The Oldest Jewelers in America and the World
This is a historical archive of Jewelers along with additional information associated with each Jeweler listed. Some of the additional information is taken from that specific Jeweler, while other information may be taken from other historical sources. Additional information may include our own findings as well. Everything on this page is public information, and again, exists as a historical record or archive maintained by us.
2000's
2023
H Jewelers - 1 years
Troy Haney established H Jewelers in 2023. Prior to H Jewelers, Troy worked at Walt's Jewelers.
2019
Litchfield Fine Jewelers - 5 years
Matthew Fankhauser established Litchfield Fine Jewelers in 2019.
2015
Billie's Custom Jewelers - 9 years
Tri Buu Huynh established Billie's Custom Jewelers in 2015. Prior to that he worked at Walt's Jewelers.
2010
Daniel's Jewelry - 14 years
Danny Bigelow established Daniel's Jewelry in 2010. In the 1990's Daniel worked at Walt's Jewelers for a few months.
2006
Muralt's Custom Jewelers - 18 years
Matt Muralt established Haney Family Jewelers in 2006. In the 1980's and 1990's Matt worked at Walt's Jewelers.
2005
Hinrichsen Jewelers - 19 years
Joseph Hinrichsen started Hinrechsen Jewelers.
2004
Haney Family Jewelers - 20 years
Troy Haney established Haney Family Jewelers in 2004. Prior to that he worked at Walt's Jewelers. Haney Family Jewelers was sold in 2019.
2003
Cassy Saba Jewelry - 21 years
Cassy Saba established Cassy Saba Jewelry in 2003. Prior to establishing her own business, Cassy worked at Walt's Jewelers.
Forever Diamonds Jewelers - 21 years
Raymond Kelly established Forever Diamonds Jewelers in 2003. Prior to that he worked at Walt's Jewelers.
1900's
1995
Barnes Fine Jewelers - 29 years
Paul and Susan Barnes started Barnes Fine Jewelers in Arizona.
1992
John Wallick Jewelers - 32 years
1990
T. Gabel Jewelry - 32 years
Terry Gabel established T. Gabel Jewelry, a family owned business, that originally opened in Louisville, Kentucky in August 1986, later moving to the the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area in 1990. T. Gabel's ceased operations in 2022.
1987
Molina Fine Jewelers - 37 years
Alfredo J. Molina established Molina Fine Jewelers in 1987, in Phoenix, Arizona. Also the owner of Black, Starr & Frost.
1986
Hamra Jewelers - 38 years
The Hamra brothers opened their own jewelry store after working in their father's jewelry business.
1980
David Yurman - 44 years
1970
Schmitt Jewelers - 54 years
Larry Schmitt founded Schmitt Jewelers.
1960
Graff - 64 years
1956
Walt's Jewelers - 68 years
Originally founded as, "Walt's Jewel Box." We are not the oldest jeweler in America. We are not even the oldest jeweler in Arizona!
1950
Michael's Jewelers - 74 years
1949
Dickson's Jewelers - 75 years
1932
Harry Winston - 92 years
Harry Winston is owned by the Swatch Group.
1919
Buccellati - 105 years
1906
Van Cleef & Arpels - 118 years
1800's
1888
Charles Schwartz & Son - 136 years
1884
Bulgari - 140 years
1874
Piaget - 150 years
1871
Josephs - 153 years
Another humble jeweler. With enough clicks, you may find yourself reading their story, which is along what one might expect.
1870
Borsheims - 154 years
Their index or home page does not mention their founding year, or if it does it is well hidden. Even on their History page, they do not just come out and say their founding year, but rather let the user figure it out themselves. Something that is nice to see on their History page is they show logo's they have used over the years. They also show various advertisements of theirs over the years.
Springer's - 154 years
It seems to be a trend amongst the older jewelers, to not be impressed by their own antiquity. Springer's does not even offer an About Us page, or History page, but rather opts for a brief paragraph on their index or home page which mentions being around for over 150 years.
1860
Chopard - 164 years
1858
Boucheron - 166 years
L.D. Giddens Jewelers - 164 years
L.D. Giddens appears to be gone.
1854
Saboe Jewelry - 170 years
Their website is minimalist, so this link is to their Facebook page.
1852
Randolph Jewelers - 166 years
Randolph Jewelers closed, after 166 years in business, in 2018.
Shreve & Co. - 172 years
It is humorous how Shreve handles dates on their Our Story page. They start with the year 1804, but not claiming it is their birth year, just with that date out there for all to start reading, including search engines. They talk about 1848 and the Gold Rush, the 49ers, and finally they mention they opened in 1852. Shreve's claim is, "Shreve & Co. is the oldest retail jeweler in the state of California". This may be true.
1847
Cartier - 177 years
1842
Fabergé - 182 years
Merkley Kendrick Jewelers - 182 years
They claim to be founded in 1832, however, the company that was founded in 1832 was founded by two individuals, James Lemon and William P. Kendrick. They liquidated their business in 1841. William P. Kendrick started a new business in 1842, which is their true establish date.
1836
Brombergs - 188 years
No crazy claims, other than claiming they are the only member of the American Gem Society in the city of Birmingham, which may be true, though odd to mention ... when your business was founded in 1836. They do something else kinda odd, but maybe passively agressively awesome, and that is on their About Brombergs page they mention that in 2007 they renovated their Mountain Brook location "just before the 50th Anniversary". This is odd because by 2007, Brombergs had been around for around 171 years and they were more concerned with celebrating their 50th year in the same location. Maybe a humble brag, given 50 years is older than most jewelers? Either way, they do not seem to be amazed by their age.
1810
Black, Star & Frost - 214 years
You decide if their claim to be "America's First Jeweler" is true or not. Just look at this list. They also claim to be, "the oldest continually operating watchmaker in the United States".
1700's
1796
Shreve, Crump & Low - 228 years
They do not seem to be phased by how established their business is, considering their About Us page does not go into their history.
1785
Bixler's Jewelers - 239 years
"America's First Jeweler"
1600's
1613
Mellerio - 411 years
Nothing quite like looking outside the United States to find old establishments.
1300's
1369
Torrini - 655 years
The world's oldest Jeweler. Visit their History page. They mention they are the eigth longest-lived family businesses still in existence. Impressive!
A Tradition for Generations
Our Clients are repeat customers who continue to trust Walt's Jewelers for generations. We have Clients who first visited us the year we opened, in 1956! We have several Clients who came to Walt's Jewelers for their engagement and wedding rings, then their children came to us, and their grand children, and it seems the tradition will continue. Visit the most trusted independent Arizona jeweler.
If You Are Not Listed Here But Should Be
If you are a Jeweler and your shop/store/salon/house is not listed here, please feel free to reach out to us and we will consider adding you. Full disclosure, we have opted to intentionally NOT visibly list some Jewelers because their stories do not add up. Some considerations, if your great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather started working as a Jeweler or Horologist or in the industry 6,000 years ago but he did not start his own business until 5,000 years ago, then the business is 5,000 years old, not six. We will post our own thoughts on claims made, as you can see above and in the source code of this page.