Five years ago, Indio jewelry store co-owner Ivan Munson was going to sell his 31-year-old business that he runs with his wife, Junnie.

But the deal fell through, and the couple realized they could not bear to close Munson's Jewelers in the Town and Country Center, Ivan Munson said.

“I just wanted to stay working with the people that I have been working with for so many years,” said Munson, 86.

The jewelry story continues to sell and repair jewelry and watches for generations of valley families.

The Indio business started in 1972 when the Palm Desert couple bought Titus Jewelers, which had been there for 28 years.

Munson said he first learned how to make watches and manufacture jewelry at various Southern California colleges in 1947. He met Junnie, now 82, at a Los Angeles church that year.

“It has been wonderful working together as a couple all this time,” he said. “I don't know where the time has gone, but it has been a wonderful 62 years.”

In 1985, the Munsons moved their jewelry business to the Town and Country Center on Highway 111 and Clinton Street in Indio.

The economic downturn has impacted the business, with rising jewelry manufacturing costs, rising prices and declining sales, Ivan Munson said.

“We got the triple whammy, that is what I call it,” he said.

To stay afloat, Munson does a lot of watch and jewelry repairs.

That is now 60 percent of the business' sales. The store also depends on its loyal clients — generations of valley families, like the Guitron family.

Benjamin Guitron said he, his grandparents, aunts, uncles and parents have been the store's clients for decades.

“They have been long, good- standing business people in their community,” Guitron said.

Munson said he plans to retire and sell his business in four years.

“Naturally, I do think about retiring,” he said. “My goal is to retire when I am 90. It seems like a pretty good target to me.”

When that day comes, Guitron said he hopes the Munsons will “sell their business to someone who can provide the same levels of service that that they have.”