SHOP LOCAL: Muhl Jewelers looks back on 100 years

from Crown City Magazine December 2021 Issue

by Crown City Magazine

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: Happy Holidays, Coronado

Crown Gem

Treating customers like family shapes jewelry store’s long life

Story by Sydney Zoehrer Photos by Joel Ortiz

Nestled between Fuzziwig’s Candy Factory and Parakeet Cafe at 1130 Orange Avenue lies Muhl Jewelers. This month, Muhl is celebrating the hundredth year of business since a jewelry store opened in its current location — an establishment as timeless as its pieces. The shop has prevailed in the face of recessions, familial hardship and, now, a pandemic. Having a jewelry store in the same spot for a full century is no small feat for a familyowned business. In recent years, the store’s longevity can be attributed to the owners’ dedication to community engagement and reliability — a jeweler Coronado has always been able to count on.

A jewelry store has been located in the Spreckels Building, originally owned by the J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Co., since shortly after the building was constructed in 1918. According to newspaper articles of that era, the store changed owners several times and location at least once. A Mrs. Klass bought the store in 1920 when it was located next to the old Central Drug Store, and newspaper advertisements show that the Klass Jewelry Company storefront had moved into the Spreckels Building by early 1922.

The more commonly known history begins in 1941, when Elmer and Katherine “Kitty” Muhl bought the store from jewelry retailer H.W. Hughes at its current location, 1130 Orange Ave. In its early years, the business was mostly watch repair. Over time, the Muhls expanded the store’s function toward jewelry production as well as selling sterling silver fl atware and conducting jewelry repair beyond watches. In 1971, a new family, Patricia and Wilton Johnson, took over operations and chose to maintain the historic storefront’s name as Muhl Jewelers; 50 years later, the business is still in the Johnson family with their granddaughter, Renae Johnson-Wease, at the helm. The Johnson family lease is the second oldest of the original Spreckels building, behind only that of Pacifi c Western Bank on the corner of Loma and Orange avenues.

Renae’s family records indicate that Hughes opened the store in 1921, pinpointing 2021 as the 100th year a jewelry store would be in operation at the same site. The Muhl’s jewelry store history can be traced within the Spreckels Building for about a century. To recognize the milestone, the store is giving customers the chance to win a 1-carat, internally fl awless fancy yellow diamond.

Renae, born in town in 1977, was exposed to the trade at age 4, when her father, Rodney, would pick her up from kindergarten at Christ Church and take her to the business where she would observe him work. His mother, Patricia, was a gemologist and Rodney was a metalsmith who started fabricating jewelry in 1971. Renae credits him with teaching her most everything she knows about the trade.

She describes the connection that the store has with Coronado as close-knit, dating back to when her grandparents acquired the store in 1970.

Coronado High School graduate, Renae Johnson-Wease, has owned and operated Muhl Jewelers since 2012.

“Even from that time, we’ve always dealt with the community like extended family,” Renae remembers. “We’ve always been about building relationships within the community and supporting the community that way.”

Because the jeweler focuses on high-end jewelry and repair, Muhl doesn’t have many tourists as customers. Her main customer base are Coronado residents and an over-thebridge contingent, as well as returning visitors from Las Vegas, Laguna Niguel, East County and several major Arizona cities — who are committed to bringing their repairs to Renae.

Renae relies on satisfied customers for advertisement, as their word-of-mouth recommendations are what keep business streaming through her doors. Renae emphasizes that community ties have always been of utmost importance to her family, not only to maintain a livelihood but also to foster positive relationships. For her family, the most meaningful aspect of being jewelers has been the opportunity to serve loyal customers.

“There are families where we’re on the fourth and fifth generation of doing their family’s wedding rings,” Renae said. “That means much more to me, as it did to my parents and my grandparents, than having a jewelry store and selling jewelry.”

Muhl Jewelers has proven to be consistent and trustworthy across generations under Johnson family ownership, apparent in their impressive retention rate. Reliability means everything in an industry where customers need to know they can trust the competency of people repairing valuable possessions. Those who cross the threshold of Muhl Jewelers feel comfortable because of their familiarity with Renae’s grandmother and her father; in fact, many have known her since she was a small child. They know what to expect because the dedication to quality and accountability that Renae grew up with is a legacy that she is committed to preserving.

Originally a teacher by occupation, Renae took a leave of absence from her job to keep the business afloat while her father was in the hospital in 2012 after she “realized [she] was the only other person on the planet that had keys.” What was intended to be

Juliette is the Johnson's fifth generation, clearly inheriting the love of jewels.

