Shop Local: Rainbow Jewelry (Video)

Almost 40 years ago, Tom Judovitz went to look at an open storefront in Highland Park. 

"My parents were in the diamond business. I had just come back from traveling and had a bachelor degree in psychology, but I didn't want to work downtown with my father," Judovitz said. 

He and his wife were green, but they liked the idea of being their own bosses. So, they opened up their own jewelry store. 

"The day we signed the lease—it was in February and rainy," he said recalling 1976. "We were debating what to call the store, and then we saw a big rainbow." 

About four decades later, Judovitz is still in the jewelry business. He moved  from Highland Park to South Pas in 1995. After revamping a shoe store on Fair Oaks Avenue, he said many of his old clients quickly followed. 

Although the current construction on Fair Oaks hit his business pretty hard during its first two months, he says his store is slowly recuperating. Much of his business—which consists of watch and jewelry repairs as well as custom design—is word-of-mouth. 

Considering the store's unique pieces and his meticulous work-ethic, it shouldn't be hard for Judovitz to bring back his steady stream of customers. While he's at the store almost every day, he still finds time to train for triathlons—like California's well-known Wildflower. No big deal.