Riogem was forced to close after it became a victim of a failed insurance fraud. On behalf of another jeweller Riogem spent several months working on an elaborate diamond necklace destined for the Saudi royal family.
The other jeweller staged a fake robbery and was found bound and gagged behind London's King's Cross station.
Mr Jackson returned to New Zealand and worked for a carpenter friend, but he soon returned to the UK following another attractive young lady.
He worked for one of the former partner of Riogem, got married and divorced and decided it was time to return to New Zealand via Perth, staying for seven years working for a business specialising in pearls from Broome.
"It is this little outback town, yet the airport has five or six private jets and everyone's wandering around in jandals - there is the odd American that sticks out like dogs' balls - and in the shop windows there are million-dollar pearl strands. It is quite bizarre, like no other Australian outback town."
Finally he returned to New Zealand.
"My parents were ageing and I thought I had better get back home and see them before they passed away, whichthey duly did."
He did contract jewellery work in Auckland where he was intrigued by the work of Hawke's Bay gemstone carver Sam Wilkinson.
On holiday at the Coromandel Peninsula 12 years ago, in a house with a loud 2-year-old, he decided to meet Mr Wilkinson and drove to Havelock North. They hit it off and agreed to work together for one week a month "and have a bit of a play in his workshop".
"I had so much fun - it was so creative and totally different from the work I had always done," Mr Jackson said.
"As a jeweller, when you were working for people, you don't get much opportunity to be totally creative - especially outlandishly creative."
"About halfway through that year, driving back to Auckland, I thought what am I doing this for? So we made the move and came down here."
He worked for Heards Manufacturing Jewellers in Hastings for a year before hearing of a shop available in Havelock North, his current premises.
"I was so excited. When I was living in the UK I saw this little jewellery shop in a village that had an outlook like this. When this turned up it was my dream - it pretty much ticked all the boxes of where I wanted to work. Half an hour later I was in Mackersey's office signing a lease."
Unio was a partnership with local businessman Guy Whitchelo.
"We were in business but had no capital and no stock, which is why we became a gallery - we got other jewellers to stock the greatest proportion of it."
After 18 months Mr Jackson bought Mr Whitchelo's share of the business. Today "the bench" at Unio accounts for 70per cent of turnover. The business celebrated its 10th birthday last month.
"That middle period was pretty tough - the GFC. I never thought I was going to go bust but I had to throw a bit of money into the business. But we came through that still smiling.
Business was steadily growing. "This calendar year we are well, well ahead of last year. So we are going in the right direction and I think there is a reasonable amount of financial confidence back in the Bay."
He expects the $25 million Porters Boutique Hotel development to boost business and estimates the hotel, retail and commercial office complex, set to open next summer, will daily bring 100 more people into Havelock North daily "buying coffee lunches and jewellery".
Fellow jeweller George Frost runs the business with him and while he is happy he engaged Aimee Stewart of Retail Connect for an online offering, he is not overly ambitious. "I do not want another shop in Timaru - this is a lifestyle choice."
