A pawnbroker is an individual or business that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been pawned to the broker are themselves called pledges or pawns, or simply the collateral. While many items can be pawned, pawnshops typically accept jewelry, musical instruments, home audio equipment, computers, video game systems, coins, gold, silver, televisions, cameras, power tools, firearms, and other relatively valuable items as collateral.
Tiffany & Co. is an American luxury jewelry and specialty design house headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Tiffany is known for its luxury goods, particularly its sterling silver and diamond jewelry. These goods are sold at Tiffany stores, online, and through corporate merchandising. Its name and branding are licensed to Coty for fragrances and to Luxottica for eyewear.
The Jewelry District is a section of Downtown Los Angeles where a variety of jeweled products are sold.
A diamond district is an area where the cutting, polishing, and trade of diamonds and other gems takes place. There are a number of these districts around the world, including:
47th Street is an east–west running street between First Avenue and the West Side Highway in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Traffic runs one way along the street, from east to west, starting at the headquarters of the United Nations. The street features the Diamond District in a single block, where the street is also known as Diamond Jewelry Way, and also courses through Times Square.
Zhang Peili, or Zhang Beili, is a Chinese geologist and the wife of former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Damiani S.p.A or Damiani Group, is an Italian luxury jewelry corporate group that designs, manufactures, distributes and sells jewelry and luxury watches. It was founded in Italy in 1924. The company uses celebrity endorsements to market its products. In the early 2000s the company had a dispute with Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston regarding the use of their names and wedding ring designs. The dispute was settled for $50 million and the couple helped Damiani create and market a line of products. Damiani expanded across Asia and the US. It went public in 2007 and its most well-known jewelry product brands are Calderoni, Salvini, Alfieri & St. John and Bliss.
Lazare Kaplan International Inc. (LKI) is a diamond manufacturing and distribution company based in New York City. The Chairman of the Board of Directors is Maurice Tempelsman. The first LKI was located in Ponce, Puerto Rico, at el Barrio de los Diamantes, a community named after the factory was located there. LKI was founded in 1903 where it operated until it was moved to Caguas, Puerto Rico in the 1970s.
Envela Corporation, incorporated on September 17, 1965, is a holding company owning subsidiaries engaged in various business activities with a focus on recommerce. Envela's segments include retail stores, e-commerce, de-manufacturing, recycling, IT asset disposition (ITAD), and reverse logistics. Envela Corporation is divided into two sectors: DGSE, LLC and ECHG.
EZCORP, Inc. is an American pawn shop operator based in Austin, Texas which provides services across the United States and Latin America. It is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange and is the second largest pawn shop operator in the U.S. after Cash America International.
Harry Winston, Inc. is an American luxury jeweler and producer of Swiss timepieces. The company was founded in 1932 as Harry H. Winston Jewels, Inc. and changed its name to Harry Winston Inc. in January 1936. The company is named after its founder, Harry Winston, who was called by many as the "King of Diamonds".
Tambunting Pawnshop is the oldest pawnshop in the Philippines, operating since 1906. The essence of business in Tambunting Pawnshop is lending money and accepting jewelry or storage, and even mortgages of real estate and pledges of stocks as collateral. Loans are generally for a maximum period of six months, after which the collateral will be sold at auction or through their other jewelry outlets. Tambunting Pawnshop reached its centennial in 2006 and celebrated its 110th anniversary in 2016.
Hardcore Pawn is an American reality television series produced by RDF USA and Richard Dominick Productions for truTV about the day-to-day operations of American Jewelry and Loan, a family-owned and -operated pawn shop and broker in Detroit, Michigan's 8 Mile Road corridor.
ULTRA Diamonds was a seller of fine jewelry in factory outlet and value centers in the United States. ULTRA was a manufacturer as well as a direct importer of diamonds, gemstones, and gold jewelry. At one point, Ultra operated over 100 stores in outlet centers and 38 other format locations. The company went through though bankruptcy in 2001–2002, and again after the financial crisis of 2007–2008. On November 2, 2012, the company was acquired by Signet Jewelers.
The Provident Loan Society of New York is a not-for-profit organization headquartered at 346 Park Avenue South on the corner of 25th Street in the Rose Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was created in the 19th century by a group of influential New Yorkers as an alternative to the loan sharks of the day. Founders include Robert W. De Forest, James Speyer, Otto T. Bannard, J. P. Morgan, Jacob H. Schiff, August Belmont, Jr. and Cornelius Vanderbilt II.
In 2014, there were 200 pawnbrokers in Hong Kong, with the number increasing over the next several years. Pawn shops are some of the oldest businesses in Hong Kong. The pawn shops themselves have several prominent features, including a screen to block the view of passersby, as well as a high counter. Additionally, these shops are governed by strict regulations, such as having to keep records of all transactions and being obliged to report any suspicious items to the authorities.
Tacori is an American jewelry design house and manufacturer based in Glendale, California. The brand is heavily associated with bridal jewelry.
Pandora A/S is a Danish jewelry manufacturer and retailer founded in 1982 by Per Enevoldsen. The company started as a family-run jewelry shop in Copenhagen.
Eli Izhakoff is an American businessman in the international diamond and jewelry industry, filling a variety of public positions since 1979.
Henry Ho is a jeweler in Thailand and President of the Bangkok Diamond & Precious Stones Exchange.
