Jim Norris and Lola Ciambrelli in the retail area at San Marcos Jewellers.Tony was a watchmaker and after he and his wife Renata arrived in East Van from Vicenza, Italy’s “city of gold,” he worked for jewellers downtown and what’s now the East Village before he and Renata opened their store in 1973.
“And then, like almost at the same time, they all looked up and said, ‘Why don’t you take it over?'” Norris said.Advertisement 5So they did it, with the proviso Tony stay on. It didn’t feel like they were buying a business, it felt like they were joining an extended family. Small drawer after drawer house tiny parts, little gears and springs and all sorts of other Lilliputian widgets.
“So that he could continue to work,” Norris said, acknowledging that five out of five WorkSafeBC inspectors disapproved. “You’re not allowed to smoke in the building, but it was either I did this or I didn’t have him anymore.Article contentEven as Tony’s life ebbed away from lung cancer, he was teaching Norris how to make tiny repairs, putting his jeweller’s goggles on in the hospital for tutorials. That always drew a crowd, Ciambrelli said.
Over the course of an hour in back of the shop there was a constant hum of customers’ voices from the showroom — a mix of Italian and English, even a baby’s cries — and continual doorbell chimes alerting staff that someone wants to be buzzed in.Article content