John Shearer: A Look At Fischer Evans Jewelers’ 150 Years Of Business

At a business known for its timepieces and jewelry it has sold over the years, the clock has literally struck a significant hour for Fischer Evans Jewelers – its 150th anniversary. 

With the T.H. Payne stationary, book and office supply store having closed in recent years, Fischer Evans on Eighth Street between Market and Broad is now the oldest independent retail store in Chattanooga.

But it is still trying to keep in time with – and maybe even move ahead of -- the latest trends in making and selling fine jewelry.

According to operating principal Clarke Glover, the store has undergone several changes in recent years to stay current. That has included adding additional designer lines to their jewelry, buying diamonds and colored gemstones directly from cutters in such places as the trade center in Mumbai, India, and producing more custom jewelry to meet customer needs.

But while staying modern, it also tries to maintain one time-honored tradition welcome in any era of business – offering friendly customer service.

Mr. Glover said the customers they regularly get from such larger cities as Atlanta and Birmingham are particularly aware of this. 

“They are able to come into a high-end store that has down-home service,” he said.

As Mr. Glover recently discussed the business today, he said he took over the operation about four years ago from his parents, Howard and Becky Glover, as they were stepping away from the day-to-day operation. The 1988 Baylor School and Ole Miss graduate actually helped out at the store from 1992-95 and became a certified gemologist.

He then received an MBA degree from the University of Texas while pursuing a career in investment management, a field in which he is also still involved. His investment work took him to such places as Georgia, Texas, Montana and Boston.

His wife, Nicole “Nico,” whom he met six years ago, had worked for an Italian design line, and she is involved in buying the various lines of jewelry and handling marketing and advertising.

Mr. Glover says he handles all the technical aspects of the business. That can include helping develop a custom piece of fine jewelry for a customer, if the person has a special request or the needs are not met by the numerous pieces and items in stock.

That process might include doing a sketch of the customer’s concept, using CAD technology to produce it on a computer, printing a model on a 3-D printer, and then sourcing the gemstones to create the piece.

It is a process he personally loves along with overseeing the entire business, he said.

“Running an overall business is fun and comes with tremendous challenges and opportunities,” he said. “And by far what is the most stimulating is working with individual customers. I enjoy puzzles.”

He said the store also welcomes people who might have some fine and old family heirloom jewelry just stored away without any plans to use it personally. 

He said they can contact the store, and he can help them figure out ways to reuse or even recycle it.

On the second floor of the store are the business’ china, crystal and gifts department and bridal registry. Customers can even see engaged couple’s china and crystal patterns on display.  

While downtown has changed a lot in recent years, Mr. Glover said the store is still primarily a destination location for people coming downtown specifically to visit Fischer Evans. But he said that as downtown gets more pedestrian friendly, that might change, adding that he has seen an increase in visits from tourists or other out-of-towners who just happen to see the store while out walking.             

Among those also helping the iconic downtown Chattanooga business is a staff that includes three employees with 30 or more years of service. 

Another obviously important staff member – and an unofficial goodwill ambassador – is Roxie, the Glovers’ 11-year-old retriever and office dog. Featuring a copper-colored coat as shiny as many of the store’s rings, she knows how to make customers feel welcome, based on a recent visit.

Another friendly greeter for Fischer Evans over the years – although an inanimate one – was the large street clock that was put along Market Street in front of the store in 1883. For years it was a popular downtown landmark and meeting place.            

It was operated manually before being electrified after World War II. Several years ago, the clock received damage from a vehicle and was removed.

The clock had been installed by business owners and brothers Will and Lewis Fischer to advertise literally in a giant way their wares. 

According to one old newspaper story, older brother Will had opened his business in a boarded-up stable on Market Street in 1869. He was only in his early 20s and was soon joined by his younger brother.  

Old newspaper obituaries offer some additional insight into the two brothers, both of whom were bachelors and died somewhat suddenly. 

Will Fischer was born in 1846 in Mecklenburg, Germany, and came with his parents at a young age, first to New York, and then to Dalton, Ga,, where he spent much of his youth. He came to Chattanooga in 1867, and he and his brother started the W.F. Fischer and Bro. business two years later. The obituary said the business had a fire during the early years.

Will Fischer was an active Mason and member of the Mountain City Club.

He lived above his business at Eighth and Market streets, and one morning in June 1909, he had gone upstairs after not feeling well. His nephew, W.M. Hatcher, had gone to see him about a matter and went upstairs to his apartment. When he could not get him to come to the door, he with the help of a porter was able to get into the residence, where he was found dead from natural causes. He was 62 years old.

Lewis Fischer was born about three years later than Will, after the family had settled in New York City from Germany. He went on to head the jewelry company for 22 years until shortly before his death on March 14, 1931, in his early 80s. 

He was a member of First Presbyterian Church and resided at the Mountain City Club, where he died following a heart attack after returning from a Florida vacation.

Both Fischer brothers were buried at Forest Hills Cemetery.

Another brother, Otto, also survived them. A descendant of their Hatcher nephew married into the Goree family of Chattanooga.          

Some time after Lewis Fischer died, former store manager T.H. McClure and his relatives operated it until 1956. Then, Mr. and Mrs. Carter Evans, the parents of Chattanoogan Judy Rowland, purchased it.

They ran the store until the Glover family bought it in the early 1970s and enlarged the store’s footprint, which had been reduced in size away from the clock during the Great Depression.

And now, Clarke and Nicole Glover are hoping to continue to expand the services in this era of the Internet and quicker turn-around service.

“We think we compete well with anybody in the world right now here in Chattanooga,” said Mr. Glover.

jcshearer2@comcast.net