Leighton’s milestone
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Chris Miller, owner of Leighton’s Jewelers, is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the business and will sell some of his award-winning creations during a special 60 minute sale Saturday.
A treasure trove of precious trinkets made of silver and gold, encrusted with diamonds, rubies, opals and other exquisite stones line the shelves of Leighton’s Jewelers in downtown Madera. These baubles will be up for grabs this coming weekend at a massive discount.
Celebrating its 60th anniversary, Leighton’s is hosting a unique discount sale.
On Saturday, for 60 minutes, the store will celebrate 60 years in business with a 60 percent-off sale that is nearly storewide, said owner Chris Miller.
“I knew we wanted to have a special sale to thank our customers for their many years of business,” he said. “I did some research with one of our vendors who organize store promotions,” said Miller. “This sale celebrating 60 years, for 60 minutes with 60 percent off, it seemed like the perfect storm.”
The big sale is 11 a.m. until noon, at their Madera store only.
“I learned of another family jeweler back east who had been in business for more than 100 years. They had a 60 minute 60 percent off sale and sold a piece (of jewelry) that had been in inventory for 40 years. It was a piece bought by the owner’s great-grandfather.”
News of the jeweler’s big impending sale has been making the rounds and a number of customers have already paid visits to the store on pre-buying excursions, Miller said.
Leighton’s Jewelers began in 1956 when Pat and Leighton Miller opened the store as a watch-repair shop in space rented from the now-long-gone Aragon Hotel on Yosemite Avenue. In 1969, they were able to purchase a building at 111 South D Street just across the street and moved the store to its present location.
In addition to the diamonds and gold sold there, Leighton’s is a full-service jeweler that still makes repairs on watches, jewelry and the resizing of rings.
Miller and his brothers Hugh and Corey grew up in the store learning the jewelry business from their father. Corey Miller owns Leighton’s Diamonds in Merced. The discount applies to the Madera store only.
“We are really excited about this anniversary sale,” Miller said.
The gift-giving holidays are coming up and this sale serves as a perfect opportunity for customers to get their shopping done.
Continuing the family tradition, the next generation of Millers, including daughter Suzie and nephew Daniel Miller, work in the store. Daniel does many of the watch repairs in-house. During the holidays several other members of the Miller family also work in the establishment, including Chris’s wife Kim.
During the big sale some restrictions will apply. The 60 percent discount is not valid on prior purchases, custom work, repairs, layaways or special orders; see store for details.
The round diamond is still the most popular stone for engagement rings, Miller said. Fashion trends change and yellow gold is making a come-back after years of white and pink gold being the preferred style. Many of the store’s stock of precious stones, engagement and wedding ring and settings are included in the sale and come in the most popular styles.
