Living Life O2V: Oliver Smith
The motto of Sun Devil Athletics is best encapsulated by the fabled ending to our fight song, Maroon and Gold and it goes, “Onward to Victory.” Many try to live their life by that guiding principle, constantly improving and always seeking however that “victory” may take shape, but few exemplify this axiom more than Oliver Smith of Oliver Smith Jeweler.
Smith has become something of a fixture in the Valley since moving his small jewelry store from Newport Beach to Scottsdale in 1985, but it isn’t by accident that his operation and concurrently his influence have grown by leaps in bounds as he celebrates 40 years in the jewelry business.
“My feeling on Arizona was that everyone was from somewhere else,” Smith said of what ultimately drove him to make the move. “So, they had to find a new butcher, a new doctor, a new lawyer and a new jeweler. Not to mention it was beautiful here.”
Since setting up a small boutique on Via Linda and 90th Street, Smith has engrained himself not only in that neighborhood, but the community as a whole, something which he not only takes pride in, but also believes to be a duty of a small business owner such as himself.
“As you mature as a business, I think you have a responsibility to support your local community,” Smith said. “When our kids were going to Notre Dame Prep, we supported Notre Dame Prep and we still do. We try to keep it within our region because that’s where our clients are, that’s where they live and they’re the ones asking for the donation and appreciate it.”
Smith and his ever-growing jewelry and extensive watch business have recently become the title sponsor of the Sun Devil Club’s annual Butter Classic Golf Tournament as well as a marketing partner of Sun Devil Athletics, marrying his values on giving back to another core aspect of his life, being a Sun Devil.
“When I first got out here, I was really floored by the ASU Football Community,” Smith added. “The boosters and the alumni that would go to the football games, I was like, ‘Wow, these guys are passionate.’ At my old school, Lock Haven, the game was over by halftime. It was really fun for me to see a school that was so prevalent in the community and that drove this madness for the sport.”
The Butter Classic is great opportunity to see the Sun Devil spirit in action and learn what it really means to be a part of this community, and it’s due to people like Oliver Smith, that we are able to host such first-class experiences and events. The annual occasion is a primary fundraiser for Sun Devil Football and is regularly one of our most engaged with philanthropic events, so it’s only right that someone like Oliver is headlining the efforts. The event will also feature the opportunity to win a Panerai watch provided by Oliver Smith Jeweler as tournament's the hole-in-one contest.
When asked how a jeweler from Pennsylvania who moved to Arizona for the weather and the golf could become such a dedicated Sun Devil, Smith pointed to the parallels he draws between his professional philosophies and that aforementioned motto of ASU.
“I like to be associated with winners,” Smith said. “Not necessarily in the literal sense, but figuratively – although literally is good too – I think they’re always trying to get better and be better than they were, that’s my mantra too. Just continue to work at it, don’t worry about pitfalls and mistakes and things that happen, as long as you’re pushing forward and going at it every day, you’re doing the right thing. I like that about ASU.”
To register for the 2022 Butter Classic, click the link below:
