Front Porch Series – Diny’s Jewelers

Meet Your Good Neighbor Front Porch Series: Diny’s Jewelers

A customer came into Diny’s Jewelers one day with a pretty ring that had a delicate floral design. The ring needed to be appraised — it was given to the customer by her husband on their first anniversary, 49 years ago.

“It was the moment that my husband could spend that kind of money on me,” the woman recalled, vividly remembering the day she received the ring.

Was the ring valuable? To the woman who held it near her heart, it was priceless.

Diny’s Jewelers is a family-owned jeweler in downtown Middleton that knows sometimes the most valuable part of a piece of jewelry is the story.

The shop sells beautiful pieces that help mark important moments of life — weddings, anniversaries, communions and birthdays. Sara Diny Alexander, a fine jewelry consultant, encourages customers to write their stories down. How did the engagement happen? What was life really like for the young couple starting a future together?

“The next generation really loves the stories behind a piece,” she explained. “We encourage people when they have appraisals — particularly if they know (the jewelry) is going to be given to somebody eventually — to write as many stories as they can about that piece.”

The story of Diny’s Jewelers began on April 15, 1983, when Peter and Beverly Diny founded the business in Darlington, Wis. Over the years, the Diny building and family would grow and move, eventually locating to Middleton in 2003. A second generation has joined the business — Sara and her brother Nick both joined the enterprise after working a time in other industries.

“We both ended up coming back for the love of the business, family and flexibility,” Sara said.

The Diny family has a great deal of expertise in the jewelry business. Peter is a Graduate Gemologist, GIA and a Master Graduate Gemologist Appraiser, IJO. Beverly is a Diamond and Pearl Graduate, GIA; Sara is a Diamond Graduate, GIA; and Nick is certified in stone setting and CAD design.

Customers benefit from this extensive training, as Diny’s is a full-service business. In addition to jewelry sales, the shop repairs jewelry and watches, purchases unwanted gold, silver and platinum, completes custom design work and provides appraisals.

“(Our business) is built on trust,” Sara said. “It’s like when you bring your car to a mechanic. You want to trust what they are telling you is what they are giving you.

“People trust us with heirlooms that have been in their family for 100 years.”

The store can also help solve mysteries — sometimes a customer inherits jewelry and has no idea if it’s even worth enough to appraise. In one instance, a family had mistaken valuable pieces for costume jewelry and allowed children to casually play with the items — a later consultation revealed that some of the pieces were worth thousands of dollars.

“That’s what we are here for,” she added.

Diny’s has many longtime customers and over the years the pieces they have purchased have increased greatly in value. The business recommends that people appraise their pieces every three to five years.

Diny’s also helps customers with matters that are beyond any appraisal. One recent customer lost his wife of 45 years. The store is helping him with a final precious task — printing her fingerprints on the inside of his ring.

About Diny’s Jewelers
1903 Cayuga St # 105, Middleton, WI 53562
(608) 831-3469
dinys.com
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.