The Watchmaker's Daughter: Three Generations of Business in Downtown York

Historic York

The Watchmaker's Daughter: Three Generations of Business in Downtown York

How Karen Reiss Staub is keeping history alive through the family business

BY: JJ SHEFFER | Director, Community Programs

It was in her blood, but it wasn’t necessarily in her plan. “I didn’t dream of being a jeweler,” says Karen Reiss Staub, who is in fact a third-generation jeweler. “I had an opportunity to come into the family business when I was in my early twenties. My dad needed help, and I was in a position where it really worked for me.” The flexibility was key while her kids were young, so she stepped in to help in 1997, and soon found that the opportunity gave her a chance to grow creatively. “And here we are, 20-some years later.” Staub’s grandfather, George Reiss, started the family business in 1945 on West Market Street above Woolworth 5&10. Her father, Max Reiss, began working in the shop at age 12 and then went on to study watchmaking before relocating it to North Beaver Street in 1965.

“My dad’s really the one that’s been in the business since he was a kid. He used to go in as a kid and polish jewelry. He’s really got it in his blood,” Staub says. “He still loves coming into the shop. He’s going to be 90 in November. He loves that place.” When it was time for Staub to take up the torch from her father, it was amid a renaissance in downtown York. She recognized that it was time to make some changes and modernize their approach, as the neighborhood began to see increased foot traffic and a renewed interest in shopping locally. She put a lot of thought into renaming and refashioning the business, while continuing to honor the sense of tradition her family had built. Max was reluctant, but Staub had to make it her own, and eventually, as he saw that her plans were working, he felt more comfortable and slowly released the reins.

The Watchmaker’s Daughter, still in that same Beaver Street storefront, is a full-service jewelry store that focuses on handmade custom jewelry and a highly-personalized customer experience. They’ve also recently expanded by converting their second floor into workshops with jewelry benches and tools, where they host classes and customized parties. The family has now been operating in downtown York for more than 75 years, and Staub has witnessed the business district’s evolution throughout her life.

“It’s a special community,” Staub says. “There’s a sense of camaraderie. You know you can count on your neighbors and everybody’s in the same boat.” She’s also helped continue the sense of intimacy among the shop’s customers. She’s gotten to know them, see what’s happening in their lives, watch their kids grow up. “You become part of their families, and that’s special,” she says. “I feel honored to be able to do that, and that people trust me that way.” She’s proud to offer that sense of community in an age where big-box and online retail has rendered shopping anonymous and impersonal. Staub’s customer service philosophy is to keep the experience as personalized and customized as possible, while incorporating some of her family’s time-honored business practices. “I feel honored that I can hold this tradition and keep my family’s history alive.”

The Watchmaker's Daughter | 22 N. Beaver St., York, PA 17401; 717.848.1066; watchmakersdaughter.net