A changing of the guard is underway at Marry Me Jewelry in Countryside, but longtime customers need not worry.

The Blando family is still in charge and the store is not closing. But the third-generation owner of Marry Me Jewelry, Gino Blando, 67, is handing the reins to his son, Gino Blando Jr., 30, the fourth-generation owner.

It’s a seamless transition although some customers were confused. Some thought the “retirement sale” posted late last year meant the store was closing. It was just Gino’s retirement.

“We want to make sure people know the store is still open,” Gino said. “They still walk in and say, ‘I thought you were closing’.”

He’s happy to see his son take over the business.

Gino Jr. was 12 when he started working at the family business. After high school, he decided to attend the Gemological Institute of America where he earned his graduate degrees in gemology and his jeweler’s graduate degree.

He worked for another jewelry company at St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands for a few years, then moved on after Hurricane Irma struck in 2017.

“The scary part was the seven days after when nobody came to help us,” he said of the hurricane’s aftermath.

He got a marketing degree from Cal State Fullerton then managed the online department for The Jewelry Exchange “then I was ready (in 2023) to come back to work with him,” he said, nodding at his father.

Moving into the owner’s role “is exciting and scary,” Gino Jr. said.

“Exciting because I’m really passionate about jewelry and want to grow this business. My dad is leaving me with an awesome base,” he said.“ I’m scared because I need help doing it. I can’t do it all on my own,” Gino Jr. said. “I’ve got to find people who can help me do this.”

Gino Jr., a River Grove,, resident said that he could have stayed with another company and made a half-million dollars a year, but he opted to return to the family business.

“He taught me everything I need to know,” the younger Gino said.

The elder Gino, of Burr Ridge, is concerned because there are two years left on the store’s current lease and the strip mall has a new owner.

“Right now, we’re paying six grand a month in rent. When you run a business, you have the overheads people don’t realize,” said Gino, who drives a 2010 Ford pickup truck.

Asked what his son brings to the table, Gino said, “he’s bright and knowledgeable. He recognizes the value.”

“He’s attuned into all the topics you need today like AI, the social media platforms, the ways to populate the website. Besides the fact he knows how jewelry is manufactured and he’s hands-on with it. He can fabricate it himself. That’s huge,” Gino said.

Chances are Gino Jr.’s great grandfather, Joe Blando, would be proud.

The store dates back to 1912 when Joe, who had immigrated from Italy, started a jewelry business in Chicago. His son Guy, Gino’s father, moved the store to Wabash and Madison in downtown Chicago in the 1950s. Fast forward to the 1970s and Gino was working there, too.

“When I was a junior (at Lyons Township High School), I was working on cars in the garage and my dad came in and said, ‘Don’t you want to get into the jewelry business’?” he recalled.

Gino, 67, graduated from Lyons Township in 1976. His senior year was half the day in school, the other half learning the trade after taking the train downtown. Gino learned how to be a diamond setter, “just like a carpenter, a tradesman.” And, “I became a very good diamond setter.”

The family business moved to Brookfield in 1983. Gino’s two brothers are also in the business. Each owns a store. One is in Brookfield. The other is in Indian Head Park, across the street from Flagg Creek Golf Course.

Gino started Marry Me Jewelry in 1999 in La Grange and moved the business to Countryside in 2009.

Marry Me Jewelry–the name came to Gino in a dream–is more than engagement rings. All sorts of jewelry is for sale along with watches. Repair work is done on site as are custom orders. In the meantime, change is in the air.

“We’ve got to start the transition sooner or later,” Gino added. “I don’t want my son sitting there, saying ‘When is he going to die?’“

Joe Santangelo, of Orland Park, won’t buy jewelry elsewhere. His family has shopped there at least 50 years, he said. He spoke highly of Gino.

“You know, he’s a regular guy. He doesn’t try to BS you. He treats you like family and makes you very comfortable. He’s honest about good product and honest about bad product,” Santangelo said.

Asked about Gino Jr., Santangelo said the store will be in good hands.

“I’ve met him a handful of times. I don’t know him that well, but I know he was brought up right.”