Bert Levi,
third generation.
He was helping in his grandfather's showroom before he was old enough to be much help. Three decades of fine timepieces later he is still at the bench in La Jolla — importing the diamonds, buying the gold, carving the wax, and writing every article in this Journal.
“They didn't just teach me how to work with precious metals and stones. They taught me that what makes jewelry precious isn't the materials — the most precious thing a piece does is enrich the lives of people.”
His grandfather taught his father. His father taught him.
The business began in 1926 with Daniel Levi, Bert's grandfather, on the idea that jewelry isn't precious for its metal or its stones but for the relationships it stands for. Bert grew up inside that — first in his grandfather's showroom, then his father's, learning the trade the way it has always been passed down in this family, which is by standing next to someone doing it.
Three decades of that went into fine timepieces in particular. The rest went into diamonds, estate pieces, and the daily work of buying gold and jewelry from people across San Diego — which is a different skill from selling it, and the one that takes longest to learn.
Read the family story
Drawn, then carved in wax, then made
Most jewelers who say “custom” mean they will order a setting for you. Here a commission starts as a sketch and becomes something you can pick up before a single stone is set.
“We also sell estate jewelry that often carries with it a rich history, and it's always my joy to see that history carried forward to become a completely new piece of significance for somebody else.”
524 articles, one jeweler
Every article in this Journal is written by Bert — not commissioned, not syndicated. They answer the questions people actually bring to the counter, which is why so many of them start with “how much” or “should I”.
“I've been in the jewelry business since I was a child, and I've been involved with fine timepieces for more than three decades.”
“I'm a third generation jeweler so even before I was an adult, I worked in my grandfather's and father's jewelry stores.”
“I learned from my grandfather and my father, and I learned a great deal about why jewelry is the industry that it is.”
He's behind the counter.
Not a call centre and not a form that goes nowhere. Bring the piece in, or call the showroom on Prospect Street and ask for Bert.