Respected Jeweler, Designer Randy Coffin Dies

By Rob Bates | May 02, 2025

James “Randy” Coffin, an award-winning jewelry designer who cofounded noted retailer Coffin & Trout Fine Jewellers in Chandler, Ariz., died on April 28, after a battle with brain cancer. He was 68.

Coffin started in the jewelry business after high school as an apprentice bench jeweler with Gold Art Creations in Scottsdale. He moved on to Paul Johnson Jewelers in Phoenix. In 1981, after marrying and starting a family, he started his own business, the Gold Bench, based in Mesa.

In 1984, he and close friend Dave Trout opened Coffin & Trout Fine Jewellers, “with a couple of showcases and a credit card,” according to a family obit. The store quickly became one of the area’s most prominent jewelers and remained so even after Trout died, in 2009.

“I worked for a number of people before I started my business so knew what it is to be an employee,” Coffin said in a 2020 interview. “I never put that behind me or forgot about it. I tell my people all the time, as long as we’re profitable, you’re going to profit along with us…. It’s about making sure that I’m treating you well. We’re very much a family.”

Coffin was also a respected jewelry designer, whose work won seven AGTA Spectrum awards and is featured in the Somewhere in the Rainbow collection at Tucson’s Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum.

He “was humble, unpretentious, and found joy in helping others become the best version of themselves,” the obit said. “His authentic manner and concern made him the one you always wanted to call for advice. Randy was known for his humor, warmth, generosity, and unwavering faith. His joy was contagious, and his memory lives on in all who had the privilege of knowing him.”

Coffin is survived by Carol, his wife of 49 years; his mother, Pauline; children Ryan and Meghan; and four grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological, Phoenix.