far cry from the retail woes being sung by many shopkeepers, Mr. Harford said people who come to his shop are ready to spend. And many of them are willing to fork out thousands of dollars for a single item.

"It's not uncommon for my custom pieces to cost between $4,000 and $5,000,''he said.

Admitting the business is lucrative, Mr. Harford who started out as an apprentice at Trimingham's over twenty years ago, warned that it was also time-consuming.

"I have trained a few Bermudians in the field,'' he said, "but they were not willing to invest sufficient time and work. They wanted to make a lot of money right away.

"I would like to see more Bermudians get into this field but they have to be willing to make sacrifices early on,'' he added. "The pay is almost nothing in the beginning as you gain your experience as an apprentice.

"I would recommend people start out when they are young and have the time to concentrate and more of an ability to earn less. But it can see good payoffs in the long-term,'' he said.