The flashing neon Marcotte Jewelry sign has been part of the business’ storefront on Main Street for decades. Current owner John Full said he kept the sign because, “It’s an icon.” A third-generation business, Marcotte Jewelry marks its 80th anniversary this year.

MARSHALL — John Full said one of the fun things about his work has been getting to know generations of customers.

“We have relationships with grandparents, parents, children and even grandchildren,” said Full, the owner of Marcotte Jewelry in Marshall. “It’s very cool that way.”

Marcotte Jewelry has also kept going through generations. The business has been part of Marshall’s downtown since 1945, Full said. Jamie Marcotte, the previous owner of Marcotte Jewelry, said it was good to see the family business reach its 80th anniversary.

“I think that’s incredible,” he said. For Marcotte, the anniversary is special on another level, too. “My father opened it on the year I was born,” he said.

Marcotte Jewelry was founded by Jamie’s father Jim Marcotte, who renovated a former meat locker located in a Main Street building.

“They built their own showcases and did it all themselves,” Marcotte said.

Full said Jim Marcotte had trained to be a watchmaker. After serving in the military, Jim returned to Marshall, and opened his own jewelry store.

Services like watch repairs used to be a big part of the business, Jamie Marcotte said. In addition to his father, Jamie’s older brother and three uncles were also watchmakers. “It was kind of a family thing,” he said.

In addition to watch repair and jewelry sales, the Marcottes did goldsmithing work.

Marcotte said he remembered helping out a little at the store when he was young, but he hadn’t always planned on joining the family business. Jamie served in the Navy, and afterward he decided to work with his dad. Later on, he would take over the business from Jim Marcotte.

Full said started working for Jamie at Marcotte Jewelry in 1980. He said one of the tasks he remembered from early in his career was doing hand engraving.

“We did a lot of business with Schwan’s for many years,” Marcotte said. Marcotte Jewelry would do engraving for items like sales awards for the company. Later on, Marcotte Jewelry invested in computerized engraving equipment, and opened Awards Plus in Marshall, Marcotte said.

Full stayed with the business, furthering his education in watchmaking, jewelry and gemology. He bought Marcotte Jewelry from Jamie Marcotte in 1998. Full continued the business’s legacy in a few different ways. He kept the Marcotte name because of its recognition with customers and vendors. “The Marcotte name was highly rated,” he said.

Full said he also wanted to stay in Marshall, and he kept the store’s downtown location. “I have never seen the need to be out of town,” he said.

The neon Marcotte Jewelry sign on the storefront was another historic element of the business Full has kept going. The sign, which was built locally, has also been part of the store for decades.

“I kept it because it’s an icon,” Full said.

There have been some unusual events going back through the store’s history, Marcotte said. During the 1957 flood in Marshall, water got into the basement where Jamie’s father was storing china.

“The flood floated all the china off the shelves,” he said.

Another story Marcotte and Full remembered was the time a deer crashed through the jewelry store’s glass doors during the night. Marcotte said he got a call from police after the store’s silent alarm went off. But it turned out the break-in wasn’t caused by a thief.

“A bread truck driver across the street saw (the deer) go in and come out,” Marcotte said. “He charged through the front door and went all the way to the back door.” Even though the deer left a big hole in the middle of the front door, it somehow didn’t bump into tables with a display of Lenox china inside the store, he said.

Marcotte and Full said they’ve seen changes in the jewelry business over time. As quartz watches became more popular, the demand for mechanical watch repair “slid off,” Marcotte said.

Full said he’s also seen trends in jewelry styles come and go over the years. For example, when he first started out, a lot of fine jewelry used yellow gold. Over the decades, popularity shifted toward two-toned designs, to white gold, and then back to yellow gold, he said. Different types of gemstones have also changed in popularity over the years, Full said.

Full and Marcotte said the rise of internet shopping has also had an impact on the jewelry industry. But through it all, customers have trusted Marcotte Jewelry as an independent jeweler, Full said.

“We are building relationships with every customer,” he said.

For Marcotte, Full and current Marcotte Jewelry staff, the relationships they built with customers have been the most rewarding part of the business.

“I think it was just dealing with the people and serving people,” Marcotte said. “I really enjoyed selling engagement rings to young couples, and getting them started.”

“The coolest part for me is seeing customers come back for different milestones,” said current Marcotte Jewelry employee Reagan Wing. Staff at Marcotte Jewelry get to work with customers as they’re celebrating engagements, weddings, parenthood and anniversaries, she said.

“This is a very good business,” Full said. “Our customers are wonderful.”