Ron pulls shutters down on popular Edinburgh jewellers

Published on Friday 18 December 2009 10:20

WELL–KNOWN local jeweller Ron Haggarty, 63, is preparing to shut-up shop for the last time after 30 eventful years in the business.

Mr Haggarty, from Edinburgh, opened Continental Jewellers on Nicolson Street in 1979 with only 300.

"The first few years were very difficult," he said. "Many times I put my hands together and said to God, 'Please give me enough to pay the bills'."

Over the years he has built it up into a business that turns over 500,000 a year, but now is having to retire due to ill health, and is hoping to find a new owner for the business.

Mr Haggarty was born and raised in Edinburgh and his mother had to work hard to provide for him and his brother after their father's death. He admitted he was very proud of the influence Peffermill Primary School had on him.

"There were 58 in our class – and they complain about class sizes now! It was all down to the teachers."

Before moving into the jewellery trade, he was involved in showbusiness.

"I learned to dance when I was 16 and was a professional dance teacher for many years," he said.

"I wasn't sure what to go into next because I had nothing; no qualifications and no idea what to do. But two men, Joe Bonner and Alistir Tait, both shop owners, helped me out."

Since opening Continental Jewellers, Mr Haggarty insists he has got just as much of a kick out of selling as he did on the dance floor.

"You get such a buzz from selling something at 10 or 15 grand," he said. "If you do that, you leave work with a real spring in your step. But I've always said, whether someone is spending 5 or 5,000, they get the same service."

The job has also provided other forms of excitement, and while Mr Haggarty is now nearing retirement he can remember a time not so long ago when he had to fight off and chase potential thieves.

"I've chased people down the street a few times and I can remember once fighting two men at once," he said. "One was on my back and one was on my front.

"The worst incident was when I got a call from the police at five in the morning. I came in and the mess of the place was unbelievable. A young 15-year-old was in a car, and three quarters of it was in my shop! I was crying my eyes out. To see the devastation of your shop, your lovely business, was shocking."

And down the years, Mr Haggarty has had to learn a thing or two about telling the difference between a customer and a thief.

"There's probably been about 12 incidents down the years, but you get to tell who is coming in to rob you. You don't often get a wee laddie coming in wanting a 2,000 ring!"