Hagerstown Business Sparkles for More Than a Century
By: Sujata Khandelwal
Updated: October 19, 2012
HAGERSTOWN, MD- Finding a flawless diamond is an art. One Charles Newcomer knew little about when he bought R. Bruce Carson Jewelers in 1974.
"I had a lot of learning to do. I had only been in a jewelry store twice in my life to buy a wedding band and a diamond ring."
Charles was the third owner of the jewelry business which opened in 1902 with R. Bruce Carson.
"It was my best years, 20 years in retail that I ever had in my life. I never dreamed it would be so good."
In 1994, Charles' son, Tom Newcomer, took over. He says he's honored to carry on the legacy.
"I'll have customers that will come in and bring in their receipt that their grandmother had that they may have purchased from 1910 or 1915. They have the original receipt for their diamond ring."
The Newcomers say a big part of their continued success is creating lasting relationships with their customers.
"Our staff is wonderful in terms of knowing the people, their families, what's going on, and they are more like friends than they are customers," says Tom.
"I had a lot of learning to do. I had only been in a jewelry store twice in my life to buy a wedding band and a diamond ring."
Charles was the third owner of the jewelry business which opened in 1902 with R. Bruce Carson.
"It was my best years, 20 years in retail that I ever had in my life. I never dreamed it would be so good."
In 1994, Charles' son, Tom Newcomer, took over. He says he's honored to carry on the legacy.
"I'll have customers that will come in and bring in their receipt that their grandmother had that they may have purchased from 1910 or 1915. They have the original receipt for their diamond ring."
The Newcomers say a big part of their continued success is creating lasting relationships with their customers.
"Our staff is wonderful in terms of knowing the people, their families, what's going on, and they are more like friends than they are customers," says Tom.
