Toodie’s Fine Jewelry

About Toodie’s Fine Jewelry

Our Story

Toodie’s Fine Jewelry has stood at 1163 Hancock Street in Quincy, Massachusetts since 1982. One location, one family, two generations. This is how it happened.

1982: A Store Named for a Mother

Howard G. Jacobs opened Toodie’s Fine Jewelry in 1982 and named it for his mother, Toodie Jacobs, who died at 42 after a battle with breast cancer. Naming the store for her meant her name would stay above the door in the city where the family lived and worked.

Howard bet that if he took care of people properly the first time, they would come back. He was right. An engagement ring, then the wedding bands, then anniversary gifts for the same families, and eventually for their children. That is still how most of our business comes through the door.

2004: Building for the Next Generation

In 2004, Toodie’s went through a major renovation and redevelopment of the Hancock Street store. It was a significant commitment to staying put, in a decade when a lot of independent jewelers were closing or moving to malls. The store people walk into today is largely the one Howard built that year.

2010: The Second Generation Begins

In May 2010, Howard’s eldest son Adam joined Toodie’s full time. He had grown up in the store, and he came back to it focused on building client relationships rather than transactions. Much of his business since has come by referral, from clients who send their families and friends through the same door.

2017: A Brother Joins

In March 2017, Howard’s middle son Andrew came on full time, bringing a background in hospitality to a business where service is the product. Andrew took on everything behind the showroom: inventory, processing, operations, and marketing. Most people never see that side of a jewelry store, and nothing out front works without it.

2020: Rebuilding Custom Around 3D Design

Around 2020, Adam and Andrew rebuilt the way Toodie’s designs custom jewelry. Rather than asking clients to approve a sketch and hope, every custom piece is now modeled in 3D CAD and presented as a photorealistic rendering before anything is made. Clients revise as many times as they need, and there is no design fee and no deposit to see the rendering.

That change moved Toodie’s from a store that sold other designers’ work to a store that designs and makes its own. Custom design has been the heart of the business ever since.

2023: A New Generation Takes Over

In 2023, Adam and Andrew purchased Toodie’s Fine Jewelry from their father, becoming the second generation to own it and running it together as equal partners. Howard, who founded the store in 1982 and named it for his mother, is retired.

Adam handles custom design, diamonds, and the watch side of the business, including sourcing specific pre-owned pieces worldwide for clients hunting something particular. Andrew runs operations. One of them is in the building almost every day.

Today: The Bench Behind the Showroom

Much of what happens at Toodie’s happens out of sight. Behind the showroom is a workbench, and two full time bench jewelers who sit at it every day. Rings are sized there, prongs rebuilt, stones set, and heirlooms brought back to life, all in this building rather than shipped somewhere else and mailed back weeks later. Most repairs are finished in two business days or less.

It is the least visible part of the store and in many ways the most important. When a client hands us something that matters to them, it never leaves our hands.

The repair department is the part of the business we are actively growing, because it is where we are most useful to the most people. A $50 chain repair and a custom engagement ring get the same bench and the same attention.

What Has Not Changed

Toodie’s has operated from one location at 1163 Hancock Street in Quincy since 1982, serving clients across the South Shore and Greater Boston. One store, one family, more than forty years on the same street.

Everything we sell is backed the way a family jeweler should back it. Engagement rings we make carry a lifetime craftsmanship warranty, cleaning and inspection are complimentary for life, and any GIA graded diamond purchased here can be traded at any time for its full purchase price toward a larger one. Pre-owned watches are inspected in house and carry a two year mechanical warranty. We are an independent seller and not an authorized dealer for any watch brand, and we say so plainly.

Howard built this business by being part of his clients’ most important moments. That has not changed, and it is still the only thing we are really trying to do.