NATIONAL JEWELER          57
diamonds and stud earrings. 
If customers want a wider 
range of lab-grown diamonds, 
pieces in other categories can 
be ordered at both stores.
“At the end of the day, we 
look at the market, and we 
try to do what’s best for our 
customers while also trying to 
make the best decision for the 
company,” Karsten says. “We 
don’t want to lose a customer 
because we’re not offering 
something.” 
Peter Franklin Jewelers kept 
all the Van Horne Jewelers employees 
following the acquisition as well as the 
business’ name. 
Karsten says the store’s connection 
with their customers is strong, noting 
that everybody who comes in knows 
at least one or two staff members, and 
they chat about running into each 
other outside the store. 
“Clearly, good people who were good 
leaders ran the store for a long time and 
got a good reputation, which is ours 
now to uphold,” Karsten says. 
CHALLENGES: FROM AI TO K 
Paul, owner of Robson’s Jewelers, is 
not the type to let the latest headlines 
affect the vibes in his family’s Baytown, 
Texas, jewelry store.
“There’s always something going on, either 
in the Middle East, in Asia, or here at home. I 
think the focus [needs to be on] not getting off 
topic and focusing on your customer,” he says. 
“People are always going to get engaged, 
people are always going to have anniversaries, 
people are always going to have occasions.” 
Paul says too many small business owners 
watch the news and let it take away from their 
“good local business sense.” 
Jewelers know (or should know) what their 
customers want and how to serve them. Do it 
and ignore the rest, Paul says.
“Honestly, the guy coming into the store 
who’s 22 years old and [just fell in love], all he’s 
thinking about is her,” he concludes. 
While most headlines don’t distract him, 
Paul does have one concern when he thinks 
about the future of Robson’s Jewelers and his 
blue-collar hometown: the potential for artifi-
cial intelligence to take jobs away from people. 
“That’s a realistic threat,” he says. “That’s a 
SPECIAL
FEATURE
At left, Paul Hargrave (center) with his uncle 
Robert Hargrave (at left in the red tie) and his 
father Norman Robson Hargrave. Below, the 
Robson’s Jewelers store when it was under 
construction in 1984 and as it looks today.

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