West Lebanon — Fred and Kate Pearce, who started their West Lebanon jewelry store, Pearce Jewelers, 31 years ago, are retiring and selling their business to Lori Roy and her daughter, Jordan Schucart, owners of Jozach Jewelers in Claremont.

The changeover is scheduled to occur March 1.

Roy, who opened Jozach Jewelers in 2015, was manager at Pearce Jewelers from 2008 to 2015.

“This is like the merger of US Airways and American Airlines,” Kate Pearce said.

The Pearces opened Ultimate Reflections in the PowerHouse Mall in 1986. In 1993, they built a building on Glen Road and changed the name of the store to Pearce Jewelers.

The couple, both 73, have been a design team since they were art and design students together at Syracuse University in the 1960s.

Kate Pearce said they will continue to design jewelry that will be sold under consignment under the new store owners, who will keep the Pearce Jewelers store name. She said they are currently trying to “lighten up” on as much inventory as possible to make way for when Roy and Schucart taker over.

“We’re retiring from day-to-day retailing, but we’ll continue designing and consigning to Lori,” Kate Pearce said. “We won’t have the pressure of having to deal with bills or payroll.”

The Pearces will retain ownership of the building.

Roy said she plans to keep Pearce Jewelers’ eight employees. “The dream for us has always been to open a second store, and when this opportunity came up we chose to take advantage of it,” she said.

She described the Pearces as “mentors to me” who taught her about the manufacturing and custom design process. “I learned a lot from them during my time there.”

Roy said her plans call for bringing in “newer designers along with more contemporary local artisans and traditional and nontraditional jewelry.”

Both Roy and Schucart are graduates of the Gemological Institute of America.

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