A passerby peers through the windows of Morrison’s Jewelers during the longtime family business’s closing-out sale. After more than a century serving Bay Area families, owners David and Christine Morrison are preparing to shutter their Orinda storefront and embark on a cross-country RV adventure while continuing their custom jewelry work online.
After more than a century of serving generations of Bay Area families, Morrison’s Jewelers, is closing its Orinda storefront and owners David and Christine Morrison are embarking on a new chapter – an RV adventure across the country.
As they prepare to turn the page, the Morrisons reflected on what has kept their family business thriving for more than a century.
“The key to our success is top-tier customer service and exceptional quality of the work that we have done for 102 years,” said David. “We specialize in custom design and the redesign of family heirlooms.”
David and his wife Christine (“Chris”) have worked side-by-side for 13 years. Christine brought with her a long career in tech, marketing and finance before joining the family business.
“I was a corporate recruiter for 25 years in the Bay Area in those markets,” she said. “Whether pitching people to a client or selling jewelry, listening to your client is the most important piece. I’m a sales person and a problem-solver first and foremost and those skills translated very nicely to jewelry sales and design.
She didn’t know anything about jewelry when she started working there, but was a quick study and soon learned the business from her husband.
“He’s an amazing sales person and a fount of knowledge with all things related to jewelry,” she said. “He’s been a great teacher and now I do all of the custom design for the store.”
David said his experience started early in life.
“I started in our family business polishing silver and sweeping the shop as a kid,” he said. “I ended up working for other jewelers for 11 years before I returned to the family business in 1998. It was a great opportunity to see how other jewelers ran their business and bring back ideas to further innovate our business.”
Now, after decades in Berkeley and Orinda, the couple is preparing to close the storefront and hit the road.
“We’ve both been dreaming about this plan for years,” Christine said. “We will put all of our things in storage for two years and see all 48 contiguous states. We’re very excited about that. We also have three grandchildren in the Pacific Northwest and we have not gotten to spend nearly enough time with them.”
Even while traveling, Morrison’s Jewelers will continue to serve customers remotely.
“We are closing down the brick and mortar and will operate our website online,” Christine said. “Lots of people shop online now. And when people shop online with us, they know exactly who they are dealing with and the quality they are getting. And if there is any problem, you can call us. The level of customer service won’t change.”
“We have a system set up with new software that the client will log into to track their project or repair,” Christine said. “We will send them a FedEx label so that everything is covered under our excellent insurance and we will do the design via video calls.”
But before that happens, and before they trade gemstones for gas mileage – everything in the store is up to 70% off.
“We have a little bit of everything ranging from amazing colored stone jewelry to basic, everyday gold pieces, to natural and lab diamonds. It’s very exciting.” Christine said. “We have many beautiful pieces of our own and we are bringing in a treasure trove of additional baubles.”
Morrisons’ signature service – redesigning heirloom jewelry – remains central to their philosophy.
“One of the most significant things about jewelry is that if the quality is good, it can outlast you,” David said. “So clients get to keep their mom or grandma’s beloved stones but can have a piece of jewelry that suits their taste. We have ladies in their 70s and their mom has just died and the most sentimental thing is whatever she wore every day. It’s always very touching. A favorite project of ours is to pull all of the stones out of a big cocktail ring or brooch and make matching pieces for all of the women and girls in the family.”
The couple’s values stem from generations before them.
“I learned from my dad and uncle to always take care of the people taking care of you,” David said. “When the Santa Rosa fire happened in 2017, we repaired numerous items of jewelry that had been charred, at no cost to the client. Same thing with the Berkeley Hills fire.”
Community involvement has long been part of Morrison’s tradition.
“We have a strong sense of service with our business and we enjoy supporting organizations that are important to our clients,” David said. “And when COVID-19 hit, we did a fundraiser and collected over 5,000 masks for the county hospital. We do a food bank collection most years. We just donated a darling pair of diamond earrings to the ‘Light up Orinda’ event. Lots and lots of donations over the years. It’s one of the benefits of supporting small businesses.”
Looking back, Christine said she hopes Morrison’s legacy will be remembered for three things: “Service, integrity and quality.”
As they prepare to set off on their RV journey, the couple looks ahead with excitement and gratitude.
“I’m excited about focusing on custom design,” Christine said. “That’s really the passion that I’ve gotten from this business over the last 13 years. Personally, we’re so excited about adventuring all over this beautiful country. And of course we’re excited to spend more time with the grandkids.”
For both, it’s a sentimental goodbye.
“It’s bittersweet because we will miss the faces of our most beloved clients,” Christine said. “But we’re super excited about the next chapter.”
“While it would have been nice to have a fifth generation to take over,” said Dave, “all of our kids are thriving and have careers of their own, and that was the end goal.”
Shoppers fill Morrison’s Jewelers during its closing-out sale as a customer heads out with her purchase, taking home a piece of the century-old Orinda institution’s legacy.