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Kirkwood, MO—Jewelers James and Martha Durbin retired last month after owning the former James Durbin Jewelry Design for almost 25 years. Now they’re able to do something only a lucky few jewelers can: see the space that once housed their store continue as a jewelry store with a very similar kind of business and clientele.

The Webster-Kirkwood Times reports that Kent Jewelry of Rolla, MO, is opening a second store in the former Durbin space. Owners Zach and Sarah Woolsey told the Times they’re excited to continue the Durbins’ legacy, and that it was a perfect opportunity to expand their own business. Both their business and Durbin's are focused on custom design. Even better, Mark Douglas, the master goldsmith from Durbin’s Jewelry, will be helping the couple run the Kirkwood store, which is 94 miles northeast of the Rolla store. Durbin’s website now redirects visitors to Kent Jewelry.

James Durbin's website, visible in the background, directs visitors to Kent Jewelry, the new occupant of its old retail space.

“I had always been interested in the Durbins' store, as they ran a very similar operation to what we have developed in Rolla — lots of custom goldsmithing, highly integrated into the community, doing a lot of their own designing and manufacturing, etc.,” Zach Woolsey told the Times.

The Woolseys are very focused on sustainability. Fairmined certified, Kent Jewelry makes its jewelry in-house with only responsibly-sourced gold and gemstones. 

“We've spent years drinking fair trade coffee while wearing rings that are anything but. Kent's is proud to be the first jeweler in Missouri to become Fairmined certified and use Fairmined gold in all custom and in-house pieces,” says the jeweler’s website.