The Willow Glen Resident

Popular Avenue jeweler prepares for retirement

By Maggie Benson

"Are you the one who is retiring?" a customer asks Harold Bounds as he browses around Willow Glen Custom Jewelers.

Bounds nods a yes and the man shouts out a cheery "Congratulations!"

Bounds has taken part in this same scene quite a lot lately, since he pasted the several "Retirement Sale!" placards across his store windows. And though he's received many hearty congratulations, he's also heard the same number of "don't go's!"

"They are going to be sorely missed," customer Russell Sauer explains. "We would just pop in and visit with them, and they'd always treat us like a million bucks, whether we were buying something or not."

After 22 years in the San Jose Police Department and 12 years of running Willow Glen Custom Jewelers, Bounds has decided it's time to retire.

"It's time for my wife and I to spend time together," Bounds explained during a recent interview at his shop at 1302 Lincoln Ave. He and Karen, his wife of 32 years, haven't taken a "real" vacation since the store opened, he explained, a major motivator for the retirement. (Hawaii and Arizona are first on their destination list after the business officially closes sometime in January.)

Bounds' daughter, Wendy--his "right-hand" person--recently took a position in the stocks and bonds world, adding to his decision to retire. He said he also wants to devote more time to the Willow Glen Kiwanis Sunrisers, of whose board he is a member, and to spend more time with his grandkids.

Though he won't give any details about who is looking at the site, he did confirm that another agency has expressed interest.

Bounds says he has an abundance of customers like Sauer because of the way he's run his business. "The thing that I like the most is I feel people get a level of service that's far and above [other jewelers']," Bounds said. "I'm not a high-pressure salesperson. We offer a high-quality product and a high-quality service, and that's what Willow Glen is all about."

Customer Sauer would attest to that. He met Bounds when he was buying his wife a 10-year anniversary ring. He was dissatisfied with the stone and the setting he had purchased from another jeweler and brought it in to Bounds to fix.

"It would have been one of the biggest mistakes I ever made if I had given it to her," Sauer commented. "[Harold] was able to really help me make some good decisions."

Sauer said he usually shops at Willow Glen Custom Jewelers when looking for a present for his wife. ("Harold, Karen and Wendy would all get together and help me make decisions about what style would suit my wife," Sauer explained.) Needless to say, Sauer's wife isn't too happy about the Boundses' moving, either. "I think my wife is going to really miss the fact that he's not going to be there anymore," Sauer said.

Bounds opened Willow Glen Custom Jewelers--the first retailer in the newly constructed building--after tiring of police work. "I wanted more of a personal challenge," he said. While still on the police force, he went back to school and became a gemologist. After opening his shop, he studied to become a member of the international society of appraisers--he's one of the few in the valley and the only one in Willow Glen.

It is this kind of knowledge about his product that has kept customers like Donna Minardi coming back to Willow Glen Custom Jewelers. Minardi buys the majority of her jewelry from Bounds and also uses his services as an appraiser. "It is his truthfulness, his honesty [that] keeps people coming back," she commented. "Harold will tell you exactly like it is."

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