Arnold Anthony "Tony" Schiffman, Jr. was an American dealer of fine jewelry. He was the chief executive officer and controlling stockholder of Schiffman's, a chain of jewelry stores. [1] Schiffman was the third-generation owner of Schiffman's, considered the oldest, locally-owned jewelry store in Greensboro, North Carolina. [2]
Schiffman's parents, Arnold and Camille Schiffman, were the second-generation owners of the jewelry store. The Schiffmans were one of the earliest Jewish families to settle in Greensboro. A namesake of his father, Schiffman's sister bore their mother's name, Camille, with another sibling named Harry. [3]
Schiffman and his wife, Madeline, have three sons—Arnold Anthony III, Lane, and Vance. They also have 8 grandchildren; Anthony, Brinkley, Margo, Rives, Allen, Kiley, Ren and Layton. [4]
Schiffman attended UNC-Chapel Hill where he became an All-American swimmer under Coach Ralph Casey. He was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and graduated in 1959. Schiffman was very active in the Greensboro business community including the Rotary Club of Greensboro, past president of the Guilford Merchants Association and the Greensboro Sports Council.
Schiffman died on February 9, 2015, in his home in Greensboro, North Carolina after his long fight with Parkinson’s disease. He continued his lifelong passion to actively greet and work with his family, friends, and customers at Schiffman's in downtown Greensboro until his sudden departure. [5]
Schiffman joined the family business in 1959. When his brother, Harry, followed suit in 1964, the company began expanding and bought the Carpenter-Matthew Jewelers, based in Asheville, North Carolina, the next year. [1] In 1975, they acquired the McPhails Jewelers of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. [1]
In 1985, Schiffman's bought Sylvan's Jewelers of Columbia, South Carolina. In 1992, the company bought Shreve & Co., San Francisco's oldest jewelry retailer. In 1994, the company bought Charlottesville's leading jeweler, Keller & George, which has been operating since 1875. Schwarzschild Jewelers, opened in 1897, was bought in 2007. [1]
The 75-year-old Schiffman was inducted into the 2012 National Jeweler Retailer Hall of Fame, under the Multi-Store Independent category. The award, which began in 1989, is based on peer recognition: new inductees are voted into the Hall of Fame by prior inductees. [6]
The Schiffmans supported the Children's Home Society of North Carolina by donating proceeds from events organized by the company, such as the 5th Annual Schiffman's Charity Golf Classic held in September 2007. [7] According to the CHS, the Schiffmans had been helping for the past century. [7] In March 2012, the Schiffmans organized the Schiffman's Charity Classic Bridge Benefit, with all proceeds going to the programs of the CHSNC. [8]
Borsheims is a luxury jewelry store that sells fine jewelry, timepieces, engagement rings and home decór in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1870, Norwegian immigrant and silversmith Louis Borsheims founded his independent jewelry business that would later become known as Borsheims. The luxury jewelry retailer began as Brown and Borsheim. In 1907, Louis A. Borsheim sold his interests in Brown and Borsheim, thus began the Omaha staple, Borsheims. The business was sold to Louis Friedman and Simon Gorelick in 1947. In 1950, Louis bought out his brother in law, Simon Gorelick and his son Ike joined the business, who both retained the Borsheims name. In 1980, Ike Friedman bought out his father, Louis. Ike's son Alan and son in law joined the business. In 1985, his other son in law, Donald Yale joined the business. His two daughters, Janis Yale and Susie Cohn also worked in the business.
Signet Jewelers Ltd. is, as of 2015, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewellery. The company is domiciled in Bermuda and headquartered in Akron, Ohio, and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The group operates in the middle market jewellery segment and has number one positions in the US, Canada and UK speciality jewellery markets. Certain brands operate in the upper middle market. Signet Jewelers owns and operates the companies Blue Nile, Zales, Kay Jewelers, Jared, JamesAllen.com, and others.
Jewelry Television is an American television network specializing in the sale of jewelry. On-air and online, the network is mainly branded by its jtv initials in lower-case letters. It has an estimated reach of more than 80 million U.S. households, through cable and satellite providers, online streaming and limited over-the-air broadcasters.
The Zale Corporation is an American jewelry retailer, incorporated in Delaware in 1993. The principal executive offices are located in Coppell, Texas.