The elegant storefront window displays a variety of wares.

a temporary stint ultimately turned into a full-time job following the untimely passing of her father that year. One year after Renae assumed ownership of the business, her grandmother, Patricia, passed at the age of 94.

As Muhl Jewelers has been a stalwart friend of Coronado residents since its opening, it is only fitting that reciprocity was shown when Renae adopted the business. Renae remembers an outpouring of support from the community in a time of uncertainty for her leadership and the trajectory of Muhl Jewelers.

“The town really, really took care of me,” she remembers. “And I really appreciate the kind words and the stories and the support that ... gave me the courage to go out there and pursue it and leave my other job and just kind of throw myself 100% into it.”

This level of commitment was exactly what was needed over the past year and a half to withstand the turbulence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Renae closed the store for four months at the height of cases, and, since reopening in June 2020, has transitioned to more in-house manufacturing due to supply chain issues. As Muhl Jewelers strikes a balance between manufacture and repair, business is at the whim of global jewel markets that have been detrimentally a ected by the pandemic. Emeralds from Colombia and Afghanistan, premium chain from Italy and diamonds sourced from Ramat Gan, Israel, and India — the cutting capital of the world — have all been inaccessible.

The Johnsons have preserved the Muhl family legacy within the store, where the original Muhl Jewelers safe is still intact.

Patricia Johnson and her son, Rodney, worked in tandem after their 1971 acquisition of the store. Pam Hammett, the Johnson family's first store employee, holds Rodney's newborn daughter, Renae, in November 1977. Elmer Muhl bought the jewelry store in 1941 with wife Katherine "Kitty" Muhl.

From the ceiling hangs the last remaining original chandelier from the Spreckel’s building.

Renae does not keep an extensive back stock; pieces are made to order with locally sourced stones while global jewelry markets remain dysfunctional. Her mother, Cathy Rogers, now works with her three days per week so the store can stay open longer each day and to allow Renae to craft more components from scratch than ever before.

While this requires patience from people used to instant gratification, in reality, the slower pace of business at Muhl Jewelers is its hallmark — something that di erentiates its pieces from those of retail stores with mass-produced jewelry. The personal touch of handcrafted jewelry is knowing that time and e ort has gone into every step of the process to bring custom pieces to fruition or repairs of items back to their original glory. The care Renae takes with her work is consistent with the family-like relationship that her relatives have always had with their customers.

Keeping the business open in the wake of financial struggles due to the store’s closure during the pandemic is a battle she’s not willing to lose, and one that she feels willing, not obligated, to fight.

“It’s not going to die on my watch, in other words, and it’s not something I feel encumbered with but something that I’m happy to do,” Renae clarifies. “I feel every day

that this is where I was meant to be and this is what I was supposed to do.”

Renae has found her calling as a jeweler, and this shines through when she loses track of time at the workbench. Her husband, Travis, sometimes calls to see if she’s coming home, only for her to look at her watch and see that it’s 10 p.m. — a true testament to her love for craftsmanship that has maintained the vitality of Muhl Jewelers. She says when she gets in her groove, it never feels like work.

Since taking over the business, she has maintained certifi cation with the Gemological Institute of America and made concerted e orts to keep pace with business in an everchanging world.

Renae expressed her gratitude that Muhl Jewelers has prevailed for more than 70 years.

“To me, it’s an awesome feat for a tiny little store to endure and weather recessions and the metals market and competition and technology,” she says.

To thank the community for decades of support, Muhl Jewelers is presenting customers with the chance to win a GIA-certifi ed 1-carat, internally fl awless fancy yellow diamond. Customers’ names will be entered in the drawing for every $1,000 they spend in the store through Christmas Eve. The winner will be selected and notifi ed over the holidays by Renae’s granddaughter, Juliette, the fi fth generation of the Johnson family since the family’s acquisition of Muhl Jewelers in 1971.

This Watchmaker’s timing board holds remnants of Muhl’s watch repair history. These gold hoops are part of an extensive estate case.

Muhl Jewelers’ current hours are 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Friday, and 10 am to 3 pm Saturday.

• Special thanks to the Coronado Historical Association, who contributed research to this article.

• Author Sydney Zoehrer is a graduate of Coronado High School, Class of 2019, and now attends Yale University where she is majoring in Urban Studies. Sydney is also a copy editor for Crown City Magazine and the Yale Daily News.

• Photographer Joel Ortiz is a local photographer, videographer and English teacher who can be found on Instagram @joelphotoguyortiz.