Anyone who thinks that tradition, loyalty and service have gone the way of the drugstore soda fountain can still find it in downtown Cape Girardeau.

Four jewelers say they have found that downtown is the place they want to be. At a time when downtowns are becoming ghost towns, these jewelers think the location fits like a diamond in a Tiffany setting.

"We've been here so long, that's where people expect us to be," said Kent Zickfield of Zickfield Jewelers and Gemologists, 29 N. Main St. "Our customers are used to coming to us at this location. I don't see us going anywhere else. I think it's a neat place to be. With the improvements being made in the downtown area, I think it's a positive place to be."

Zickfield has been selling jewelry downtown since 1939, at its present location since 1968. Roger Lang of Lang Jewelers, 126 N. Main St., said his business has been there even longer -- his grandfather bought N.S. Weiler Jewelers in 1916. Weiler had opened in 1905.

"Why move?" Lang said. "It's the same family, same building, same business. I don't know any other business older than this business in Cape."

Jayne Ervin, president of Jayson Jewelers, 115 Themis St., and Charles McGinty III of C.P. McGinty Jewelers, 117 N. Main St., have only spent about a quarter-century downtown, but that's where they want to be.

"We love downtown and do not want to be anywhere else," McGinty said.

McGinty said his parents opened their first store on the west end of town 25 years ago, and have been at the present location for 15 years.

"Our business has grown significantly since we have been downtown," he said. "We want to do what we know helps the rest of the downtown businesses."

Heritage was important for Ervin, who shares a building with her metalsmith husband.

"I came downtown when I decided to open a business because downtown was important to me," she said. "I was born and raised here. My family had been in the downtown area for several generations."

Lang said the difference between the downtown jewelry stores and the stores at Westfield Shoppingtown West Park and other more upscale locations on the west end of town is part of a change in social customs. He and his wife, Judith Anne, who works with him, said that they don't criticize the mall or mass merchandisers; they have their place in the retail scheme. Customers go to the mall for leisure as well as to shop, but customers who shop a downtown jewelry store have more specific intentions.

'More of a destination'

"I feel that myself and the others downtown here will be more of a destination," Lang said.

Other stores in other parts of town may get more walk-in customers who may be just looking, but when someone comes to Lang Jewelers or McGinty's or Zickfield or Jayson, it's a special occasion for them. Their customers come, all the jewelers say, because their parents bought diamonds or watches there, and service and tradition mean something to those families.

With mass merchandisers and shopping malls, customers and merchants don't have that personal connection.

"We have a whole generation of children who have never shopped downtown," Judith Anne Lang said. "They're very influenced by commercialism and glitz, and they don't know how to deal with service."

"When you walk in we're going to know your name," McGinty said. "If you have bought from us before, we will remember that. We are a very personalized store."

Independent-minded

Zickfield said if any customer wants to see him personally, all they have to do is ask. It's that kind of personal service that sets independent downtown stores apart.

Being independent offers advantages for the customer and the store owner. All of the jewelers own their own buildings and have for years. Because they don't have to pay high rents and other costs, they can offer their customers good prices and on merchandise that is more distinctive than what is found in chain stores. They can also guarantee the quality of their work and merchandise. Zickfield, McGinty and Jayson all do some of their own custom design work, and all of them offer restoration and repair.

"We could not do that at the mall," McGinty said. "We would not be allowed to keep some of the chemicals we use to do custom work."

The independent jewelers believe they have more than just merchandise invested in their businesses.

"We have a reputation to protect," Judith Anne Lang said. "Our name is on the front of this building. That's important."

It's important, she said, that Lang Jewelers and all the others are certified by the American Gemologists Association, and they know what they are selling. They teach their employees what they have learned.

"We have people trained who are certified gemologists," Zickfield said. "We have professionals, not just kids filling in."

Zickfield said some of his customers have moved away but still order items from him through the Internet or will order over the telephone. He has even sold to soldiers in the military stationed overseas.

"They need something, and they know we'll take care of them," he said.

By being independent, they aren't pressured into keeping certain hours, meeting promotions or meeting quotas.

"What we are is jewelers," Ervin said. "We're not in the business to sell credit, we're not in the business to sell just to be selling something. We're in the business to sell fine jewelry. That's what we know; that's what we do."

Downtown independent businesses create their own atmosphere. Customers walking into McGinty's get an immediate feel of luxury and elegance. Lang recently restored his business to look more like it did when his grandfather owned it. He uncovered the original tin ceiling and is using the original display cases. Customers at Jayson Jewelers might be greeted by Ervin's cat as well as by her.

"We can do what we want without limitations," Ervin said. "I think people come downtown looking for service. The second thing they're looking for is loyalty and trust. We won't misrepresent the product and we have knowledge of the product. If you're going to buy a major piece of jewelry most people want to understand what it's all about, how well it's going to wear, how long it will last and is it right for them."

"As a general rule, I think you find nicer products downtown than you would in a large commercial setting," McGinty said. "Every store downtown has its own special niche."

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160