CRYSTAL LAKE – Nelson’s Jewelry in Crystal Lake is the unlikely product of one of the ugliest forms of metal: shrapnel.

The store, which is celebrating its 50th year in business this year, has had the same front door since Arthur Nelson opened a 300-square-foot shop at 1 Crystal Lake Plaza along Route 14 in 1962.

Nelson’s legs and feet were injured by a mortar explosion during the invasion of Okinawa in World War II. Though he earned a Purple Heart, the master machinist found it was hard for him to stand for long periods of time due to his injuries, Working from a bench was much easier, so he started a jewelry business with his wife, Alice, according to Mid-America Jewelry News.