Norridge Jewelers

Norridge Jewelers, originally known as Kohler Brothers, started over 60 years ago offering repair services for retail jewelers and manufacturers in downtown Chicago Jewelers' Row.  From the start, Richard (Budd) and Frank Kohler quickly established themselves as a top notch repair center across the area.   The Kohler Brothers expanded their business by moving into hand crafting jewelry and thus discovering a golden secret: it was less expensive to manufacture a piece from scratch then to sell an identical piece from a manufacturer.  This secret still rings true today and we use it daily to save our customers money.   During the early 1970's when his two sons, Richard Jr. (Rick) and David, were finishing high school Budd Kohler considered going retail.  Rick joined the repair business in 1974 followed shortly by his cousin, Jim Lima.  In 1976, Budd first opened the retail store Norridge Jewelers at Oketo and Irving Park; he then moved the store a few years later to its current location at the corner of Cumberland and Lawrence.  Among others, Budd's wife Eleanor, son David and eventually his sister, Rosemary helped run the retail business.  Since Budd and Eleanor's retirement in 1991, David has taken the reins at the store while Rick manages the downtown repair shop with their sister Barb helping out at both sites.   Over the years, Norridge Jewelers has created bonds with countless members in the community and the surrounding suburbs.  It is not uncommon for us to sell engagement and wedding rings to multiple generations within the same family.  The Kohler Family also has been dedicated to delivering quality hand crafted jewelry at low prices.  We custom design more engagement sets than any other jeweler in the area.  In the meantime, our repair business has continued to flourish servicing many of the same jewelers we did over 60 years ago along with many more leading jewelers and manufacturers in the area.  Numerous new accounts come to us strictly for our manufacturing powers and professional services.   Having both the retail and manufacturing centers, we offer services not many other jewelers in Chicago can.  Over 95% of the retail jewelers in the Chicagoland do not do their own repairs.  You may see some younger faces around the store from time to time.  Rick and David both have three sons and some of them help out during school breaks.  Please stay tuned as we enter the next generation of Norridge Jewelers.