Diamond through the rough

Charles Zerbe's father, Fred, was for many years a troubleshooter for Helzberg Diamonds -- taking over troubled stores in the Midwest - - and the job meant that the family moved a lot. Charles Zerbe attended seven schools by the time he'd completed eight grades.

"It was kind of like being in a military family," Zerbe said, "except I was never in Germany or Japan. I could see some of the good parts of the jewelry business and all the gritty, difficult parts, too."

After 35 years as part of Zerbe Jewelers on Tejon Street, the past 27 as the owner with his wife, Janice, Charles Zerbe's career path might now seem as though it was preordained. It was no such thing.

During his years at Wasson High, he would occasionally do odd jobs at the Isaac Brothers jewelry store where his dad was manager, but mostly Charles Zerbe's summer jobs were far removed, making doughnuts at the Summit House on Pikes Peak or selling guns and reloading equipment in the Walgreens at Palmer Park and Academy boulevards.

When Fred Zerbe opened Zerbe Jewelers in 1972, he did lure his son to help with sales, offering him 25 cents an hour more than Walgreens ("It was three bucks an hour," Charles Zerbe said, "and in 1972, that was pretty good money").

But that didn't change Charles Zerbe's plan. Once he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 1974, he was determined to attend graduate school.

He intended to become a clinical psychologist or a lawyer -- until Charles Zerbe sat down with his dad to talk about his options.

"He pointed out that with either of those two careers -- and they are great professions -- you are always going to be dealing with everybody else's problems. He said, 'Think about that. You can't just leave that stuff at the office.'

"'In the jewelry business,' he said, 'we're in the happy business, dealing with weddings, births, anniversaries, birthdays. It's all the happy stuff.' And 33 years later, I'm still telling that story, and it's still true."

Zerbe Jewelers has become one of the city's most prestigious jewelers, building a reputation for personal service and quality that has attracted a strong core of repeat customers, in some cases covering three generations of the same family.

Charles and Janice are among five staff members certified by the Gemological Institute of America, with a total of more than 150 years experience.

Not that it has always been easy. Zerbe has kept the store a downtown retail fixture into its 35th year despite two forced changes of location, a devastating burglary and a continuing shift away from the area's retail roots.

The toughest challenge came in 1982 when the lease on the original store location at 15 S. Tejon St. (now the Ritz Grill) came to an end shortly after one of the worst burglaries in the city's history.

Four thieves from Kansas City drilled through the green-tiled floor of Lori's Beauty Shop on the second floor to reach the top of Zerbe's vault, then drilled a 12-by-12-inch hole in the top of the vault.

"They took everything," Zerbe said. "All of our stock, all the customers' stuff in for repair. Everything."

Police estimated the haul at $250,000, which would be nearly $600,000 today, accounting for inflation. The thieves were captured in California within a few weeks, but the store recovered only 22 percent of what was stolen. And Zerbe's insurance policy would cover only the acquisition price of the items, a far cry from the replacement cost.

"Our lease was up Oct. 1 and the landlord wouldn't make any concessions," Zerbe said. "We asked if we could just stay for six months, try to run it through Christmas and get back on our feet, then sign a new lease.

"The landlord said, 'No, you've got to do five years or nothing. And it's got to be at this price.' I mean, he really had us under his thumb. So we just said OK, we're gone."

Zerbe rented a spare room from his attorney in a building across the street and worked out of there for six months until he could lease space down the street at 118 N. Tejon St., next to the Old Chicago restaurant.

"It was a sign of how people felt about the Zerbe family that they came to buy from Charles at the lawyer's office," said Terry Zebarth, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Jewelers Association. "Charles is a quality person, who is honest and a good friend. His is a destination business. People go to him no matter where he is."

Zerbe borrowed the proceeds of the insurance from the business to buy out his dad's portion of the firm and took out a bank loan to get restarted with what he estimates was one-tenth of his previous inventory.

"It took about 12 years to pay off the store," Zerbe said, "and I'm still married to the bank."

"It's indicative of his character and his will to survive that he was able to gather up what he had, relocate and start over," said Bruce Cameron, owner of Motor Parts and Supply Co. and a longtime friend. "A lot of people would have packed up their bags and moved on."