Deborah said an attraction to the beauty of gems and diamonds sparked her passion for jewelry as a young woman. According to Claude, an interest in how rings were made led him to an apprenticeship and later to a career as a jewelry maker. Thirty-five years later, their love of jewelry led them from their distinctive coasts to Shannon Fine Jewelry, a jewelry store once located in Spring on FM 1960.
“We ended up working together at the same store here in Houston,” Claude said. “[We] met and fell in love and got married and continued to work there until the owner decided that he was going to retire, and we asked if we could take over the Shannon name.”
Gary Zoet established Shannon Fine Jewelry in 1979, naming the store after his first-born daughter. In June 2018, the Texas Department of Transportation announced a construction project to widen FM 1960 that was expected to result in a 70% loss of business for the store. Zoet announced plans to close Shannon Fine Jewelry and his retirement later that year.
“We ran to [Zoet] and said, ‘We don’t think Shannon’s should go away,’” Deborah said. “‘Houston likes Shannon’s. It’s a good name, you started a good thing and kept it going for 39 years. We would like to continue that.’”
With Shannon Zoet’s blessing, Deborah said Shannon Jewelers celebrated its grand opening in November 2018 at its location in the Grand Parkway Marketplace on the corner of Kuykendahl and Spring Stuebner. It offers a collection of rings, earrings, necklaces and more, in addition to appraisals, custom design and repair services for jewelry.
Family continues to be a large part of the Shannon name, as Claude said his and Deborah’s dynamic as partners both in marriage and in business works to create a familial atmosphere for the store. With Deborah managing sales at the front of the store and Claude in charge of jewelry handiwork in the store’s on-site workshop, the two make a good team, he said.
“[Deborah and I] don’t just work together, but we live together, love each other,” Claude said. “If it was strictly business, the store would not have the same feeling to it.”
Deborah said for Shannon Jewelers, the experience of selling or repairing a piece of jewelry is as personal to the owners as they know it is for their customers.
“Jewelry is very important, and it’s very personal and it ... means something different to every person who owns a piece,” Deborah said. “We want to be very sensitive to that. This is your piece; this is precious to you.”
Shannon Jewelers
6710 Spring Stuebner Road, Ste. 710, Spring
281-893-1175
www.shannonjewelers.com
Hours: Tue.-Fri. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., closed Sun.-Mon.
