Macon family jewelry store Cortes Jewelers closes after more than 40 years in business.

After more than 40 years in business, Cortes Jewelers will soon close its doors.

The jewelry store has been a staple in town as a go-to for custom pieces and rare estate items. Owner and founder Richard Cortes said he is closing the shop to retire after more than 50 years in the jewelry business.

“It’s bittersweet, but I’m ready,” Cortes said. “I’ve got a lot to look forward to in retirement.”

The store is having a going-out-of-business sale that Cortes said started Tuesday and will likely run through January. An official closing date hasn’t been announced.

Cortes, a Macon native, graduated high school and got a job at a regional jewelry store. He said he was hooked from the start, going from Georgia to Texas and onto California to study gems and jewelry making.

He opened his first jewelry store in Los Angeles with a business partner he met in school, but after four years, their partnership dissolved. Cortes took his share of the business and returned to his hometown, where he opened Cortes Jewelers.

Since then, Cortes and his business have become an institution, with Maconites visiting the store for decades for appraisals, custom jewelry or to shop for big occasions. He said loves the intimacy of working in a small town, where he can be there for generations of families’ biggest moments.

“Making jewelry is really rewarding,” Cortes said. “Helping people pick out rings for their wedding, and then, later in life, helping their children pick out rings for their wedding, and helping their grandchildren pick out rings for their wedding.”

Since the going-out-of-business sale began Tuesday, Cortes said the store has been inundated with customers. Some of them are tearful as they thank him for pieces made years ago which they still wear daily.

But Cortes said his family’s work in the jewelry business isn’t quite over. Cortes’ son, Justin, worked under his father in the family store for years, learning the ins-and-outs of jewelry making and running a business. Cortes said Justin plans on buying the store’s remaining assets after the sale and starting a new jewelry store.

“It’s a big, big change for both of us,” Cortes said. “I have 100% confidence in his ability, he’s quite the young man, hardworking and ambitious.”

In the meantime, Cortes is focused on seeing Cortes Jewelers through its final days, and making sure Maconites see his gratitude.

“If there was some way for me to sit down and just write a really heartfelt thank you for all the people in Macon that have brought us their business over the years,” Cortes said. “It’s just been amazing.”