SHIMMER JEWELLERY has its roots as far back as 1979 when owner EDWIN PICKARD moved from the Prairies to take a sales job with an established VICTORIA jewellery store. In what amounted to a decade-long apprenticeship, EDWIN learned many valuable aspects of business including banking, bookkeeping, and payroll, and gleaned valuable teaching from the onsite gemologist about diamonds and gemstones.

At the same time, he was greatly intrigued by what could be done with precious metals, heat, and solder at the goldsmith's bench. EDWIN soon began repairing and altering gold and silver items and, over the course of that 10-year period with the same employer, worked with a variety of qualified jewellery repair people and jewellery manufacturers and completed an evening course in diamond and gemstone setting, which taught him the art of hand-setting diamonds and precious gems in a variety of styles in gold and silver.

In 1987 he set up another workbench at home and began contract stone-setting for other jewellers in his off time, using the money earned to buy more equipment and build up a home-based business. When his employer announced retirement in 1989 EDWIN was offered several positions with other VICTORIA jewellers but chose instead to open up his own business.

So, in late 1989, EDWIN leased a small office space on View Street in downtown VICTORIA and opened what was then a wholesale jewellery repair shop under the name JEWEL RENEW SERVICES and offered expert repairs and setting services to the jewellery trade. Custom jewellery making, hand-fabricating, as well as wax model carving and vacuum casting were a normal part of every day. EDWIN was often sent difficult jobs from other goldsmiths who weren’t as comfortable on the repair bench.

In 1992 EDWIN hired his first employee, took on even more work, and then 6 months later, in July 1993, relocated to the current expanded premises on the 4TH FLOOR of the YARROW BUILDING at 645 FORT STREET.  More staff was hired to handle the large volume of work that was coming in from numerous stores in VICTORIA, up-island, and even from other provinces.

In January of 1998 the name of the business was changed to SHIMMER DESIGN STUDIO, reflecting the evolution of the business from wholesale repairs to retail sales, design, and service. Most of the wholesale trade work was suspended over the next few years to make more time for serving the retail business that was growing rapidly from word-of-mouth and that change in focus provided EDWIN the much more rewarding experience of being able to talk directly with the owners of the jewellery being made, remade, or repaired. To this day it is still a shock sometimes what people are being told about their jewellery in terms of so-called work needing to be performed or just about the prices they are quoted for that work.

The name was then refined in 2006 to SHIMMER JEWELLERY.

EDWIN continues today, after more than 3 decades, to personally serve anyone who finds their way up to the SHIMMER workshop, some of them being 3rd generation customers.

Thank you VICTORIA!