Helzberg Diamonds is a jewelry retailer founded in 1915 by Morris Helzberg that has 210 stores in 36 US states.

Leadership

In April 2009, Beryl Raff, former executive vice president and general merchandise manager of fine jewelry at

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gi ...

, was named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Helzberg. Raff was succeeded at CEO in 2022 by Brad Hampton.

History

Soon after Helzberg's founding, Morris Helzberg became ill and the company was taken over by his son, Barnett Helzberg Sr., at the age of 14. In 1963, Barnett Sr. became

Chairman of the Board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

and his son, Barnett Helzberg Jr., took over company operations. Barnett replaced his father in the Chairman position in 1988. Barnett Jr. sold the company to

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from which it invests the float (the retained premiu ...

, owned by

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...

, in 1995, and authored the book ''What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett'' In 2017, Helzberg closed several stores, though customers who purchased Lifetime Care warranties are still able to utilize other stores for regular cleanings and inspections, or mail the jewelry to the company's service center.

References

External links

Helzberg Diamonds

Berkshire Hathaway

Beryl Raff
Berkshire Hathaway Jewelry retailers of the United States American companies established in 1915 Retail companies established in 1915 1915 establishments in Kansas {{US-retail-company-stub