70 Years of Shining Service

Your Trusted Family Jeweler

Since 1953, Bremer Jewelry has been your local, trusted family jeweler. They have earned the reputation for providing exceptional products and unmatched customer service at the best value in the area. The new owners of Bremer Jewelry, Justin and Julie May, along with their 5 kids, are working hard to grow the legacy of Bremer Jewelry and continue to offer their guests the amazing experience they have come to love and expect. 

Early Foundations

Founded by Ernie and Jane Bremer in 1953, Bremer was first opened in downtown Peoria. Bremer carried diamond engagement and fashion jewelry, as well as watches and grandfather clocks, and even had a watchmaker/clockmaker on staff. Ernie was an excellent goldsmith and was able to handle all types of repairs to jewelry. Customer service was extremely important to Bremer Jewelry from the beginning; they focused on carrying excellent products along with offering top-notch service above all. 

Innovation and Expansion

In 1984, Les and Ronda Chambers, along with Chuck and Pat Ramsey, purchased the store from Ernie Bremer. Les Chambers quickly became known for his amazing talents at the bench as a lead custom design artist. People still come in today and talk about the pieces of jewelry that were handcrafted by Les. In 1995, Les Chambers passed away, leaving a giant hole to fill in the Bremer Family. Ronda stepped in and took over the day-to-day operations. Ronda eventually became the sole owner of the company in 2001. 

Ronda married Craig Daily in 1997, and Craig officially came into the business in 2006. This dynamic duo introduced new ways to think about your local jeweler. Ronda was innovative with her product selection and ability to offer an amazing experience in the store, raising the bar through training for her staff and instilling core values in them, such as fun and family. Craig was an engineer at Cisco Systems and brought a management style that a small business was not used to. Bremer benefited greatly from his ideas and work ethic that was second to none. Craig would help Bremer see the big picture from behind the scenes, and Ronda would help push the company forward on the sales floor and out in the community. In 2005, Ronda and Craig opened a second location in Bloomington/Normal.

A New Generation 

For 17 years, Justin May has had the opportunity to work his way up at Bremer. Justin started at Bremer as a Jewelry Sales Consultant, worked up to Store Manager, then to managing both locations, to overseeing the inventory department, to becoming Director of Operations in 2012, to now owning Bremer Jewelry. Justin’s wife, Julie, has recently joined Bremer full time. Justin and Julie have been married for 19 years and have 5 children. They started selling jewelry together back in 2000. Upon college graduation, Julie changed fields and went to work in the corporate world, but quickly went back to her passion of selling and helping customers.  They love working together again and are looking forward to all the great new opportunities that lie ahead for Bremer. 

Justin says, “It has always been about the people. The people that come in the door and give us a chance to help them with some of their most important moments in life, and the amazing people that work for this company. That is what it will always be about here at Bremer”. 

Justin and Julie are focused on continuing to give to their communities and offering their employees a place to thrive. Nothing brings them more happiness than making a positive difference in someone’s life. “We are a new Bremer generation with an old soul,” says Justin. “We are just stewards of this company, and we have an obligation to grow our business, staff, and community along the way.”

Thank You for Your Support

Bremer is known for being the largest bridal destination in central Illinois and now has one of the largest repair centers in Illinois. We believe we have the greatest, most caring, and knowledgeable staff around, and we are committed to carrying on and building upon the legacy of Bremer Jewelry. We want to say thank you to everyone that has supported us over the past 70 years. You are making a difference when you shop with us, and we will continue to work hard to give you the best experience around! 

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