Our History
The Adams Jewelry Company was founded by Hugh Adams in approximately 1880 in the Lakeland area. Mr. Adams decided to relocate his store to Tampa in 1890 to follow the expected boom of the railroad and the building of the Plant Hotel. The primary roll of a jewelry store in those days was to accommodate the railroad engineers and the need for keeping their pocket watches working perfectly. That is what brought a young Alvin Magnon to Mr. Adams in 1913. Mr. Adams wasn’t in need of another salesman in his Tampa store, but the bright and ambitious Magnon wouldn’t take no for an answer. He suggested that he just try out the idea of taking jewelry with him on his forays to the railroad, and if he was able to sell any, would Mr. Adams hire him on. Well, that turned out to be a formula that worked, and the rest is history, as they say.
Although Alvin Magnon’s brother already had a job working for Mr. Adams at the time, it was Alvin who prospered in the jewelry business. He worked hard, ran the store and took care of Adams through the tough years of the depression, and in 1935 bought the business from him. He changed the name to Adams-Magnon Jewelers, and maintained his business in the location they had moved to on Franklin Street downtown in 1904.
In 1948, Magnon’s middle son, Alvin Lee, began working in the jewelry business with his Father. They worked side by side until 1958 when youngest son Cameron came in to the business. Both boys learned the ropes in the ‘Downtown’ store until 1966 when they opened a ‘Suburban’ store on North Westshore Boulevard. At the time it was considered a crazy thing to do, moving a retail store so far away from everything. But in the end it proved to be ahead of its time. Later the much acclaimed Westshore Mall opened up only a block from their location, the first shopping center of its’ kind in the area.
In 1973, the brothers called it quits, and decided to divide the business. Alvin ran the much maligned ‘Suburban’ store, now renamed Alvin Magnon Jewelers. Cameron owned the ‘Downtown’ store. Eventually Cameron moved his store to Kennedy Blvd. and then closed forever in about 1979.
Alvin Lee is the Father to five daughters. Every one of them spent a little time growing up working in the store and learning the family business, but eventually Patricia and Winnie were the two who showed the most interest. Patricia worked in the store for 20 years before retiring in 1997. Winnie Magnon Marvel continues to work in the business holding the majority of stock shares and running the day to day operations. She has been active in the store for almost 25 years and has already watched the industry change in dramatic ways. For all the glam and glitz of computers and technology, Winnie prefers to keep things simple and run the store with old fashioned values and customer service. Her husband of 24 years, Jay, is the father to their two sons, Nathan and Davis, and they reside in Tampa.
Over the years, Alvin Lee has lessened his involvement in the retail side of the business, but still is an active consultant in the operations. When his wife of 37 years, Bobby, passed away in 1985 he remarried to Brenda. He and Brenda are still happily married. They breed rare breed dogs and travel extensively in their coach and reside in Thonotosassa.