HUNTINGBURG — For a man whose family has been deep into the retail jewelry business since 1932, changing direction is complicated.
But when Bill Disinger’s innovative creation was met with applause by the industry’s giants, the rationale of a business decision overtook the tug of heritage. Come January, Disinger and Krüger Jewelers on the corner of Fourth and Main in Huntingburg will close so Disinger can pursue an opportunity to market his Night Glow Diamondworldwide. There’s a chance the store could be taken over by someone else, but it will no longer carry the Disinger name that goes all the way back to Bill’s grandfather, a man named Ervin Kruger who more than 80 years ago founded the business.
“The retail store itself will be closed under my name. There are opportunities for other bench jewelers and other key management,” the 59-year-old Disinger said. “For somebody else, there’s the opportunity for them to keep the retail place open that matches what we do. There’s been interest all over the place. There’s a big need. We’re comfortable and proud of what we’ve been able to do for Dubois County and Spencer County and the surrounding areas. Our main goal is to make sure everything is taken care of here. We will make sure that is done.”
The plan is to close the store in the middle of January, though extending to later in the month is possible. Long term, the upstairs floors, home to the store’s lab, could be transformed into apartments. The downstairs portion, which houses the jewelry, gift store and tuxedo shop, will be for lease.
“It wasn’t an easy decision by any means,” said Disinger, who studied gemology at Parkland College in Champaign, Ill., began apprenticing with his grandfather in 1981 and took over the store in 1983. “But the offer was way too strong to consider staying in the retail part of it.”
A project that started about six years ago precipitated the move.
Disinger at the time came across knowledge that if a jeweler and diamond cutter could change the angles of a diamond, the light could be concentrated to a focal point. It’s similar to using a magnifying glass and the sun to start a fire. From there, the light bounces off a surface at the bottom of the diamond and causes the gem to glow. Disinger worked with his diamond cutter in Tel Aviv and tested the possibilities. They eventually altered the angles — they had to back off initially since one of the early tests resulted in light so concentrated it almost burned a hole in the surface — and found the winning combination.
Disinger knew he was on to something. He just didn’t know how big that something would become.
“The people I’ve been able to work with throughout the world have just been incredible, something I never would have expected,” he said.
He’s already obtained patents for the diamond, those coming after he had to convince folks with the patent office and law firms in Indianapolis that he was serious about the glowing diamond — and that the diamond actually did glow; it does, and he’s happy to pull you aside in the store and show off the shine.
The big step in the process — the one that led to the decision to close the retail store — came when De Beers, a jeweler with company headquarters in South Africa and a large player in the world’s diamond market, came to Disinger with an offer: Let’s go global.
“They’d already been studying this diamond, and I had no idea,” Disinger said.
He credits a Herald story in March 2015 for launching the buzz, and news did spread. Disinger received calls form Russia, Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and companies in the United States. His work has appeared in jewelers' trade journals in Russia and Switzerland and the head of the firm behind his patents did plenty of homework on Disinger and the Night Glow even before making his call to Dubois County (once they were convinced it would work, they crammed the typical months-long patent process into one weekend).
A worldwide tour will begin next year at an international jewelry show in Hong Kong. After that, it’s another show in Las Vegas. Russia, India and Japan are also on the itinerary for a man who will have an office in Manhattan but maintain his home back in southern Indiana. The son of Louie and Sharon Disinger grew up here and lives with his wife, Sonya, a Tell City native, in Santa Claus, where the couple is building another home. He has many family and friends in the area. His brother, Bob, owns Disinger Jewelers of Jasper. His sister is a nurse in Tell City.
So southwest Indiana — more specifically, the corner of Fourth and Main in Huntingburg — is home. But the world awaits.
“We’ve been blessed. The industry has gone through ups and downs. We had a good base, phenomenal customers. I love Dubois County and this will always been my home and this is where my heart is,” Disinger said. “It’s been an emotional decision but I’ve had great support from my wife and family and dear friends, and they all agree it’s time. We’ve been given an incredible opportunity here. We’ll be back and forth, from Manhattan to Huntingburg and Santa Claus, and hopefully make our communities proud.”