BEYOND OCCASION
By Michael Korb
Giving looks
good on you
THE PERFECT GIFT STARTS LONG BEFORE THE MOMENT IT'S GIVEN
“Just because.” Two words that have launched more smiles than almost any occasion on the calendar. But while most of us spend large portions of our waking hours figuring out how to make more money, we’ve fallen behind on the best part of having it: spending on others. There’s a particular satisfaction in giving well, the kind that has nothing to do with occasion or obligation. Anyone who has handed over the right gift at the right moment already knows this. The pleasure isn’t in the spending; it’s in having paid attention. This is where jewelry earns its place above almost anything else you can buy. A cashmere sweater is lovely, but it’s forgotten by February. A piece of tech will be obsolete by October. A well-chosen piece of jewelry becomes something else entirely: evidence, worn at every dinner, every
holiday, every ordinary Tuesday that suddenly feels less ordinary. A small, permanent reminder that someone once paid real attention. The act itself is only part of the equation. What matters is thought, specificity, personality: the birthstone that matches a birthday, a tennis bracelet that works with every outfit, the watch that will tell the time for decades to come. The best gift-givers aren’t the ones who spend the most. They’re the ones who have been quietly taking notes: the offhand comment, the extra few seconds spent in front of a shop window, the “I’ve always wanted one of these” heard and, apparently, filed away. And once the right gift has been found, there’s something to be said for how it’s given.
the finishing touch
At Mountz Jewelers, the attention paid to a gift doesn’t end when the jewelry is chosen. It continues all the way to the bow on the box. Every Mountz bow is still made by hand, using the same bow-making machine that has been in the Leitzel family for generations. The machine was once used in Marvin Leitzel’s jewelry store, and over the years, four generations of the family have made bows on it. For Tonia Leitzel Ulsh, making those bows is a tradition that goes back to childhood, when
she remembers making them in the family’s living room. Today, the same machine is still doing its job, turning ribbon into the finishing touch on Mountz gifts. It would certainly be easier to replace it. But ease isn’t really the point. “Continuing this tradition is incredibly important to our family,” Tonia says. “The bow machine represents so much of what Mountz was built on: an appreciation for the details, respect for where we came from and a
belief that the extra time and care we put into something matters. Every bow we make is a small reminder of our family’s history and the traditions we’re proud to carry forward.” It’s a small detail, especially compared with what might be waiting inside the box. But that may be exactly why it matters. A great gift says someone was paying attention. At Mountz, even the bow carries a little of that thought with it.
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