As a shoe cobbler, Fred combined his love for quality service with the art of conversation; he loved meeting new people and believed in the value of creating lasting relationships over sales. His philosophy has always been to treat others like family, regardless of their paycheque. Fred would rather he make less money and have a customer walk away happy than make more and have someone leave feeling unsatisfied. During this time, many of his industry friends began leaving Fred gold jewellery pieces for him to sell at the shoe shine stand due to how popular and well connected Fred was as well as his salesmanship and gift for making people happy.

Fred moved his showroom to Granville and Robson, where he began adding to his inventory. Amongst the imported gold jewellery from Italy, Fred now sold precious gems, custom signet rings, and high-end watches. During this time, Fred made custom bands for Sonny and Cher.

Trends come and go, but diamonds never go out of style. Though gold chains declined in popularity, Fred’s name was as reputable as ever. Word-of-mouth status placed Fred as an expert in both style, craftsmanship, and outstanding service that people from around the world travelled to. As his business grew, so did his family – and Minichiello’s vision.