JCove owner Jerry Taylor originally got his start in the jewelry business in San Diego, working in shipping and receiving. From there he went on to sorting colored stones, then graduated to grading diamonds, and finally jewelry manufacture and repair.
That was until the opportunity to have his own jewelry design business came about, which led to Taylor opening JCove retail jewelry store in Christiansted this past January.
“My business allows me to go to the next level beyond soldering, repair and replacing gemstones,” Taylor says. “Doing my own designs is more rewarding than manufacturing others’ products.”
Taylor creates original, surreal jewelry featuring bold, sophisticated designs. Although the finished pieces of precious metal and gems are definitely inspired by nature and passion, Taylor is clearly a modern jeweller, whose design process utilizes computer-assisted design, commonly referred to as CAD.
Although never trained professionally in art and design, Taylor acknowledges a certain natural talent, spurred on by his mother, who encouraged him to draw at an early age. To date, Taylor says he still enjoys drawing faces.
In 2008 Taylor bought out his brother’s precious metal casting business that had been operating on St. Croix since 2003.
Taylor Casting and JCove now have 12 full-time employees doing everything from retail sales and accounting to modeling, molding, casting and finishing pieces. His parents, Karl and Patsy Ann Taylor, and his wife, “QQ,” also work with Taylor.
Despite having an inventory of 10,000 molds for charms, bracelets, rings, and pendants, Taylor says his workers also cast custom molds for small, local and stateside jewelry retailers.
While a regular piece may take up to two weeks to finish (with as many as 15 steps), a one-of-a-kind gold necklace encrusted with pave diamonds and blue sapphires on display at JCove took three months to complete.
On entering JCove, located on the corner of Church and Company streets, one is awestruck by gorgeous glittering gold and gem pieces displayed on black fabric in dark wood cases. There are cuffs, anklets, earrings, rings, pendants, necklaces and more—all designed by Taylor, who also does custom designs and special orders.
Taylor’s signature piece for St. Croix is a silver heart-shaped charm with the shape of St. Croix cut out of the center on a thick link bracelet. Taylor names all of his pieces, and this creation is called “Charmed in St. Croix.”
Taylor, who would like to see his JCove designs become a national brand and to eventually open stores in other locations, says the local community has been very supportive. He attributes that warm reception to his belief that people like to see something different designed and made on St. Croix.
Store hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Monday through Friday), and Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To view Jcove jewelry go to www.jcove.com.
