It takes a special kind of enterprise to keep the doors open for over half a century — even more so for a local family business rooted at a single location. As a longtime staple of the Idaho Falls business community, Ingram’s Jewelers has beat the odds and secured its place as one of the region’s most renowned providers of fine jewelry and related services.
The store at 361 A Street (easily accessible off of North Yellowstone) was poised for its 50th year
celebration just as the calendar turned last winter. But as it did for the rest of the world, the year 2020 rolled out with a flurry of unwelcome surprises. Apart from the tolls of COVID-19 and its economic fallout, the Ingram family had lost its patriarch and business founder, Bob Ingram, who passed away in April of 2020.
Over the course of his 88 and half years, the elder Mr. Ingram had spent most of them in the jewelry business.
“He started when he was just 12 years old, working at a store over on Broadway and Park Avenue,” recalled his son Stan Ingram, who has managed the operation for the past several years. “Our relationship in my adult years was founded on business, and we grew to have a lot of great respect for each other. I respected him for having the courage of starting his own company and building it up, and I think he respected me for coming in and taking it to the next level.”
One of the store’s slogans is, “Nobody does ‘I Do’ like we do.” From ring cleanings to watch repair and other services, however, Ingram’s goes far beyond standard bridal jewelry sales. And even when it comes to purchasing the perfect piece, the process can be highly customized.
“It starts with a sketch,” according to the store’s website. “After we have a general sense of what you are looking for, we will sketch the design. If we are on the right track, we will then send the sketch to a professional artist to create a 3D image. Once the sketch is transformed into a 3D image, we essentially have a ‘blueprint’ of what the ring will look like. We review the design with you and gather your feedback so that the necessary adjustments can be made. If you approve of the design, we take measurements to give the perfect ring the perfect fit.”
The entire process only takes about 3 weeks.
In addition to bridal/engagement rings and pendants, other product lines include bracelets, earrings and high-end watches. In fact, the store is a local exclusive retailer for timepieces from Tissot and Kyboe as well as quality brands like Citizen and Bulova.
In addition to special services and brand offerings, Ingram’s also stands out for its longtime commitment to and support of the business community of Historic Downtown Idaho Falls, where the store has been located for the entirety of its existence.
“I love the fact that we’ve stayed downtown. Over 50 years, I’ve seen malls come and go, and of course there’s the internet. Despite all that, we are stronger than ever,” Stan said. “We’re stronger financially, stronger in our commitment to downtown, and there’s just a lot of great things happening here. I’ve always said they could replicate 17th Street anywhere, but there’s only one downtown with a river running through it. It’s a centralized point of our community, and it’s vital we support it. That’s why we’ve stayed here. We’d like to think we’re the original anchor store. It’s just such a great place to be.”
Product selections, service capabilities and location are actually just a small part of the Ingram’s Jewelry story. The larger narrative is not just the what and the how, but also the who — beginning with the aforementioned mutual respect Stan had with his father. It’s a relationship dynamic that Stan is now passing down to his own son, Rob Ingram.
“Growing up, I was pretty much a listener, and I tried to be teachable,” Stan said. “Now I find myself repeating a lot of those same things to my son — that our business is built on trust, integrity and your own reputation, and when you leave this life, that’s all you really take with you — your reputation and how you treated other people. It’s not about what you made or how much money you have. It’s about who you’ve become.”
Stan recalled an assertion that his father had shared with him decades earlier — that people should have a jeweler just like they have a doctor or a lawyer, and that means having somebody they can trust.
“It’s not all about what we sell in here,” he said. “It’s how we service and take care of those heirlooms that have been in a family for a long time. Many, many people come in here and trust us with their most valuable and precious things. We don’t take it lightly. We want and hope that they trust us. That’s what we’re striving for.” For more information, visit www.ingramsjewelers.com or call 208-522-0505.
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