PERSONALITIES: Family jewelry story is the right fit for Amy Wentworth

Tim Leininger, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·5 min read

Feb. 25—EAST WINDSOR — As a child, Amy Wentworth used to peek up over the counter of her family's shop, Swede's Jewelers, observing her parents and grandparents as they sold brilliant diamond rings, gold necklaces, and more.

AMY WENTWORTH

Who: Third-generation owner of Swede's Jewelers at 98 Bridge St. in East Windsor.

Hometown: Grew up in Windsor Locks, lives in Wethersfield.

Fun fact: The family name is actually Szwed. Swede is a nickname given to her grandfather because it was easier to pronounce.

Quote: "What I'd like to see is a new generation of customers come in. I want to cultivate (sentimentality about a particular piece of jewelry) for people my age and younger."

A Windsor Locks native and now living in Wethersfield, Wentworth took over the family business at 98 Bridge St. about three years ago.

Started by her grandfather, Swede's Jewelers has been in business for 77 years.

"People ask me all the time how long I've been here," she said, "and I sort of facetiously say I was born here. I remember I couldn't see over this diamond counter, but I would stand there and listen to my dad and learn. I've been here on and off my whole life, really."

Wenthworth said there's a lot of pride seeing the ongoing success of the family business and being a part of it.

"There's so much of a reputation in the community of the Swedes or being a Swede," she said.

The name "Swede" isn't technically the family name, she said, but a nickname given her grandfather Stanley Szwed while he was serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.

"It was easier for people to pronounce and spell, and so we became the Swedes," she said.

Running the family business wasn't Wentworth's initial goal.

As a child she played soccer as a child and took part in school organizations such as the student council, yearbook committee, and prom committee. She attended Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, where she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology.

Wentworth didn't pursue a career in psychology, instead, she worked for 11 years as a dental assistant.

"When I was in high school, I worked here (the jewelry store) part-time and in a dentist office part-time," she said. "I loved it. I loved the change of it. I loved the fast pace. I loved interacting with the patients."

But in 2019, when she decided to return to the jewelry business, her dad recommended she work closer to her home in Wethersfield, especially since she has two young children.

She agreed, and started working at Sterling Jewelers in Wethersfield. Though it was lovely and the owners were great, she said, she longed for her family store in East Windsor.

"I saw my name on a business card and I was like, I am in the wrong place," she said. "It just wasn't right for my heart, my gut."

She said she called her dad, who was in Florida at the time, and told him she wasn't in the right spot. Two weeks later she returned to Swede's Jewelers.

"I think from a time when I was really young, there was just always so much pride in the store and being a "Swede" and the kind of service and values that were instilled in me from my parents. Also, my grandparents being here, my aunt and uncle being so service minded, just to be doing it somewhere that wasn't with my family, it just didn't sit right."

In 2020, she said, she approached her father, Stanley Szwed, about possibly taking over the business.

"I went to him and was like, 'This is a lot more than a part-time job. I love it. I'm happier than I've been in a very long time.'"

She said her father was very receptive to her taking over and started helping her, along with her Uncle Robbie, work toward taking over the business.

"He checks in with me every day," she said of her father. "How are the numbers at the store? What kind of jobs you're working on? I can't picture a time where he won't be involved."

A little over three years later, Wentworth said she hopes the business will continue to grow.

"They've been doing business for 77 years," she said of her family. "They have a recipe that works. What I'd like to see is a new generation of customers come in. I have customers come in every single day and they have a story tied to maybe a piece of jewelry. I want to cultivate that for people my age and younger, which I feel like we're starting to see, which has been awesome."

She said it would be lovely if one or both of her children — son Kingsley and daughter Margaret — took over the store in the future.

"If that's what they want," she said. "They're 10 and 7 and if you ask them, they would tell you that they work here too. Maggie comes in with me on Saturdays and she works and does her little thing around here and when (Uncle) Robbie was here, he would pay her at the end of the day, and now I'm responsible for her wages.

"My son will come in and when my dad's here, he'll work on me, get a little piece of jewelry with my dad. Which is so cool because I remember doing that."

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