NATIONAL JEWELER          47
L
ast year, there was one jeweler who joined 
the “JA 100 Club,” Jewelers of America’s 
list of member stores that have been in 
business for 100 years or more. 
This year, there were eight, including New York’s 
London Jewelers, which was the subject of a feature 
story in the 2025 Retailer Hall of Fame issue. 
The remaining seven are, in alphabetical order: Bullock’s Jewelry 
in Roswell, New Mexico; Fliegauf Jewelers in Washington, New 
Jersey; Kloiber Jewelers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Robson’s Jewelers 
in Baytown, Texas; The Diamond Shop in Lewiston, Idaho; Van 
Horne Jewelers in Granger, Indiana; and Wilson’s Jewelers in 
North Palm Beach, Florida. 
The Diamond Shop could not be reached for an interview by 
deadline and Wilson’s Jewelers declined to be interviewed. 
These stores provide proof of what we already know about the 
fine jewelry business.
People all over the country, from small towns in New Jersey 
and New Mexico to mid-sized cities like Milwaukee and major 
metropolitan areas like Houston, 
buy jewelry to mark special occa-
sions, but that doesn’t mean being 
an independent retailer is easy.
There’s competition from large 
specialty jewelers, big-box stores, 
and brands that have hundreds, 
sometimes thousands of 
stores, and/or sell online.
There are security con-
cerns, staffing worries, and, 
increasingly in recent years, 
broader socioeconomic prob-
lems that are trickling down 
to small businesses, such as 
sanctions and tariffs. 
So, amid all of this, we asked 
these jewelers: What has kept 
your store in business for 100 
years?
PEOPLE WHO PUSH YOU
For 142 years, the Jewelers Board 
of Trade has been keeping tabs on 
the numbers of businesses in the jew-
elry industry for the broader purpose 
of disseminating credit information. 
In recent years, the organization’s 
quarterly 
Vital Statistics reports have been 
making headlines because they 
provide proof of what so many already 
know: the industry is slowly but steadi-
ly losing retailers. 
At the end of 2016, there were 20,124 
retailers in the United States, down 6 
percent from 2015, according to JBT 
100
Ralph Van Horne was the founder 
of Van Horne & Co. Jewelers. He 
sold the business to one of his 
employees in the 1960s and it’s 
since been sold again.
Above right, Robert and Hattie Robson of Robson’s 
Jewelers and, directly above, a ledger showing the 
first sale Fliegauf Jewelers ever made.

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