Dan's Papers - April 4, 2008 - Corwins Jewelers

In 1876, W.G. Corwin set up his jewelers shop in Orient out on the North Fork. When the Long Island Rail Road reached Southampton in 1878, he decided to relocate and stake his claim on Main Street in Southampton - the result being 129 years of continuous jeweler service by the same family. Present owner, Master Jeweler Timothy Corwin, told a compelling story of a customer who came in with a ring set by his great-grandfather, W.G. Corwin, in the 1890s and needed to be reset. Timothy admired his great-grandfather's work as he reset the diamond in the ring. "In fact, it was a piece from the 1700s," said Timothy. "It was a special moment for me."

Corwins Jewelers is the oldest continuous family owned jeweler in New York State. W.G.'s original jeweler's shop was located three doors down from the present location at 61 Main Street. In 1900, there was a fire and the store was repaired, but after a more massive fire in the 1920s the present building was acquired. It has been the home of the business and five generations of Corwins. In 1928, W.G.'s sons, George and Thomas, took over. After World War II, Thomas came home to Southampton to take over the family business. However, when he was recalled to fight yet again in Korea it was Timothy's mother, Elizabeth Corwin, who ran things until he came back to Southampton for good in 1954. Thomas ran the enterprise until 1981 when Timothy, who had just finished becoming a Master Jeweler in Texas, returned home to take the reins of Corwins Jewelers and move it into a third century.

A 1971 graduate of Southampton High School, Timothy later earned a degree in biology from SUNY Binghamton and then went to jewelry school in Texas. He and his wife, Toni Lea Corwin, have three children - Karianne, who is just finishing up at Southampton High School, Tamara Tillman, who recently gave birth to Cory Thomas Tillman, and Travis, who is currently a chef in Charleston, South Carolina, but has worked at the jewelry store in the past.

With a family business with this much history, anecdotes abound. Timothy tells of a Southampton High School ring found in 2004 in some bushes in the Village. The ring, from the class of 1934, was brought to Corwins Jewelers to see if he could find the owner. Tim found initials and the owner was successfully tracked. And there was the woman who lost her two carat diamond that somehow became dislodged from its setting. Timothy duplicated the ring and the woman was pleased. However, two years later she walked in with the lost diamond in her hand. She explained to him that when she was getting into her car the day before she saw something shining. The lost diamond was imbedded in the trim of car. Timothy designed something special for the woman and the diamond.

Jane Boyd, a trusted aide at Corwins Jewelers, recalled some of the many well-known faces that have stopped in - the flamboyant Truman Capote stopped by during her first year on the job back in the 1980s. Other celebrity clients included Johnny Carson, Perry Como, Chris Reeves, Peter Jennings, Sly Stallone, Tina Louise, and Maria Shriver and her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger. Boyd expressed sadness over recently losing valued customer, the late Roy Scheider.

Timothy Corwin stressed that Corwins Jewelers can do "anything." He recommends that all diamond jewelry be checked twice a year. At Corwins the diamonds are checked and cleaned at no charge. Corwins also does watch repair, stone settings, diamond settings, antique restoration, pearl and bead stringing and appraisals.

The fluctuation in the price of precious metals has kept the staff at Corwins on their toes. However, their traditional top-level service is a factor not seen in the price. Timothy said that the price of rhodium used in the plating when setting a diamond now sells for $9,000 an ounce. He claims that many jewelers are now using platinum because even though it's costly it's still less expensive than rhodium.

When entering Corwins Jewelers, in addition to the wonderful jewelry and watches, two other things stand out. The beautiful stained glass behind the counter done by Alexis Mayer in 1998, and the wonderful pet dog, a border collie named Kipper, who if you're lucky will try to get you to play Frisbee with him. Corwins is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call (631) 283-1980.