After 119 years, Russakoff Jewelers in Skowhegan has reduced showroom hours to focus on custom work, bridal and full-service repair one day a week. 

The store will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays for repair pick-ups and drop-offs and watch battery replacements. If needed, customers may schedule an appointment for another time. 

Andy Russakoff, co-owner, will continue in-house repairs. Custom work will be done by appointment for closer attention to detail, and to give customers the personal service they deserve.

“Although it was not an easy decision to make, we have reached a point in our lives where we want to have more flexibility to spend more time with our four grandchildren as well as having more time to fulfill our passions in life,” Russakoff said. 

The store was founded by Susman Russakoff after he sneaked out of what is now Ukraine in 1904. He landed in England and later in New York City, where he began an apprenticeship as a watchmaker. At the store where he worked, he repaired watches shipped from a store in Skowhegan, and he reasoned that Maine had a need for watchmakers. In December 1906, he traveled to Skowhegan by train and saw three jewelry stores , and he figured there could be room for one more. 

Russakoff’s Jewelers was founded in January 1907, owned and operated by Susman until his third son Arthur began repairing watches and jewelry in the early 1940s, and became the second generation to own the store. Arthur’s son, Andy, became the third generation in 1983.

“Russakoff’s continues to be Maine’s oldest family-owned and operated jewelers,” Andy Russakoff said. 

Operating a jewelry business for over a century takes more than skill — it takes trust. Russakoff Jewelers has built and maintained that trust over generations.

“For us, it’s all about treating our customers like a family, making Russakoff’s truly a family business. We are passionate about the craftsmanship and style of every piece, and we don’t sell anything we wouldn’t be proud to wear ourselves,” Russakoff said. 

Although Russakoff’s was one of four jewelry stores in Skowhegan when it opened in 1907, it is now Skowhegan’s only jewelry store , holding a unique position within the community.

“We understand it is a privilege to be part of our community for 119 years, and counting; we are fortunate to have the strong support of our town,” Russakoff said. He also noted that Skowhegan’s position as the shiretown or county seat of Somerset County has brought business from northern towns, as far as away as Jackman. 

Russakoff said differentiating themselves from big-box stores in almost every way possible is important.

“We know our products. We know our customers and are more responsive to their wants and needs,” Russakoff said. “To put it simply, we are not nameless employees. We are the face of our store, and everybody knows us by name.”  

Despite changes in the industry, Russakoff believes there is longevity for family-owned businesses in central Maine, but you have to be passionate about what you do. He believes having product knowledge, continuing education in the field, and a willingness to work hard go a long way, and those qualities have helped sustain Russakoff Jewelers for generations.  

Looking ahead, succession planning remains uncertain. Currently, there is no fourth generation to succeed Russakoff, but they take the fact that it’s a family business very seriously. “Our plan is to continue working in our semiretirement status for the foreseeable future. Keeping Russakoff Jewelers in the family is important to us,” he said. 

As Russakoff Jewelers opens this new chapter, Russakoff said he hopes this generation will be remembered for the relationships it built within the community. He said longtime customers often stop by to share stories of his grandfather or his parents, and he hopes he and his wife Donna will be remembered in a similar way.

“In a world where businesses start and end in the blink of an eye, I’m proud to have followed in my father and my grandfather’s footsteps,” Russakoff said.

In 1928, his grandfather sold an engagement ring to a local man. Nearly 100 years later, their store restored the ring for the man’s grandson to propose with.

“What more of a legacy could I possibly want?”