Attention to detail and quality is paramount and nothing leaves Clive's workshop without being checked with a magnifying glass.
Despite mainstream jewellers dominating the market and the malls in recent years, Clive and Linley have stuck with their original values as manufacturing jewellers.
Most of their business involves the customer designing their own bespoke jewellery. Linley helps the clients create the design and Clive brings their vision to life.
Clive has made insects such as spiders, weta, butterflies and bumblebees. He even created a pair of boxing gloves for a young man in the New Zealand boxing team attending the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland.
Linley has worked in a jewellery store since she was a teenager, starting out as a sales assistant in Plaza Jewellers. She later worked for Barkers Jewellers where she met Clive.
The Barkers family sold the jewellery store to the Hart family after they had been in business for 28 years. Clive had been employed by the Barkers as their manufacturing jeweller.
Clive and Linley's partnership approach to business has been successful for the Harts, with Linley providing the in-store customer service and Clive manufacturing all the jewellery.
It is a family business and Clive and Linley's daughter, Shannon Bryant, has been working the shop floor for a number of years now, along with daughter-in-law Kerrie-Anne Liddall.
Customer preferences have changed over the years, but the Harts have a loyal clientele who they will dearly miss when the shop closes. Not only do they have many faithful customers, but the Harts have been dedicated to their original suppliers over the years.
"We have a very loyal relationship with just a few suppliers that we trust, and we have used them for all of the time that we've owned the business," Linley says.
Being in business in Hamilton's CBD for so long has meant the Harts have seen a lot of change.
"Back in the day, we sold clocks and silver trays, masses of crystal, silver goblets, hairbrush, and comb sets – all the gorgeous things. They're long gone now," Linley says.
Online shopping has also changed the retail scene. Linley recalls a time when Ward St was packed with people and Victoria St was humming with the bustle of retail stores. That was a time when people came to town for a day out.
"Now we are a destination store."
Clients have changed too, and nowadays women often buy their own jewellery and not always for a special occasion. But some traditions have remained.
"We have the most old-fashioned, traditional things that have been made for 100 years, and will still be made going forward," says Linley. Like the traditional London Bridge ring setting with three stones and a couple of little diamonds in between each setting. Linley reckons there will always be a market for these designs.
The business has for many years been involved in sponsoring the Te Rapa Rugby Club, where Hart's grandsons play. They have donated prizes for raffles and quiz nights.
The Hart family have spent years sponsoring races and prizes for Huntly Speedway and have donated to countless charity fundraisers.
The Hart family have seen dozens of customers getting all teary, buying that special piece for a special person. Many Hamiltonians will remember their long-standing radio advertisements, proudly stating Hart Jewellers are still ordering tissues by the truckload.
There still stands a box of tissues on the counter, ready for the next customer who steps in the door. And the Hart family too might need when they call time on their business.
Until then, they will continue doing what they do best. Clive will carry on creating beautiful bespoke jewellery until he retires, perhaps swapping pliers for a pair of secateurs to help in the garden when the time comes. And Linley, along with daughter Shannon and daughter-in-law Kerry-Anne, will continue to serve their loyal customers until they close their doors on jewellery for the last time.
