It may not look much different from the outside, but on the inside Allyn’s Jewelers in Ironton has a new look, and the reason for it may not be as complicated as one may think.

“We hadn’t changed the inside in 30 years,” Tom Allyn, owner, said. “We thought this design would be better for the customers and not only did it give the inside a totally different look but it makes it easier for customers to see the merchandise.”

In operation since 1930, Allyn’s Jewelers is one of Ironton’s oldest businesses. It has been at its current location at 502 S. Second St. since moving from its Park Avenue location 20 years ago.

The new design includes window displays and has showroom floor display cases arranged in a centrally located rectangular shape where customers can browse and employees can tend to merchandise in a faster, more efficient manner.

Allyn’s employee Charlie Betts said the urge for the redesign was created after the death of 47-year employee Georgia Frazier this past December.

“She had a lot of longtime customers,” Betts said. “People would check to see if her car was here before they would come in. After she passed it seemed OK to change things around a little.”

Betts said Allyn’s redesign is not limited to in-store aesthetics.

“We are currently working on a website redesign,” Betts said. “We are doing a lot more sales and things on the Internet and we are slowly integrating the needed technology and increasing email correspondence with customers especially when it comes to prices and pictures of the jewelry.”

Allyn said he routinely does business with customers all over the country from Georgia, Texas and Alaska.