Beginning his career at Frank McCabe Jewellers in 1975 at just 15 years old, Martin has come full circle, now providing his expert skills at Gerard McCabe in both their Rundle Mall and Adelaide Arcade stores in valuations, complex repairs and ordering gemstones.
Thanks to a connection from his father, a watchmaker at the time, Martin left school at Year 11 and began working at Frank McCabe behind the counter.
“I finished school on the Friday and started working on the Monday…back then that’s what you did,” said Martin.
Quickly developing a passion for gemstones and fine jewellery, Martin completed a two-year Gemmology course in 1979, followed by a Valuation course in the mid-1980s.
As a result of his qualifications, Martin’s career quickly evolved from retail service to expert valuations and high-level repairs.
In 1997, Martin became a co-owner of Frank McCabe Jewellers, managing the business for over a decade. Over the years at Frank McCabe’s, Martin completed more than 20,000 valuations, including items that were worth over $100,000 including large pendants, necklaces, and Van Cleef diamonds. Martin has also been involved in hundreds of weddings and engagement ring consultations throughout his time.
During COVID, Martin also had a short stint at Clark the Jewellers, before the family business closed down, and has since been a valuable team member at Gerard McCabe for two years, and a full circle moment, having worked with Gerard and his father Pat McCabe early in his career.
Throughout his career, Martin has seen countless shifts in style: “The jewellery industry changes every few years – the style, the fashion. Like clothing, jewellery changes as well. The ‘it’ thing in the 70s used to be real wide, heavy items, and then things became really fine and smaller and a bit more refined.
Now, there’s a bit of a combination and we’re seeing men wearing brooches and other items of jewellery, as well as pearls having another moment!
In his five decades working in the industry, Martin has also had the pleasure of working and meeting high-profile clients including Dick Emery, Rita Coolidge, Status Quo, and even Liberace, who happened to be walking by the store in the early/mid 80s and spotted a huge diamond encrusted Peacock brooch with ruby eyes. Although he didn’t purchase the brooch, Martin had the pleasure of explaining the intricate details to the famous pianist.
Martin remains passionate about antiques and one-off pieces as handmade jewellery becomes a dying art, with some of his favourite pieces over the years being a quarter repeater pocket watch, and a Pipe Opal which is the fossilised remains of a 100-million year-old plesiosaur that was found near Cooper Pedy and currently on display in the South Australian Museum.
“There’s not many young ones coming through to learn the trade… in 10 years’ time, I don’t think there will be any around,” Martin said.
Martin takes pride in helping people understand the value and stories behind their pieces and is proud of the knowledge he’s shared over the years.
“Talking to people is a big thing in this trade. Understanding what they want and telling them the right information is something I always pride myself on.”
Martin now works at Gerard McCabe’s Head Office as Workshop Administrator and part of the jeweller’s serving team, using his expertise to manage complex repairs and jewellery restorations.
