Blatner's family were Jewish refugees who fled Germany in 1939. He said his father "saw the handwriting on the wall" as Hitler and the Nazi regime began conquering Europe and began sending Jews to concentration camps. The family contacted distant relatives in Albany, N.Y., who sponsored the family to come to the United States.

Once the family arrived, the relatives supported them as the Blatners looked for employment to pay the rent. His two sisters worked as nannies and Blatner, then 16 years old, apprenticed with an Austrian watchmaker.

"I knew I had to have a trade," he said. He chose watchmaking because his uncle in Germany was a jeweler.

The watchmaker he apprenticed with was a "master craftsman" who had learned his trade in the "old country," said Blatner, referring to Austria.

Seven years passed, World War II ended, and Blatner became an American citizen, who at the age of 23 suddenly found himself drafted and returning to Germany. He was sent back for 1 ¹/2 years, as an interpreter for a military intelligence center near Frankfurt.

"It was very peculiar to be back after what happened," Blatner said. He had lost an aunt, an uncle, two cousins and a grandmother in the Holocaust.

Once he had served his new country in his old homeland, Blatner returned to Philadelphia in 1947, where he started a family and worked in a jewelry shop.

After a few years, Blatner and his wife, Gertrude, decided to pull up their East Coast roots and move to California for a better climate and easier living, he said. Their first home was a rental in Campbell. Then in 1956 Blatner bought a home in Willow Glen. During that time Blatner worked at a jewelry store in Redwood City until it was sold in 1958.

Taking his last $3,000, because no one gave credit in those days, he said, he established Martin Jewelers in 1958. The business was started in a garage that belonged to Lederman's Florist on Meridian Avenue near Hamilton Avenue. That business was subsequently torn down and is now home to Wolf Camera.

But one week before Blatner held the grand opening, the street was ripped open for maintenance, and during the opening only five customers ventured in. Yet Blatner was determined to succeed and didn't let an unforeseen maintenance job stop him from pursuing his dream. He worked even harder to attract business, going door to door and handing out flyers to Willow Glen residents about his clock- and watch-repair business.

As his business grew—from a repair shop to a jewelry store—he was advised to relocate closer to the intersection of Hamilton and Meridian avenues. Although many of the surrounding streets were still cherry orchards, a consultant predicted it would one day be a busy area.

He took a leap of faith and relocated to 1605 Meridian Ave. in 1964 and watched as the surrounding orchard land was sold off for residential development.

"Sure enough, Willow Glen never deteriorated," Blatner said. "Today it's even better than it used to be."

The longstanding business looks like it's here for many years to come, with Blatner's youngest son, David, following in his father's footsteps. He trained as a goldsmith and has repaired and restored jewelry in the store for 20 years. David said he enjoys working on the more intricate pieces, and as a jeweler, enjoys seeing the satisfaction on a customer's face when a piece of jewelry is restored.

"We've been here for 45 years, and I want to continue for another 45 years," David said.

The manager, Sandy Egherman, who started working for Blatner while in college 38 years ago, simply never left.

After she graduated from San José State University in graphic arts in 1968, Egherman applied for jobs at advertising agencies in San Francisco and was told they would not hire women.

"I was frustrated because I couldn't get a job in what I was trained for," she said. So she decided to stay in the jewelry business after she took some career tests and found she was well-suited to retail.

For Blatner, it was the best decision Egherman ever make.

"She's my right hand and my left hand," Martin Blatner laughed gently, referring to Egherman's adeptness at creating store displays and running much of the business.

Egherman added that she and Martin are like "business husband and wife" because they have worked together for so long, and some customers assume they are married.

Her years with the business have also instilled a high level of customer trust. She has found herself helping customers, their children and their grandchildren, she said.

"It's not just my job, it's my social life," Egherman said, noting that even though this is a metropolis, Willow Glen is like a village in a large city.

She added that even the store's part-time employee has worked for the business for 20 years, creating a strong sense of family. And Egherman reminisces about meeting David when he was only three years old.

"She's adopted me," said David, who felt Egherman was a surrogate mom while growing up and has become even closer after he lost his mother three years ago.

This family feeling is also shared by some of Blatner's oldest customers.

Carlos Lopez, one of the store's earliest clients, came to the shop in 1966, looking at engagement rings not long after he began dating his wife, Helen.

"It was destiny," Lopez laughed, about meeting his wife and finding Martin Jewelers.

The Lopezes have been returning ever since their engagement. Helen still wears the Madonna necklace that Blatner picked up for her in Italy in 1967. When she dropped her wedding ring down the garbage disposal, loosening the diamonds, she decided to have the smaller diamonds removed and asked Blatner to create a pair of earrings with the smaller diamonds for her granddaughter, which he did.

Besides the Blatners' professional service, the Lopezes also appreciate the family's generosity in donating small items for church and community raffles.

"We've been overwhelmed with his service," Carlos said, referring to Blatner's kindness to his family and the community.

Helen said that whenever she goes into the store, she makes sure she has time to "sit down and talk with Sandy."

At 81, Martin Blatner shows no sign of slowing down. While he has ceased making trips to Europe to seek unusual pieces his customers' request, European jewelers now come to him, because they know he does good business, David said.

Blatner said he considered retiring 10 years ago, but wants to make it for a few more years.

"The fear I always had was losing my job, so I worked all my life," he said.

The result of those efforts has translated into a successful family business, one that he only dreamed about as a teenage refugee 65 years ago.

Martin Jewelers is located at 1605 Meridian Ave., 408.266.6341.