a piece of ottawa’s history became just that — history — with the weekend closure of alyea jewellers, as owners hermann and anne wallner join the ranks of the retired.
a fixture in ottawa for more than six decades, originally and most recently on sparks street, the tiny store embedded itself in many residents’ lives as an important part of their weddings, anniversaries, engagements, graduations, christmases, birthdays and more. longtime customer john edmond, who bought his wife martha’s engagement ring, an estate piece with a ruby and two diamonds, at alyea more than 30 years ago (and, when that succeeded, a pair of wedding rings), described the store as “iconic.”
“the late mr. alyea was very welcoming to customers — made you feel special,” he said. “that it was a small store made it intimate. but mainly it was their stock: emphasis on older, estate jewelry, like the engagement ring i bought. a unique store; its closing is a loss.”
newer customers, like nancy and eduardo belec, who only started shopping there a year ago after moving here from mexico, also cited the store’s distinctive stock and the wallners’ customer service as uncommon gems in retail.
“i bought some pearls there, and got a masterclass on them,” said eduardo last week, as he and his wife shopped for store-closing bargains.