BF Turner

Established in Victoria in 1948, Van Isle Jewellers has always been 100 percent locally owned and operated. Following WWII military service,

JE Munro

Belton Turner, Cliff Duckworth, and James Munro met while attending trade school inVancouver. After graduation, and each with an equal stakeof $500.00, the three partners set up shop in small office space on the second floor of 738 Yates Street. With thirty plus independant jewellery stores in the Victoria area it was the intention of “Van Isle Jewellers” to help service these stores as a local wholesale manufacturer and repair centre.

Over the years that small workshop expanded from the single room to the entire second floor of that Yates Street location and, at its peak, employed eight full-time goldsmiths on “the bench”.

Although Mr. Duckworth left in the 1950’s to pursue other interests in California, Mr.Turner and Mr. Munro remained as partners for over 40 years, retiring from the business in 1991.

In 1991 Van Isle Jewellers was sold to two former employees,enabling the founders to retire and to also allow the Van Isle tradition of quality and service to continue. The jewellery business had changed a great deal in those years since 1948. Gone were most of the small independent family owned jewellery stores of yesteryear, having been overwhelmed by mall based national chain stores or “hoity toity” jewellery art studios. Good quality, unique design, and “old school” service at a reasonable price was becoming an anachronism. In 1992 Van Isle’s new owners, Dave Warnock and Kenn Munro, decided to offer the consumer an alternative to “massed produced” or “designer expensive”. A show room was added to the Van Isle shop on Yates Street to give the retail customer the opportunity to deal directly with the manufacturer and repair specialists while saving money in the process. In 2000 this show room was moved to 1126 Blanshard Street ( at the corner of View ) to give our customers a more spacious environment in a more accessible location.

Today, as in 1948, Van Isle Jewellers stands out as Victoria’s specialists in jewellery manufacture and repair.

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