Diamond run: After more than 80 years in business, Pittsburgh's Schiffman's Jewelers closing Saturday
At 3 p.m. Saturday only the sparkling memories will remain.
Schiffman’s Jewelers, a staple in the Clark Building in Downtown Pittsburgh for more than eight decades, is closing.
“In the words of King Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes, there is ‘A time to be born and a time to die,’” said Schiffman’s owner, Abraham Judah Samet of North Oakland. Samet, who turns 84 next month spoke to the Trib on Thursday via a phone call. “It’s time to close the store.”
Samet said he hasn’t been in the shop in two years. The business isn’t making money.
He started to notice a change in sales after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Customers are purchasing fewer engagement rings and wedding bands because more couples are living together and not getting married, he said.
An increase in online shopping as well as the pandemic with more people working from home have also affected brick-and-mortar stores, he said.
“Just look around the streets of Downtown,” said Ron Rosiak, of Pittsburgh’s South Side, an employee for 40 years. “They are empty. People aren’t coming down here for work. All the big department stores, Saks Fifth Avenue, Kaufmann’s, Macy’s, Gimbels, Horne’s … they are no longer. All the wheels in Downtown have slowed down. It’s just not a good situation.”
Samet, Rosiak and John Mercer of Brookline, also an employee for 40 years, reminisced about the good days. At one time in the Clark Building, there were 70 stores as well as repair shops and engraving businesses. It was known as the place to buy fine jewelry. There are 14 currently.
Samet helped grow the business by selling engagement rings and wedding bands. At one time there were nine sales people. During the holidays they worked 12-hour days because the store was continually packed.
Samet said he can remember most of his customers and greeted them by name when they came back. He sold jewelry to executives from U.S. Steel, Westinghouse and PPG, to professional athletes and many residents in the city of Pittsburgh and beyond.
Everything is for sale. Some merchandise customers will pay as little as 0.17 cents on the dollar.
Whatever is left will be liquidated.
Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 3 on Saturday.
Irving Schiffman, who started the business in the 1940s, died in 1990. He traveled throughout the week in the early days to make sales and buy more merchandise.
He asked Samet, his son-in-law, to move his college classes at Duquesne University to the afternoon. That way he could be at the store in the mornings because they had a recent robbery and he needed a man in the store with the female employees. Samet said Schiffman treated him like a son.
“I learned about diamonds and rubies and sapphires,” Samet said. “A young man came in looking for a 1 carat diamond. I explained to him the finer points of three diamonds and sold him one in 15 minutes. It cost $1,500. It would be worth at least $6,500 today.”
It’s sad things have gone south so quickly, said Rosiak. He said it feels like a never-ending spiral.
“It’s a different world now than it was years ago,” Rosiak said. “What made this store different has always been our high-grade pieces of jewelry. You get what you pay for.”
Schiffman is an ‘old school’ guy, said Mercer.
“He taught us that quality of the merchandise is the most important thing,” Mercer said. “And the uniqueness of the jewelry piece was the second most important thing.”
The jewelry aspect is part of it, but it’s the relationship with the clients that you remember, Mercer said. He recalled a customer who owned a restaurant and would bring him stuffed banana peppers — his favorite.
“She knew they were my favorite,” he said. “She thought it might get her a better price. … It did.”
Mercer said to watch a couple choosing an engagement ring and to see them in love is beautiful.
“You see the connection immediately,” Mercer said. “We are there for their wedding and birthdays and anniversaries and the births of their children. Those are wonderful moments to experience. They often become our friends.”
Schiffman made friends wherever he went. At 5-foot-6 he wasn’t tall in stature, but he stood out in business.
He was a hustler from a young age, Samet said. Schiffman would make sandwiches in the neighborhood during soccer matches and sell them and then went on to selling watches.
One of his watch customers asked him if he sold diamonds. He said, “I don’t, but I can,” Samet said.
Schiffman traveled to New York City to learn about the best in diamonds.
Rosiak shared the story of a customer he sold one of those quality diamond rings to 30 years ago. She came in and he cleaned the ring and told her it’s good for at least another 30 years.
“She told me: it looked as good as the day she got it,” Rosiak said. “Fine jewelry lasts and is often passed down through generations. Rings, necklaces and bracelets are more than shiny, sparkling pieces of jewelry. They represent love and commitment.
“We have been honored to share so many special occasions with our customers.”
Just as jewelry is about more than glittering gold and pretty gemstones, jewelry salespeople are more than employees, Samet said.
Rosiak and Mercer are two of the best, Samet said.
He wishes he could keep the business going for them — so they don’t have to walk out together at 3 p.m. Saturday for the final time.
“We don’t know how we will feel when we close the door one last time until it happens,” Mercer said. “But I am sure it will be sad. It’s been emotional saying goodbye to all of our customers because we have worked here for so many years.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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