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Fred and Karen Burke
Fred and Karen Burke continue a family jewelry business started in 1969 by Fred’s parents.
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Burkes family business
Fred and Karen Burke, pictured with their team, continue a family business started in 1969 by Fred’s parents, Dorothy and Fred Burke.
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Fred and Dorothy Burke
Dorothy and Fred Burke opened Burkes Distinctive Jewelry in 1969.
The traditional gift to celebrate an anniversary of forty-five years is sapphire. What could be more appropriate for a jeweler who’s been in business that long than a gemstone whose durability ranks almost as high as diamonds? Burkes Fine Jewelers on South Main Street in Kilmarnock knows something about longevity and finding its place within the community.
The store that Dorothy and Fred Burke opened in 1969 began completely by accident. “My parents weren’t looking to open a jewelry store. It was a chance encounter,” recalls Fred Burke Jr., who, since 1988, has been the proprietor along with his wife, Karen. “They were looking to make a change in their personal careers and, on the way to look at a refrigerator for sale, my mom ran into the owner of the jewelry store. Mrs. Finney explained how she and her husband were looking to sell the business and the rest is history.”
While his parents had named the store Burkes Distinctive Jewelry, Fred Jr. changed the name to Burkes Fine Jewelers and, in the past decade, began focusing on coastal design jewelry, much of it created on the premises. “We do all our own design work and have four major U.S. manufacturers. Each manufacturer we personally know and call our friend,” Burke says. River Rocks is a collection of diamond jewelry and engagement rings; Bay Bangles is a line of bracelets with interchangeable toppers; the Lady of the Bay collection features jewelry with a mermaid theme; Northern Neck Knots is designed to symbolize the enduring power of love; and the oldest line, the Rivah Collection, features jewelry with a coastal theme.
As part of the forty-fifth anniversary celebration, the Burkes have launched a website, www.burkesjewelers.com, that carries their river-based jewelry collections. They’ve also completely renovated and updated their store, which now has a big-city, high-end feel with crystalline fixtures illuminating dozens of glass cases filled with traditional and unique jewelry.
Why not just a website in this technological age? Burke is adamant. “Brick and mortar independent stores are the backbone of this country. Our jewelry, with all the art and workmanship, needs to be seen and touched. It’s truly art for your body.”
Burke acknowledges that business has changed over the years. The biggest sellers, when he took over in 1988, were diamond pendants and pearls. Today the Burkes number-one item is the Bay Bangle.
Even as styles have changed, jewelry has remained a classic gift, especially to commemorate special occasions. Burke knows; he still recalls the first jewelry he bought for Karen. “14k yellow gold hoops that she still has and wears!” He says it with both the pride of a jeweler and a husband who knows he chose well.
804-435-1302 • burkesjewelers.com
86 South Main Street, Kilmarnock
This article appeared in the Fall 2014 issue of The Local Scoop Magazine, pg. 55