Even though 40-year-old jeweler Jason Zastrow’s grandfather has retired from the jewelry industry, he taught Zastrow a world of jewelry that has earned him a job at a famous Chicago landmark.
Zastrow’s grandfather, Landess Mills, 85, was in search for work after World War II and began to work in the jewelry industry. Zastrow said Mills found a passion for jewelry and opened his own store in the late 1960s, where he made his own jewelry.
Mills Catalog Showroom, of Murphysboro, Ill., was owned and operated for 40 years and is where Zastrow said he learned jewelry hands-on from Mills, at just 8-years-old. Zastrow, a watch fanatic, said the showroom was where he became the most interested in jewelry and worked with his grandpa throughout high school.
Zastrow said he watched Mills hand-craft each piece.
“My grandfather made the jewelry, and I sold it,” Zastrow said.
After Mills retired in 2000, Zastrow was hired at Michael’s Jewelry in Chicago’s Jeweler’s Row and has spent the last three years there.
Jeweler’s Row, on Wabash Avenue in the heart of the Loop, became a historical district after former Ald. Gerald McLaughlin (45th) recommended it in 1985, according to the Chicago Loop Alliance. Now more than 215 jewelers, including Zastrow, work in the Chicago jewelry hub, known for its custom jewelry from around the world.
Michael’s Jewelry, one of the booths inside Chicago Landmark Diamond Center, is surrounded by many retail stores, restaurants and other jewelry stores in Jeweler’s Row.
This part of the Loop is full of people all the time because it’s just one block away from Millennium Park and shops on Michigan Avenue.
“I love this part of the city so much, there’s so much to do, it’s gorgeous,” said 18-year-old Devon Cunningham, a student who recently moved to Chicago from Rochester, N.Y.
Michael’s Jewelry has been the first booth inside the jewelry mall for the past seven years and carries a large inventory of jewelry that ranges from $200 to $100,000.
With a team of three other co-workers, Zastrow said their booth designs and sells the best custom pieces with their new computer software.
“We use computer-generated software to design all of our custom pieces,” Zastrow said.
The customers have a chance to see a model of their custom piece before finalizing it.
Zastrow said it has been known as the place to go for both engagement and wedding rings.
Recently, Michael’s has become the place to bring in unwanted gold for cash. Zastrow said.
“Gold is worth $1,300 an ounce right now, which brings more people in to sell it,” he said.