Our Story

Happenstance brought young Simon Schiffman to Greensboro in 1893. A master watchmaker on his way Asheville to purchase a jewelry business, Simon discovered a jewelry shop for sale while walking down Elm Street between trains, and purchased it on the spot.

OUR FOUNDING FATHERS

Simon was a man of great integrity and business insight. His values and high standards for service and quality form the pillars of Schiffman’s Jewelers today: the importance of family, community service and hard work, as well as, representation of the highest quality merchandise.

Simon instilled these values in his son Arnold, who ushered the company into the roaring 20s. A certified gemologist, Arnold was a visionary: an early advocate for the retail jewelry business, he joined the American Gem Society (AGS) at its inception and later helped to organize Retail Jewelers of America (now Jewelers of America) becoming its first president.

Arnold moved the store to a new, larger location on Greensboro’s Elm Street, where the company continues to operate today. When the store was destroyed by fire in the ‘30s, they rebuilt on the same location.

OUR EXPANSION TO WINSTON-SALEM

Arnold’s son Tony was soon at the helm, and made his mark on the company through great expansion, opening additional Schiffman’s locations in Winston-Salem, and purchasing other businesses with heritage and standards similar to their own throughout the country. Following in his father’s footsteps, Tony was an AGS titleholder as a Registered Jeweler.

He served as president of the North Carolina Jewelers Association and became the second generation of his family to serve as the president of the Greensboro Merchants Association. In 2012, Tony was inducted in the Retail Jewelers Hall of Fame.

SCHIFFMAN'S TODAY

Now under the leadership of the family’s fourth generation, Arnold III, Vance and Lane, the firm remains true to the standards and traditions put into practice by their great-grandfather, Simon.

Each of the brothers occupies their own niche in the business and is actively involved in its continued growth. Arnold serves as the business manager and jewelry buyer, Vance as the diamond buyer and Lane oversees the watch, marketing and sales departments.