It was at the ripe old age of 8 that Marcellus Carrington Waller repaired his first timepiece.

In defiance of his grandmother’s wishes, the industrious youngster took her broken mantle clock apart and fixed it on his own. The year was 1881. 

“He was a mechanical genius,” says David Waller, fourth-generation co-owner of Waller & Company Jewelers on East Broad Street. “He could really fix anything.” 

It’s a legacy that the Waller family carries on. Last year, Waller & Company Jewelers turned 125 years old, making it the oldest Black-owned jewelry and watch repair shop in the nation. Through recessions, break-ins, fire and COVID, Waller & Company Jewelers has stood the test of time. 

In operation since 1900, the company began doing business at 1007 W. Leigh St. in Carver under the name M.C. Waller, Jewelers. That original location was near a train station, and M.C. did brisk business setting the watches of conductors. Back then, conductors’ watches could only be adjusted with a special tool, necessitating that the conductors visit businesses like M.C.’s to regulate their timepieces. 

“Being Black at that time [meant that] nobody would sell him the parts and tools, so he made his own,” David says. In 1920, M.C. was finally able to find a company in New York to supply his business. 

Although M.C. had only a third-grade education, he ran a successful watch and jewelry business, owned a grocery store, and helped found Trinity Baptist Church. 

“He did a lot right at the turn of the century, not too far out of Reconstruction,” David says. 

Three of M.C.’s children — Junius, Richard and Thomas — eventually joined their father in the family business. Their slogan circa 1928? “Let Waller make your watch tell the truth.” 

Large supplier of Black fraternal paraphernalia 

The ensuing decades saw the company relocate and open more than one secondary store. The Wallers closed their original shop in 1973; it opened its current storefront at 19 E. Broad St. in 1980. Roughly a dozen members of the Waller family have worked for the business over the course of its history. 

In 1970, at David’s aunt’s encouragement, the business started selling sorority and fraternity items; the store is now one of the largest suppliers of Black fraternal organization accessories and paraphernalia on the East Coast. David says the section helps bring new generations of customers into the business. 

“It’s a blessing,” he says. “Something that started out so small back in 1970 has really bloomed and now has its own section.” 

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing. The company’s previous store near First and Marshall streets was broken into during the riots that followed the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. The current location on East Broad Street was damaged in 1987 when a five-alarm fire next door sent bricks tumbling onto the Wallers’ roof, gouging a hole that let a deluge of firefighting water into the store. Repairing the damage cost $100,000, more than the $70,000 that the business was insured for. 

Then, in 2020, Waller & Company was vandalized in the days following George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer. A half-dozen display cases of watches and jewelry were destroyed and looted. Within hours, roughly 70 people from local sororities and fraternities showed up to help clean the mess. 

“It’s been a blessing that the city has supported us all these years, through the Great Depression, all the recessions, the ups and downs of the economy, Broad Street going up and down, Thalhimers and Miller & Rhoads going out of business, riots and COVID,” David says. “We’ve been blessed to make it through all those changes in the city.” 

Famous faces and online sales

Over the years, the store has enjoyed the patronage of at least a couple of famous faces. Maggie L. Walker, the first African American woman to both charter a bank and serve as a bank president, was a customer. In 2011, when the production company for Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” needed a vintage pocket watch fixed for the silver screen, it turned to Waller & Company to repair it. 

Family members Jewel Waller Davis and Joyce Waller Baden have since chronicled their history in the 2021 book “Our Shining Legacy: The Waller-Dungee Family Story, 1900-2020.” 

David’s own start at the family business began with sweeping floors and wiping down counters at the age of 8. By 12, he understood the inner workings of watches and could do minor repairs. 

“I’ve pretty much grown up in it,” says David, whose accomplishments rival those of his great-grandfather’s; he was class valedictorian at Richmond Community High, earned his bachelor’s in marketing summa cum laude at Hampton University and his juris doctorate from Howard University. 

After clerking for senior judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, David practiced corporate law in D.C. and Maryland. Depending on the year, David would split his time between working at the shop and handling cases up north, but he’s essentially been full time at the store since the pandemic hit. 

Looking forward, David says the business plans to focus more energy on online sales. To commemorate Waller & Company’s 125th anniversary, David plans to put out a line of original women’s jewelry in 2026 that he designed himself. Eventually, he hopes to release a matching men’s line. 

“We’ve been blessed,” David says of the longevity of his family’s business. “We’ve got a strong focus on God and devotion and respect, and we really care about our customers. We try to provide the best service we can, and we try to support our community.” 

This story originally appeared on Styleweekly.com. 

Waller & Company Jewelers is located next door to the soon-to-open VPM building.  (photo by Scott Elmquist)