Enrique (Henry) Garcia has been a jeweller all his life.
As owner/operator of Benjamin’s Jewellery, his shop has long been a part of the Sault’s downtown business district, and will likely continue to be for several years to come.
“He will never retire. He doesn’t have hobbies. He enjoys the job so much. He thoroughly enjoys his interaction with the public,” said Henry’s wife/shop assistant Claire, Benjamin’s having attracted many regular customers over the years.
Now 69, Henry has been a jeweller for 60 years, first working with jewellery at the age of nine in his native Mexico.
Henry’s father was a banker, his uncle a jeweller.
Henry’s father wished to see his son carry on in his own footsteps, but the young lad became interested in his uncle’s skills as a jeweller at a young age.
“When I was 15 years old I had my first jewellery business,” Henry said, speaking to SooToday.
Henry makes his own jewellery, including rings, ear rings, pendants, cufflinks, tie clips, bracelets and more.
He also sells watches (but does not do watch repairs, devoting his time and talent to jewellery) and, truly an old school individual, added he believes too many people rely on their cell phones to check the time.
Henry met his wife Claire while she, a Vancouver, B.C. native, was living with her family in Mexico.
Claire’s father had moved his family to Mexico, believing a better diet and warmer climate in Guadalajara would be therapeutic for him in his battle with health issues.
Henry and Claire married in Mexico and decided to move to Canada, first settling in Toronto in 1973.
Henry began work in a factory which manufactured oven fans, learning to speak English.
He then worked for various jewellers in Toronto, working long hours for what could be described as difficult employers and coworkers.
“I said to my wife ‘I wish I could find a place where I could go and be a jeweller and have my own business.’”
His wish would eventually come true, circumstances leading him to the Sault.
“We met someone from Gros Cap. He told me ‘if you come to Sault Ste. Marie come and stay with us, it’s a beautiful place,’” Henry recalled.
“He gave me his house for three days, for me, my wife, my three kids and a dog. My kids fell in love with the place. I went to see another house and made an offer. I left, then the real estate agent called me and said ‘you have a house in Sault Ste. Marie.’”
Henry sold his Toronto home and moved north in Sept. 1988, opening the first, smaller Benjamin’s Jewellery location (Benjamin being the name of one of Henry and Claire's three sons) at 32 Queen St. that same year.
“It was awesome to have our own business,” Claire said.
“Absolutely,” Henry said.
The jeweller told us he doesn’t mind the Canadian climate, with its long cold winters in stark contrast to hot sunny Mexico, stating he enjoys ice fishing.
The couple moved the business to its current location at 100 Queen St. E. in 1994, Henry rolling with many of the changes in jewellery-making technology over the years.
However, to this day, he will not use a computer like so many jewellery designers do, preferring to design jewellery with old-fashioned wax casts and by using high-quality European tools.
“It’s all handmade and it’s just the two of us,” Claire said.
“He loves the windows at this location, and the parking...I think we have a special location,” Claire said, Henry telling us he clearly prefers to stay in the downtown core.
“It’s self-satisfaction, to be able to say ‘I did this,’” said Henry, when asked why he has loved making jewellery all his life, saying he loves to see his customers satisfied with his work.
Claire, who handles the bookkeeping end of the business, said “this business is ‘us.’ It’s what we’ve been doing for so long.”