By Scott Gilbert
Rockaway Beach is a jewel of the Oregon Coast, and fittingly, a gem and jewelry shop in the center of town sparkles with a family’s love for creating beauty.
That bright spot is Troxel’s Gem and Jewelry Company and its adjacent Troxel’s Rock Garden.
The Troxels — Jen, a jewelry designer, and Victor, a lapidary who cuts and polishes stones – opened a store in Rockaway Beach in 2009. After some moves, they are where they “ideally wanted to be,” Victor said, at 146 Highway 101 South. They can be reached at 541-418-2842 or rockawayrocks@gmail.com.
The shop carries jewelry and loose gemstones, and while “we also have specimens of some of the rocks the gemstones come from,” Victor said, “we’re not technically a rock shop.” Troxel’s also makes custom jewelry, including creations from stones that customers have found in nature or in the rock garden next to the shop.
The garden is an ever-changing space of rock-lined pathways where visitors can sit, stroll and — if desired — pick rough stones and choose the price to pay for them. It also contains a 24-hour mini-golf course, giving kids something to enjoy.
As Victor describes the family’s relocation from Portland in 2008, things first seemed all wrong before they turned out all right, including a discovery of carnelian agates that became their first merchandise. “I really believe that God is leading everybody somewhere,” he said.
“We love what we do,” Victor said of the shop. “I tell everybody if I had a billion dollars in the bank … I’d still come down here every day.”