Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2013

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All in the Family
Campbell’s on Coleman
When I walked Into
Campbell’s Jewelers on
Coleman Boulevard, my
mind drifted back to the
years spent at my own
family’s independent
business. As a child, I
would watch my uncle and other family members run
the shop – and by running the shop, I mean much more
than selling shoes. They’d stretch
shoes to fit correctly, measure feet
to determine a customer’s perfect size and offer advice on
how to care for leather and suede.
Campbell’s Jewelers is also a family business, nurtured
in the tradition of not only selling remarkable pieces of
jewelry but also of caring for gold, silver and precious
stones for years to come. Bruce Campbell and his wife,
Cyndy, son, Kyle, and daughter-in-law, Leslie, have
enjoyed providing the best service possible to East
Cooper residents since 1987. And though they have
changed locations since opening on Simmons Street all
those years ago, the Campbells have always stuck with
the Coleman business district as their home.
“I always wanted to be on Coleman,” acknowledged
Bruce Campbell, owner and founder. “I thought this was
the place to be, even then.”
All of the members of the Campbell family have
been jewelers from the start. During his years in the
U.S. Navy, Bruce Campbell’s job was to repair clocks
and watches of all sorts onboard submarines. Following
the Navy, he worked with pawnshops in downtown
Charleston and partnered with Montgomery Ward,
J.C. Penney and Friedman’s. Later, while working at
Northwoods Mall for D. P. Paul, Bruce made the leap
from strictly timepieces to all types of jewelry and never
looked back. Today, he describes Campbell’s Jewelers as a
place where the love for manufacturing and repairing fine
jewelry is alive and well.
Bruce’s son, Kyle Campbell, began learning the ropes
of the business from his parents at the shop’s original
location, 307 Simmons St. Young Kyle was a natural,
to the point that Bruce and Cyndy sent their budding
jeweler to jewelry school after his graduation from
Wando High School – only to find out that Kyle’s skills
were too sophisticated for the basic courses.
Word spread about Kyle Campbell’s talent for
making and repairing jewelry. After a stint “on the
road” as a traveling jeweler, he returned home to assist
with the family business and help it flourish. His wife,
Leslie, who shares the same artistic eye as her husband
and the rest of the Campbell family, recently became
certified in jewelry appraisal.
“Our kids, Kyle and his sister, Lange, both went to
school here, and our family has lived in Mount Pleasant
since 1970,” remarked Cyndy Campbell, when I asked
how the Campbell name has stood the test of time. “And
we’re honest people. We tell our customers whether we
can fix something or not.”
Besides offering an assortment of unique fine jewelry,
many pieces crafted in-house by Bruce and Kyle,
Campbell’s often repairs unusual items such as silver
candle holders and teapots – even a silver horse bridal
once – in addition to jewelry.
“We can do things that other shops can’t do,” said Bruce
Campbell. “You could say that repairs are our true love.”
To learn more about why Campbell’s Jewelers has been in
at 405 W. Coleman Blvd.
By DenIse K. JaMes
Campbell’s offers an assortment of unique jewelry items, many pieces
crafted in-house.
Photo provided by Campbell’s Jewelers.
Longevity 26 Companies that have passed the test of time are the backbone of the Mount Pleasant business community.