For five generations, the owners of Van Sipma Jewelers have helped bring happiness into people’s lives.
From its founding in 1900 as Van Sipma Bros. in Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood to today’s store at 2011 Ridge Road in downtown Homewood, a member of the Van Sipma family has been serving customers looking for just the right piece of jewelry.
Current owner Gary Van Sipma said helping generations of families “is really a rewarding aspect of the business.” He knows of grandparents who were served by Van Sipma Jewelers. Then their children came in, and now it’s their children visiting the store.
“I would say that’s my favorite part…the family tradition was in their family,” said Ashley Van Sipma who works alongside her dad, Gary. Her sister, Sarah, is there part-time.
Mother’s Day and Christmas are busy shopping events. “We have some customers that have to find the gold-wrapped box for underneath the tree. That’s always fun,” Ashley said. Still customers come in any time because “there’s always something to celebrate.”
In 1900, brothers Oege and Sipke Van Sipma started Van Sipma Bros. in Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood as a watch repair and jewelry store. Their parents emigrated from Holland in the late 1800s and brought their skills as watchmakers to Chicago.
Oege’s son, Charles Van Sipma Sr. started at the business in the 1920s after studying engraving and optometry. He took over the business in 1946. His dad continued working in the store until he died at age 95.
In 1953, Charles Van Sipma Jr. joined the business, and in 1970 Van Sipma Jewelers opened a store on Ridge Road in downtown Homewood. The store in Roseland was closed in 1980. Gary joined the business in 1977. He said from grade school on he knew he’d be a jeweler. Ashley left a journalism career in California to return to the family business in 2017.
With research assistance from the Homewood Historical Society, Gary and Ashley learned that when the Van Sipma store opened in Homewood, there were nine jewelers in Homewood. Seven were retail jewelers, one was a watchman for conductors on the railroad and another was a silversmith jeweler.
Both Gary and Ashley have diplomas and various certificates in gemology from the Gemological Institute of America. Ashley is learning jewelry design from her mother, Lynn, who “has a very good eye for it.” Van Sipma’s also uses computer assisted design (CAD) to bring a specially designed piece to life before it’s created.
“It’s fun and something the younger generation sees and (how you) can take a piece of this ring and a piece of this ring and make it yours,” she said.
Gary said the “Big 5” gems are diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald and pearl. Diamonds are the king of the gems. Most come from Australia now, although South Africa is still providing diamonds. Russia was a supplier, but trade restrictions have reduced that source.
“We find stones from all over the world,” Gary said. “There’s also a way, which is mind blowing to me, to base where the stone came from by the minerals in the composition of the stone to tell where it was mined which has alleviated most of the blood diamonds” that were mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army’s war efforts, terrorism, or a warlord’s activity. The activity was prevalent in the 1990s in Africa.
How did this small family business survive two pandemics, two world wars and the ups and downs of the economy? Gary believes trust is the key to Van Sipma’s success.
“Trust, customers trust us,” he said. “We’re honest with customers upfront all the time. It’s more trust that has helped us through the years.”
Customer satisfaction is another key factor. “Customers need to be happy and excited by everything they’ve purchased or repaired,” Ashley said. “Whether someone is purchasing a diamond engagement ring, having an item engraved or simply getting a watch battery changed, we are grateful for every interaction. Each connection is meaningful to us.”
In celebration of its 125th anniversary and its 55 years in Homewood, Van Sipma’s is planning weeklong celebration with a Vintage and Estate Event in late summer.
“The idea is to bring 125 years of jewelry into the store,” Ashley said. The displays will include “modern looking, forward jewelry and the other half will be vintage estate pieces that have a lot of history to them, a lot of unique pieces that you wouldn’t see in today’s market.”
Van Sipma’s is working with vintage companies to bring in pieces to honor the history of jewelry, some from the Edwardian and Victorian eras. The store also will display its large collection of watches and unique pieces.
Residents are invited to come into the store and add their name to the guest list.