Tucson Citizen Article

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=90 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" Perri Jewelers 13 North Stone"><U><B><IMG SRC="347964f0.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="79" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFBF0" FACE="Elephant" ><B> Perri Jewelers           13 North Stone            Tucson, AZ</B></FONT><B>           </B><B>    </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFBF0" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" Perri Jewelers 13 North Stone"><U><B><U>HOME</U></B></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <I>Tucson Citizen Article</I></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="18f26d10.jpg" border=0 width="550" height="209" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">                                                         <a href="http://www.localfirstaz.com"><img src="http://www.localfirstaz.com/banners/local/local-125x125-square-button.gif" alt="Local First Arizona" title="Local First Arizona" width="125" height="125" /></a>  </div> <div>  October 28, 2004</div> <bR> <div> <I>Independent jewelers,including some shops handed downthrough generations, test their mettle outside of malls</I></div> <div> <I> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="11" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="7"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="7" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></I></div> <div> <I>Central Tucson is studded with independent jewelers linked by a love of craftsmanship. </I></div> <div> <I>Here are a few:</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="35998120.png" border=0 width="408" height="530" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <B>Perri Jewelers, 13 N. Stone Ave., (520) 624-4311</B> </div> <bR> <div> Stephen Perri didn't plan to get into the family business, but he found it had its charms. </div> <div> It started with his uncle in 1945. </div> <bR> <div> "Uncle Peter was a watchmaker. My father was a hand engraver. He bought the business from Peter in 1957," said Stephen Perri, a teacher at Salpointe Catholic High School. </div> <bR> <div> But about a year ago, his father, Simon Perri, suffered a stroke and the business at 37 W. Congress St. was closed. The plan was to liquidate the inventory, move the equipment and abandon the business. </div> <bR> <div> "I'm a teacher, and my two sisters live out of town," he said. And the old location needed a costly renovation. </div> <div> But when he took a semester off from teaching to complete the tasks, he changed his mind. "My sisters and I started working here when we were teenagers. </div> <bR> <div> "Until Dad's stroke, he was the last hand engraver I know of in town," Perri said. "People kept telling me not to close the business." </div> <bR> <div> A small, nearby storefront was vacant, and Perri decided to move in. He repairs jewelry, sets stones, sizes rings and repairs quartz watches. He hired a professional watchmaker for other timepieces. </div> <bR> <div> "Our clientele is here," he said of the decision to stay in the area. "If we were not going to stay downtown, we would not have stayed in business. </div> <bR> <div> "We opened here June 11. We're a lot smaller than before, but we're open."</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>