Peter Damian Jewelry and Antiques is nestled along the West 38th Avenue corridor behind the old classic market truck that has a residency at 38th and Upham. Peter has a real passion and enthusiasm for his business stating, “I can’t wait to come to work every day and see what walks through the door!”
Peter is proud of his long standing presence on the Ridge.
“I began this business in 2007. At that time, 38th Avenue was four lanes with traffic whizzing by at 50-plus miles per hour. It’s been 16 years and I have seen the face of this stretch change in a really great way.
“The changes made have brought in so much foot traffic and new customers, which have turned into repeat customers. The changes have really impacted my business in a great way. And it will continue to do so with changes yet to come here.
“My brother Greg who works here now is actually the one that got us into the business. He has been in the jewelry business since the late seventies. I started working with Greg in 1990 at his jewelry store located in the back of a pawn shop. Within a couple of years, I was working in the pawn shop and soon became manager of a local pawn chain in 1998.
“Back then, working with my brother posed some challenges. So, I eventually left and opened my own jewelry store which I ran until my wife had our son. We were fortunate souls in that I was able to take that time to be with my family. Then I discovered the world of eBay and started collecting things to sell.”
Those moves led him to his current location.
“My wife got tired of my stuff everywhere. Finally in 2007, I came across this space to run my business from. So, instead of me going out to estate sales, elbowing out the same guys to try to score some valuable things… I am now able to have a space where the treasures come to me.”
The business is more than it appears as you walk by. Peter explains the many layers of the business: “We have recently acquired a storage facility which is where the eBay items are processed. That also serves as a studio where we can carry out jewelry repairs and custom creations. My brother Greg has come on in the past seven months and taken the jewelry repair and design part over which has been a great relief.”
The antiques side has another face to it. The antique pieces in the store are just a sampling.
“We also have a spot at the Armadillo antique market where we sell most of our antique items.”
Peter wants the community to know that, “Above all, I do my best to give folks an honest valuation of their items. When someone walks in with a bag of jewelry, not knowing anything about what they have, I am straight forward. I give them my honest opinion on the value, I explain why and how I came to that and then I tell them: don’t sell to me until you’ve talked to a couple of people. I want my customers to feel confident that I am giving them an honest deal.”
Peter Damian Fine Jewelry And Antiques is located at 7220 W. 38th Ave., Wheat Ridge.
