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Herbert's was founded by my father
Herbert N. Block in October 1938 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.. He used his first name because
there was a Block Bros. department store down the street. The registered name of the store
was Herbert's Credit Jewelers. At the time most jewelers did not offer credit to anyone
but the very rich. As Kenosha was a manufacturing town with a lot of blue collar workers
it was a popular form of doing business. He would give a passbook and charge a dollar down
and a dollar a week. Each Friday the workers would pay and it would be recorded in the
passbook. The store at that time also sold everything from engagement rings to shavers and
bowling balls. As the years passed and the
store grew the name became Herbert's Your Jeweler. The store sold merchandise in 4
categories, watches, diamonds, colored gems and table top gifts such as china silver and
crystal. At the time each category made up about 25% of sales. In 1964 the original
business was expanded by taking over an adjoining store.
In 1975 I left a career as a criminal defense
attorney and took over from my dad who was semi retired. It was a career choice I have
never regretted. I immediately enrolled in courses from the Gemological Institute of
America needed to truly understand the gems I sold. In 1978 we incorporated as
Herbert’s Ltd. During this time I did away with the table tops and expanded into
other categories. In 1983 we needed bigger quarters so we moved to a much larger store in
a shopping plaza anchored by a Sears. In 1997 the center was enlarged and a new store was
built for us. We now have 3600 square feet. In contrast to the old store, diamonds make up
over half our sales the balance made up by gemstone jewelry, gold jewelry, watches, custom
made jewelry, clocks and watch and jewelry repair.
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