Wickersham Jewelry, Inc

Glen and Audrey Wickersham began Wickersham Jewelry in 1959, in Abbotsford, Wisconsin, with just 800 square feet of selling space. The Wickersham family also operated a store in Neillsville from 1985 – 1993. Today, there are three Wickersham Jewelry locations: Rothschild, near the Cedar Creek Mall; Marshfield, in front of Walmart; and Rhinelander, in the Cedar Wood Plaza.

Glen retired in 1994, and his four children took over the corporation. Jeff Wickersham, Vice President, handles the Cedar Creek store. His sister Debra is also in the Cedar Creek store, and his brother Robert is in Marshfield. Gary, the eldest brother who managed the Neillsville store, passed away in 2001 due to an accident. Glen Wickersham passed away in 2011, and is dearly missed by his wife Audrey, his children, and his grandchildren who are continuing his legacy and growth of each store location.

As someone whose family has been in the diamond business for over 50 years, Jeff Wickersham has a good finger on the pulse of the diamond industry. The biggest changes Jeff has seen in his time are the trends. “Today, people have gradually moved from wanting quarter carat diamonds to one carat diamonds. People are much more aware of the industry’s present style and trends than ever before.” Jeff attributes this fact to increased awareness caused by media trends and internet.

What this translates into for Wickersham Jewelry, is more customization, educating, and consulting each customer. Jeff concludes, “Customers need and want to know more about quality, cut, polish, and price differences.” To the untrained eye, many diamonds look very similar, but no two diamonds are alike. Cut, polish, rarity, and style account for those differences.

Wickersham Jewelry offers diamonds with a world-class reputation, built over a century of tradition and craftsmanship. Our diamond cutters are also a diamond trading company sight-holder, which is an exclusive club reserved for the best manufacturers of the world. They guarantee their diamonds do not originate from any of the world’s conflict areas, and that they have been mined and manufactured without recklessly endangering or harming the health or welfare of any individual or the environment.

Wickersham Jewelry participates in a variety of community activities: Festival of Trees; Children’s Service Society; Boys and Girls Club; United Way; Mosinee Fire Department; Wausau Area Noon Optimist; Marshfield Main Street; Marshfield Chamber of Commerce; South Area Business Association; Wausau/Marathon County Chamber of Commerce; Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce. Wickersham Jewelry also supports local area schools, as well as family fundraisers.

At Wickersham Jewelry, we take pride in our customer service, variety of jewelry inventory, and repair and custom jewelry departments. We invite you to stop into each Wickersham Jewelry store location to browse or purchase jewelry, have jewelry repaired, or have a unique piece of jewelry created. After all, “If you can dream it, we can make it!”

Custom Designed Jewelry – “If you can dream it, we can make it!” At each Wickersham Jewelry location, the jewelry of your dreams can be made on-site using traditional hand fabrication; custom made using the lost wax casting method where a wax is hand carved; then cast into metal or designed with CAD/CAM (computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing). CAD/CAM software will direct the motion of a machine tool to make the exact shape as drawn. This results in a very precise piece of jewelry.

Diamond Importers – As one of central Wisconsin’s largest diamond importers, we handpick every diamond for our clients. Wickersham Jewelry offers South African diamonds obtained in Antwerp, Belgium. These diamonds have a world-class reputation built over a century of tradition and craftsmanship. Our diamond cutters are a Diamond Trading Company sight-holder, which is an exclusive club reserved for the best manufacturers in the world.

GIA Certified Gemologists on Staff – GIA (the Gemological Institute of America) – the creator of the 4 C’s – is the world’s foremost authority on diamonds, colored stones, and pearls. GIA certification helps us identify gemstones, and is necessary for jewelry appraisals.

Jewelry Repair– Each Wickersham location has in-house jewelers to help with your jewelry repair needs, including:

-ring sizing (including silver, 10K, 14K, 18K, 22K White and Yellow Gold, Platinum and Palladium)
-replacing missing gemstones and diamonds
-re-tipping prongs to ensure safety of gemstones
-joining rings – usually wedding sets – to minimize excessive wear of the metal
-chain repairs, replacing clasps, and soldering breaks
-re-shanking rings that have worn thin
-pearl re-stringing (with or without knots between the pearls)
-setting gemstones
-laser welding service – which allows us to re-tip prongs on sensitive stones without removing them
-rhodium plating
-express service of ring sizing and repairs also available

Jewelry Cleaning – We are happy to keep your jewelry looking its best by inspecting, cleaning and polishing your jewelry.

Watch Repair – Our watch department provides repairs such as battery replacement, crystal replacement, band adjustment and replacement, crown and stem replacement, oiling and cleaning, and replacement of non-functioning quartz movements.

Appraisals – To fully protect your jewelry under insurance, an official appraisal is necessary. Our appraisal service typically takes ten business days, and is $100 for the first item and $50 for each additional item. However, we do not appraise watches or costume jewelry. All items are cleaned and inspected with this service.

Engraving – We offer engraving at all three of our locations for most metal surfaces including the inside of rings, plaques, cups, money clips, i.d. bracelets and more.

Restyling Jewelry – Let us help you fall in love with your jewelry all over again. By resetting your gemstones into a different mounting, you can change the look of any piece. Tired of an old ring? Let us help you update the setting into something you will cherish. Our staff is happy to help you create a fabulous new piece to enjoy for years to come.

In-Store Financing Options – All Wickersham Jewelry locations offer in-store financing through LJC. We will typically have the application processed within 15 minutes so you can take your new treasure home to enjoy immediately.

Layaway – All Wickersham Jewelry locations offer an in-house layaway program with a required 20% down payment and regular monthly payments for up to a six-month period.