WHILE working with rings and jewellery watches, it's fair to say Flora McWaters was a gem herself.
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The mother of three was the first female certified watchmaker in Australia and founded Wodonga's original jewellery store with husband Gordon McWaters in 1951.
Wodonga Jewellers still trades opposite Woodland Grove, in what is now its third High Street shop, under the management of the couple's son David McWaters.
Mrs McWaters died on Sunday aged 93 after recently moving to Westmont aged care home at Baranduda.
"Most of her customers became her friends, she was so well known and always giving," David McWaters said.
One of seven children, Flora was born in the Hunter Valley in 1926 and moved south as a youngster, attending Albury High School.
At 16 she was offered a job as a watchmaker by Dean Street jeweller Les Jabara and became the first woman in the country to be certified in the trade which had a shortage of men, due to World War II service.
The then Miss Hutchieson met Gordon McWaters while they were both working in the trade and they wed in 1950.
The next year they opened Wodonga Jewellers in a shop north of the railway line opposite the Terminus Hotel and had 23 chiming clocks to repair on the first day.
Mrs McWaters gave birth to David in 1956, Paul in 1958 and Jane in 1961.
"On the first day home from the hospital I would put the baby in the bassinet and get back to the work bench," Mrs McWaters recalled to The Border Mail in 1998.
Wodonga Jewelllers moved to its present site in 1982 after a period in another shop south of the railway.
David McWaters, who started in the business as a 17 year-old, would travel with his mother to Melbourne to meet suppliers.
"On the bench she was meticulous and methodical, everything was neat and tidy," he said.
"With customers she used to say she was selling engagement rings to one of the children of parents she sold engagement rings to."
Fashion vendor Dawn George, who operated Genevieve Boutique alongside Wodonga Jewellers for 12 years, lauded Mrs McWaters.
"Her attitude was always pleasant and she liked being around people and helping them, that's what I learnt from her and the resilience to be in business for that length of time," Mrs George said.
Mrs and Mr McWaters retired in 1998 with the latter dying in 2011.
Mrs McWaters is survived by her three children, six grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Her funeral will be held next Friday at 2.30pm at Lester and Son in Wodonga.
