HARD AT WORK
breed, believing handmade will always trump anything machine-produced.
“Mostly the jewellers just don’t exist anymore, people will make things on machines. I make it for customers, I won’t go through wholesalers and retailers.
“If you think back to when I had my shop 20 years ago on the Central Coast, I had a big shop, everyone knew me.
“People would come from far and wide, they came from everywhere, London, America, everywhere.
“Over those 20 years, we’ve had to work out how to survive, how to make this work.”
The love of the industry, despite the challenges, is still there.
“I really do enjoy what I do. I was told when I was younger ‘if you’re good at something, stick to it, don’t change’.
“I may have changed shops a few times, but I’m still going and I think people appreciate me and that makes me feel good.”
“I’ll have another scan in October and the doctor wants to do it straight away. When she told me it was a shock.
“I was told if I don’t have the tumour removed I’d be dead in two years. That was five months ago. I couldn’t even absorb that. I was wondering if I could finish off that ladies ring before I died.
“I was telling people and I felt like I was lying to people, it hadn’t sunk in. I’m scared also. I can’t deny that.
“There’s an operation at the end of the year to remove the tumour, it’s in a real bad spot. They’ll have to cut my whole skull open to get into it. Then I’ll have radiation after that. If I didn’t do it and if I retired, I’d go crazy. It’s changed my outlook a little bit, but I’ll continue on.”
There has been some good news this year though: his robbery case, gone cold, had heated up. After nearly two decades on the run police arrested a 47-year-old man in Camperdown last month, charging him with two counts of robbery while armed with dangerous weapon and shoot at person with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm.
He was denied bail and remains in police custody. Police sources told the Bulletin the investigation into the jewellery heist is still ongoing, with further arrests expected.
“It’s good you know, a bit of piece of mind, but it’s something I’ll soon not forget.”