A new chapter has dawned for the prominent shop, with the business changing hands from one jewelling family to another. Owner Heather Stewart has retired, selling the business to fellow Launceston jewellers Haab and owner Tim Haab.

The heritage-listed building was first purchased by the Stewarts in 1904 from its hardware store occupants and went about shaping the store.

"They redesigned this building to look like a Tiffany's," Ms Stewart said.

During the golden period of jewelling, the three-story building hosted jewellers as well as optometrists, who worked with similar tools to craft their goods.

"They did spectacles," Ms Stewart said.

"Until my father-in-law died in 1983, there was always an optometrist here as well as a jeweller.

"Over the years, there have been many people in Launceston who learnt their trade upstairs."

But of course, with the changing times, new commodities began to appear and the wants of the common man shifted.

"If you were wealthy and you wanted to show your wealth, you'd come in and you would buy beautiful sterling silver dressing table sets and extravagant clocks and you'd put all these lovely things around your house," Ms Stewart said.

"Then came the '90s - people wanted flat-screen TVs and computers and second cars and they'd also have to pay higher taxes."

The manufacturing side of the industry changed too, with mass production affecting the need for in-house jewellers.

"Then, of course, things change like casting - you have big manufacturers bringing in a whole range of things," Ms Stewart said.

Ms Stewart un-retired to take over the business once her father-in-law passed, continuing the business for the past 36 years.

"It's been a lovely industry to work in, I could count on one hand over the 36 years the number of people who have been really difficult to deal with and that's not bad," she said.

"The thing is, whether they buy something from you or the bloke around the corner - they've already made up their mind to buy something because it's their wedding anniversary or their they just love their girlfriend.

"They've made up their mind and someone's going to get their business."

But now is the time, according to Ms Stewart, to step away from the bench and allow and a new family to cut their own history from the establishment.

"In one way I suppose I should officially say I'm sad the Stewarts are finishing, but then in another way, I'm looking forward to retirement,"

"Tim's [Haab] got two children who are involved in the industry so from my point of view the fact that it's going to be a family business going forward is fantastic."

Mr Haab had nothing but love for the historic property.

"I love the history and story of the Stewarts and I love the location," he said.

"I love that everything's still the same, nothing's been changed too much.

"In business terms... if you're a jeweller, you're in a shopping centre and inevitably the shopping centre dictates you change the shop every three years so you're replacing the store with a completely different fit-out."

Mr Haab has three children, two of whom work with him at Haab Designer Jewellers. F&W Stewarts will be renamed to Haab on Charles, with staff being distributed between Haab's new location and its Coulter Court operation.

"We have three qualified jewellers on the bench at our current address and our intention is to keep the two businesses going," Mr Haab said.

"This one [Haab on Charles] will be a bit more retail-orientated but we will be keeping a qualified jeweller here as well and then the old site is already well-suited for the manufacturing.

Mr Haab has plans to revitalise the building in some areas, including blowing the dust off the upstairs areas for both jewelling and potentially living in. He also plans to host small tours for history-minded individuals to peer into every nook and cranny of the aged building.

"You can't buy and create history... this was an opportunity for us to give it a go and do it," Mr Haab said.

"We already think we're the best, this site will help us show that and grow it."