Hungarian-born Jolie Gabor (1896 – 1997) was known for the exceptional beauty of the custom-made jewelry sold in her ultra-smart shop at 699 Madison Avenue, New York 21, N. Y. She made high-fashion jewelry with delicate artistry and fashioned wholly of precious and semi-precious jewels.

Jolie Gabor lived a long and vibrant life, remaining active even at age 80, giving motivational lectures on beauty and female empowerment. Born Janka Tilleman, she grew up in the family of jewelers who owned jewelry house and several jewelry boutiques in Budapest. Later Gabor joined her parents’ business and ran her own jewelry store.
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Born in Brooklyn, New York, Raymond Abrahams (1895 – 1973) was noted for the fine artistry of diamond, platinum and gold creations. A wholesale dealer in diamonds, jeweler and antiquarian Abrahams was active since 1920 until his death in 1973. His office was originally located at 37 Maiden Lane.

In 1927, the firm moved to 522 Fifth Ave. The same year Raymond Abrahams married Hilda Winston (Weinstein), and the couple went abroad. It was two months’ wedding and business trip to Paris, Antwerp, Amsterdam, London and Switzerland. In the following years, Hilda Abrahams (1908 – 1960) regularly accompanied him on business trips. They had one child.
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Born in 1906 in Marseille, Emil Pascal Battiste was a French jeweler who came to New York in the early 1930s. He applied for US citizenship in 1935 and was granted citizenship the following year. Battiste began his jewelry business in 1937 in partnership with Arthur Sundelin. They established Battiste and Sandells, jewelry firm at 22 W , 48 Street, New York City.

Seven years later, Emil Battiste dissolved the partnership and became the sole owner of the company under his own name. In 1949 the company became a corporation Emil Battiste, Inc., and remained at the same address 22 W, 48 Street. In his atelier, a small team of ten goldsmiths created exquisite jewelry from platinum, gold and precious stones.

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A native of Pennsylvania, Morris Richter (1903-1960) was a well-known New York City jeweler, jewelry wholesaler, and gemstone importer. Moreover, Richter was one of the few retailers importing cultured pearls directly from the Far East and diamonds from Europe.

He founded his firm, Richter’s Jewelers, Inc., in 1940 in New York City at 585 Fifth Avenue. Richter’s Jewelers were originally located in an old 3,000-square-foot store. In December 1954, they moved to a new location at 589 Fifth Avenue in New York City. The store then boasted twice the space of its previous location. Using the larger space, Richter’s created three separate sales areas for the convenience of customers.
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New Jersey resident, Harry Clifford Schick (1894-1937) began his career in the jewelry business as secretary and treasurer of C Lemaitre & Co. Located at 105 Chestnut Street in Newark, New Jersey, Lemaitre was a well-known manufacturer of chains and jewelry fittings.

Harry Schick sold his interest in Lemaitre in 1919, and in partnership with James Wordley, also New Jersey resident, founded the Schick Company. Initially, they hired one employee, doing most of the work themselves, and the entire business was located in a small attic space, just large enough for an office desk and a few small machines.
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Born in New York City in 1897, Barnett Robinson entered the jewelry business in 1918. He partnered with William L. Meissel to found Robinson & Meissel, importing and cutting precious stones at 65 Nassau Street. However, in 1922, Barnett Robinson dissolved the partnership and took over the company under his own name at 15 Maiden Lane.

In May 1923, his company moved from 15 Maiden Lane to larger premises at 542 Fifth Ave. Significant changes occurred in April 1927, when Barnett Robinson and Aaron Sverdlik, who also had a firm on Fifth Avenue, formed a new partnership called Robinson & Sverdlik, Inc.
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At the beginning of the last century, the name Jack J. Felsenfeld (1890 – 1982), a leading expert in cultured pearls, was known not only in New York but throughout the country. Famous pearl authority, Jack Felsenfeld was an importer and manufacturer of cultured pearl jewelry, operating under the Felco brand.

“Felco” consists of the first three letters of the founder’s last name plus an abbreviation of the word “company.” Opening his business at 15 Maiden Lane, New York City, in 1917, Felsenfeld partnered with renowned engraver Herbert M. Kohn. The company’s operations began during World War I, when wounded soldiers were returning from the front.
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