Reimer Jewelers has been part of downtown Oshkosh since 1952, long enough for customers who once came in with their parents or grandparents to return with children and grandchildren of their own.
Paul Wagner has spent about 30 years in the jewelry business and has owned Reimer Jewelers with his wife, Lauri, since 2010. Through the decades, the store has remained in downtown Oshkosh, even as retail shifted toward malls, frontage roads and online shopping.
For Paul and Lauri, that longevity is about more than selling jewelry. It's about trust, relationships and being part of the community where they live and work.
We sat down with Paul to talk about what you'll find at Reimer Jewelers, why the store has remained committed to downtown Oshkosh, why he believes in love and how jewelry can play a part in everyone's love story.
For someone who has never been to Reimer Jewelers, what will they find when they walk through the door?
I would like to think of it as friendly, welcoming and affordable to everyone. Of course, we have bridal, anniversary and family jewelry. We have a little bit of memorial jewelry for ashes. We have watches. I think we're a pretty well-rounded, traditional jewelry store with gifts for all occasions. We also have a goldsmith shop. We have two goldsmiths upstairs working on benches, designing and creating. That's always been part of Reimer's, too. We're a working jewelry store.
Reimer Jewelers has been around since 1952. What do you think has given the store that kind of staying power?
We're honest. We're fair. We never run sales. We don't mark up to mark down. That's how it was started in 1952, and our pricing has always been very fair within our market.
There's also a huge trust factor in our industry. A customer may come in and hand you something she wears 24/7, especially with bridal jewelry. It's important that they understand they can trust us.
You do a lot of custom work. What can your team create?
One of our goldsmiths has his master's in art from Madison. He can draw a sketch and make it. We can go from sketch to wax to casting to the finished piece. It's 100 percent custom, truly one of a kind.
We've even made fish jewelry. We have salmon, sturgeon, perch and walleye. We once had to study the difference between the jawline of a male and female salmon for bridal jewelry someone wanted us to make.
You've said you're a happy person working in a happy business. What makes the jewelry business happy for you?
I believe in love. Jewelry to me has always been something given out of that pledge of love. I experienced that with my parents and grandparents. Gifts of jewelry were always given. I remember some of the occasions when my mom got things.
There's the memory, then there's the creation of that memory, and then there's the memory that's passed on. I don't think there's another industry that does that.
People reconnect with us afterward, too. Now with social media, they'll send us engagement pictures and things like that.
Sometimes you're helping create memories under very different circumstances. What does that mean to you?
We've had customers come in who know they're dying and want to buy a gift for everyone. It's tragic, but at the same time, it's a beautiful thing they're doing because they're saying, “I love you so much.” On this side, it's an honor to be part of that.
You’ve served generations of the same families. How well do you get to know your customers?
We know some of our customers’ pets’ names. We’ve had husbands come in looking for a gift, and we’ll ask, “Does she wear yellow or white?” And their answer is, “I don’t know.” What do you mean you don’t know? We know. She would rather have white gold than that yellow gold piece you’re looking at.
We want him to come back and say, “Hey, I hit it out of the ballpark!”
And we do serve generations. Grandparents shopped here, then the parents shopped here, and now their kids are getting engaged, and we’re all part of that.
Sometimes the grandkids are on the other side of the country, so now some of it gets done digitally. But we’re part of all these joyous occasions.
You've been helping other people with their love stories for decades. How romantic were you when you were courting Lauri?
The first piece of jewelry I gave Lauri was a little pear-shaped opal ring. She had never ice skated before, and I loved to ice skate, so I bought her a pair of ice skates and hid the ring box inside the toe.
But I kept telling her, “It doesn't really mean anything,” because I was afraid of commitment at the time. I asked Lauri to marry me three times before she finally said yes.
The third time, we were at home and had cooked brats. I purposely didn't put yellow mustard on the table because I hate yellow mustard, and I knew she'd get up to get it. When she got up, I put the engagement ring on her plate.
That was July 28, 1982.
Reimer Jewelers has had opportunities over the years to leave downtown Oshkosh. Why has the store stayed?
Original owner Herb Reimer had the opportunity to go into the Alberta Kimball Mall, and he said, “No, I don't believe in that. I want to stay on Main Street.”
Then he had the opportunity to move out on the frontage road when all that development was happening in the '70s and '80s, and once again he said no. He believed in downtown.
I agree. A healthy community has a healthy downtown. We have independent businesses that are giving back. We're part of a community, and I think that's really important.
I would never leave.
Other than Reimer Jewelers, what are some of your favorite Oshkosh businesses?
Well, of course, my wife's store, The Artful Gift, Wagner's Meat Market. Kitz & Pfeil Ace Hardware and Gardenia’s Kitchen and Bar. I know a lot of the owners on Main Street. That's part of what I like about downtown. We're part of a community.
About Reimer Jewelers:
Owners: Paul and Lauri Wagner
Address: 11 Waugoo Ave., Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54904 Downtown Oshkosh
Website: Reimer Jewelers
Opened: 1952
