Billy Hammock
Owner, Graduate Gemologist
Billy began his working career as a welder. Well, an out-of-work welder. The economy was at one of those low points that circle around every decade or so. Needing to keep the bills paid, Billy took on his old high school job at a KFC restaurant.
But no matter how tight times got, Billy always made time for a game of Rook with his roommates. On one particular game night, a roommate brought a friend to join the game. During the course of the conversation, they learned that the visitor was a jeweler – and particularly discouraged by the poor progress being made by his jewelry repair trainee.
Billy, being a trained welder, quickly announced that he could certainly solder two pieces of metal together if the guy was interested. The next day, Billy went to the store for a test. In quick fashion, he sized a ring and polished it to perfection. When Billy revealed the ring to the store owner, the owner asked when he was going to size it. Billy stated that he already had. Surprised, the owner inspected the ring closely, then asked if he needed a job.
Billy worked for the jeweler for two and a half years, then was abruptly fired without warning. The date was January 1987. But good fortune has always seemed to follow Billy around. Soon after the firing, Billy was eating a fast food breakfast when an acquaintance told him of another jewelry store owner that he should speak with. The store had no diamonds or jewelry for sale. It was a repair shop that did work for other jewelry stores. And the long-time owner was looking to get out of the business fast.
The next week, on April 3rd, 1987, Billy Hammock was a jewelry store owner. Billy had gathered together all of the savings he had left – $547 – and invested in his only inventory: seven gold chains. But Billy didn’t want to be just a repair shop. Even though he loved working on and making custom jewelry, he felt he needed to know more about gems and diamonds in order to sell them with any sort of authority.
Billy enrolled in the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and eventually became a Graduate Gemologist, Diamond Grader, Gemstone Grader & Identifier and an Insurance Appraiser. In a less formal fashion, he had also become a collectable coin expert, having collected and traded coins since he was five years old.
The store grew steadily over time, and after nine years space became tight. And with the landlord going up on the rent, it was simply time to move the store. In the summer of 1996, Billy found an available building at 216 North Court Street in Historic Downtown Florence. It was way too big for his jewelry store, but the mortgage was actually less than what he had been paying in rent. Then there was the move. You’ll have to ask him to tell you the story about moving into his new store – with snow falling like crazy and a city that decided to shut down early due to the weather.
Today, Creative Jewelers sports an expansive 2,400 square foot showroom with display cases filled to the brim with the largest selection of designer and custom engagement and anniversary rings, along with high quality jewelry that you’ll find nowhere else in the region. And there’s the custom design center: a state-of-the-art computer-aided design system that exists at no other jeweler in the Shoals, utilized by the store’s expert custom designers.
As Billy will tell you, it’s been a long road – and there’s not much that he hasn’t seen or heard. That’s what makes his stories so good. And Billy can tell some stories! He’s fond of the expression “We sell love.” But he’s quick to add that you can’t do that without a true dedication to the customer’s satisfaction – a dedication that he has held for nearly 25 years. |