Raymour & Flanigan is a family-owned American furniture retail chain, based in the Northeastern United States.
Robert William Ebendorf is an American metalsmith and jeweler, known for craft, art and studio jewelry, often using found objects. In 2003–2004, the Smithsonian American Art Museum organized an exhibition of 95 pieces, titled The Jewelry of Robert Ebendorf: A Retrospective of Forty Years.
Birks Group Inc. is a designer, manufacturer, and retailer of jewellery, timepieces, silverware and gifts, with stores and manufacturing facilities located in Canada and the United States. The Group was created in November 2005 through the merger of Henry Birks and Sons Ltd. (Canada) and Mayors Jewelers Inc..
James Benson Dudley High School is a four-year public high school located in Guilford County in the city of Greensboro, North Carolina. Dudley High School was founded in 1929 as the first black high school in Guilford County, in a school system segregated by law. The school was named for James Benson Dudley.
Reeds Jewelers is a U.S. retail jewelry company founded in 1946 by Bill and Roberta Zimmer in Wilmington, North Carolina. Reeds Jewelers sells diamonds and precious gems, fine jewelry, brand-name watches, Pandora charms, Swarovski crystal, and jewelry accessories in its chain of retail stores primarily located in shopping malls and in its online store Reeds.com. In May 2008, "National Jeweler" magazine listed Reeds Jewelers as the ninth largest North American Retail Jewelry chain.
University Place is the only enclosed shopping mall in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The mall is anchored by SilverSpot Cinema.The gross leasable area of the center is 366,000 square feet. The mall is located about two miles northeast from downtown and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Today the mall has an even mix of national and local stores, with a focus on specialty retailers.
Henne Jewelers is a family owned jewelry store located in the Shadyside (Pittsburgh) neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The store was founded in 1887 by Rudolf Joseph Henne.
Shreve & Company is an established retailer of jewelry, from timepieces to diamonds, headquartered in San Francisco, California. Incorporated in 1894 by George Rodman and Albert J. Lewis, it is considered the oldest commercial establishment in San Francisco. Shreve & Co has had a tumultuous history, ranging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992 to most recently losing their lease to Harry Winston.
The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization and museum in Kannapolis, North Carolina that was created to honor musicians, composers and artists with ties to North Carolina that have made significant impact in the music industry. The museum serves as a clearinghouse for North Carolina musicians from all time periods, and preserves a number of memorabilia artifacts for public display.
Alex and Ani is an American retailer and producer of jewelry located in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Franklin Eugene McCain was an American civil rights activist and member of the Greensboro Four. McCain, along with fellow North Carolina A&T State University students Ezell Blair Jr., Joseph McNeil and David Richmond, staged a sit-in protest at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 1, 1960, after they were refused service due to the color of their skin. Their actions were credited with launching the Greensboro sit-ins, a massive protest across state lines involving mostly students who took a stand against discrimination in restaurants and stores by refusing to leave when service was denied to them. The sit-ins successfully brought about the reversal of Woolworth's policy of racial segregation in their southern stores, and increased national sentiment to the fight of African-Americans in the south.
Furnitureland South in Jamestown, North Carolina is the largest retail furniture store in the United States with 1.3 million square feet and $180 million in sales as of 2004. Called "the Walt Disney World of Furniture", the store is known for its 85-foot-tall highboy, and is the first of the group of stores which in 2004 came to be known as "Furniture Row" as well as "Gateway to the Furniture Capital of the World."
Ben Bridge Jeweler is a high-end American jewelry retailer that sells engagement rings, diamonds and watches, including Rolex, among other luxury product and is currently owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. It was established in Seattle, Washington, in 1912 and currently operates over 80 stores in the United States.
Bromberg's is a jewelry, crystal, silver and gift retailer with two locations in the Birmingham, Alabama area. The firm was founded by Prussian immigrant Frederick Bromberg in Mobile in 1836, the oldest family owned and operated retail business in the United States and the oldest business firm operating in the state.
Lindsey Hopkins Jr. was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He built a career in commercial and industrial banking, owning homes in Miami and Atlanta, where he had close ties to Coca-Cola. He also owned a chain of hotels in the Bahamas.
J.E. Caldwell & Co. was a major jewellery retailer and one-time silversmith in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.