Brooks Jewelers opens for business in downtown Oregon

OREGON — For the first time in decades, Oregon has a jewelry store.

Brooks Jewelers opened in early September at 113 N. Fourth St., Oregon. Along with selling jewelry, the store offers jewelry repairs, cleanings and inspections, appraisals, engravings and custom jewelry.

“You can’t account for everyone’s taste, so I kind of lined my showcases with staples,” owner Jen Brooks said. “I tell people, ‘If you don’t see what you like, we can either order it for you or make it for you. It’s not a problem. We can do anything here.’”

“The whole emotional aspect tied to jewelry is fascinating, and it spans the entire human existence. We’ve always adorned ourselves and I think that’s fascinating. What people choose and why they choose it, that’s just so cool. And you can do that with anything.”

—  Jen Brooks, owner of Brooks Jewelers

Most of the pieces in her showcases — which range in price from $35 to $4,000 — are ones she made, Brooks said.

Behind the showroom is a full custom workshop where she can do everything from cleaning to creation of custom pieces. Because she does everything in-house, her turnover time usually is a day or two, Brooks said.

She attended Gem City College — an accredited trade school in Quincy — and has 22 years of experience as a jeweler.

“There really is no repair that’s too big or too small,” she said. “Before I left the business I was with, I set a $276,000 diamond. I can go way high-end or low-end.”

Brooks said she loves what she does and wants to share that with the community, because jewelry is about more than metal and rocks.

“The whole emotional aspect tied to jewelry is fascinating, and it spans the entire human existence,” she said. “We’ve always adorned ourselves and I think that’s fascinating. What people choose and why they choose it, that’s just so cool. And you can do that with anything.”

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Jen Brooks (right) and Nick Brooks pose for a photo on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, inside Brooks Jewelers. Jen Brooks is the primary owner and Nick Brooks the co-owner of the Oregon-based store. (Alexa Zoellner)

Brooks and her husband, Nick Brooks — who co-owns the store and handles much of the business side — selected the downtown Oregon building with the help of the Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s a beautiful little space,” she said. “It’s everything we could possibly want here. The people are amazing. I just love it.”

Another thing that drove her to select Oregon was because the city had long been without a jeweler, Brooks said.

Oregon Mayor Ken Williams said, in reviewing history books, the last time he saw a jeweler in the city was in the 1940s. He knows there hasn’t been one since he moved to Oregon in 2005, and while there might have been a jewelry store between the 1940s and then, Williams said he’s not aware of it.

It’s wonderful to have one in town again, he said.

“It’s provided two outlets — both sale and repair,” Williams said. “We needed that, and we always work very hard to get retail operations in. It means something for our citizens.”

Williams said he and his wife are early customers of Brooks Jewelers. His wife had her wedding and engagement rings combined and resized, Williams said, and he had his military officer’s sword engraved.

The response from area residents has been overwhelmingly positive, Brooks said.

“It’s really awesome here,” she said. “I love our neighbors.”

Brooks Jewelers is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. More information can be found at BrooksJewelers.net, by calling 815-732-2374 or emailing info@brooksjewelers.net. The store also can be found on Facebook.