Glittering 40-year career for Galleries’ jeweller Colin Cawley
A well-known jeweller at the heart of the Wigan community is celebrating 40 years in his trade.
Colin Cawley, who runs Cawley Jewellers in Tyldesley Arcade; part of The Galleries Shopping Centre, is offering customers a special discount of 20% off every purchase to mark his 40th year working as a jeweller.
Colin has been a familiar face around Wigan for many years and set up Cawley Jewellers after completing his training at Baker’s Jewel Casket in Market Place.
He began his long and distinguished career in 1977, exactly one week before his 17th birthday. He laughs, recalling his interview vividly:
“I turned up dressed in wide parallel trousers, platform shoes, a 2-tone kipper tie with a jumbo collared shirt, and a velvet jacket that matched my long brown hair.”
After working on the front desk at Baker’s and gaining valuable customer service experience, Colin’s defining career moment came when a bag containing some of the store’s jewellery repairs was stolen from Wigan Wallgate railway station.
Colin said: “Someone was needed to break the unfortunate news to our customers that their precious items had been stolen, whilst assuring them that they would be fully compensated to the best of our ability.
“I volunteered to take on the job and in doing so I managed eventually to resolve the whole issue without losing any of our customers. My efforts didn’t go unnoticed by the management and I had started myself on a journey that led eventually to having my own business.”
After gaining further experience in the industry Colin became manager of Winstanley Jewellers, which led him to meeting his wife Diane. His dream of owning his own jewellers continued, and led him to eventually going into business with his former boss John Linaker and daughter Alison, forming Linaker and Cawley’s.
This successful partnership lasted 20 years until Colin acquired the Linaker’s share of the business and changed the name to Cawley Jewellers, with Diane becoming an equal owner of the business. The pair moved to the store’s current location in Tyldesley arcade where they celebrated their 30th year in business in 2016.
Colin believes the key to his 40 years of success as a jeweller is his values, which his shop has continued to adopt:
“Our aims are the same as they’ve always been: to offer both quality and value for money whilst giving a personal and professional level of service that in our view is second to none.
“I think Diane and I make the perfect husband and wife team, and although a little older we still come to work every day with the same passion and enthusiasm, and love what we do.
“Of course I must also thank our many customers for their continued support, as without them there would be no story to tell.”