The closest he came was wearing a heishi shell necklace as a teenager, for which he was subject to some ribbing when he turned up to play rugby for Green Island.
But he liked jewellery and he recognised quality; that was the same whether it was a car or people "or whatever", Mr Bezett said.
His name has been synonymous with jewellery in Dunedin for six decades.
There has been a recent changing of the guard at Bezetts Jewellers in George St. The business, including the Bezett name, has been bought by Victoria Gershkovich.
She was determined to maintain the standard and build on it, Mr Bezett said.
He was "moving on", although he would be in-store "from time to time" to assist her, particularly given his sister Robyn, who managed the shop in his absence, and jeweller Graham Bain, had both also retired.
The same service would be offered to his "lovely" clients, many of whom had become friends because of the shop.
The former Dunedin deputy mayor has had a huge involvement in the wider city, as well as the retail scene.
In 2016 he stood down after 30 years on the Dunedin City Council, and in 2021 he stepped down from his role as chairman of the Masters Games after 28 years.
Last year he was awarded the Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sport and recreation.
He reckoned nothing much would change with his retirement. He had other business interests which he would apply himself to and he would continue to run and swim as a competitor in the Masters Games.
Travel — something that he was very fond of — was also on the agenda. With three children in Australia and one in Cambodia, he and his wife Carole were looking forward to escaping the New Zealand winter and visiting them and their grandchildren.
Growing up, Mr Bezett was unsure of what career path he would take.
"When I left school, I didn’t know what I was going to do.
"If you asked me today ‘what would you like to do?’, I still wouldn’t be able to tell you.
"I liked doing a lot of things. I’ve always done things, I suppose, I wanted to do."
He started his business when he was 20 and had been in the same industry for 60 years. It had been an enjoyable career and he was fortunate to have had such good staff behind him.
"I had a good team and had systems working well for me.
"That’s what my role is right now ... to get Victoria up to date with systems I’ve got and people I work with so she can carry on the same sort of service."
He tended to buy jewellery for the store that he liked himself and that style — which happened to be more on the upmarket side — appealed to others.
Running the business had always had the same formula; doing business with good people, having good stock and giving people what they wanted.
While online jewellery sales had been around for a while, he always felt that people wanted to "come in and hold something" — and that had continued.
Quality jewellery could not be made with cheap materials.
He would attend the Australian Jewellery Fair with Mrs Gershkovich later in the year, where he would introduce her to people and lines he had been buying over the years.
She previously owned a jewellery shop in Balclutha.
