The Jewelers of Las Vegas

Oct 7

In their own words

“I did many pieces of jewelry for Elvis Presley in the ‘70. Also, the piano ring for Liberace in 1974. I did all the jewelry for the people that were running Vegas in the ‘70s, and I did the jewelry in the movie Casino. I had a part in the movie; it called for a jewelry store owner whose store supposedly was broken into. That was fun.”

-Mordechai Yerushalmi

Jason’s Interview With Mordechai

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Jason

We're back on Meet the Jewelers and today we're talking to Mordechai from The Jewelers Inc., also known as The Jewelers of Las Vegas. How did you get into the jewelry industry in Vegas?

Mordechai

I grew up in Israel in a town where most of the diamond cutting and polishing was done. I started there. They were working for somebody managing a store in Vegas. The days of Elvis Presley and Liberace and all those superstars that used to come to Vegas in the `70s. Gradually, I opened more stores and big manufacturing. We make everything that the customer wants. We don't say no to customers. We give them the best service to make sure they get the best pricing. Being in Vegas, when you have customers that come here for two, three days, they want something done right away. We make sure the customer is satisfied. Entertainers, sports figures, boxers.

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Jason
Tell us a few of the celebrities that you've been able to design for.

Mordechai
I did many pieces of jewelry for Elvis Presley in the '70s. I did the piano ring for Liberace in 1974. I did all the jewelry for the people that were running Vegas in the '70s, and then I did the jewelry in the movie Casino. I had a part in the movie. It called for a jewelry store owner that supposedly was broken into. That was fun.

Jason
How many stores are you at now?

Mordechai
Seven stores in Vegas.

Jason
Is there one that’s your favorite?

Mordechai
My favorite is the one that I'm in, the one in the industrial area. We have a huge manufacturing facility. No matter what it is, we can do it.

Forty-seven years of experience.

Jason
Do you have a lot of out-of-town customers that fly in just to see you?

Mordechai
Definitely. Sometimes even just to the store and then fly right back. Don't even stay in Vegas. We give them the same warranty on everything. We give them a diamond training program, full value for what they paid for and we don't make them spend a certain amount if they want to upgrade. Whatever their budget is we help them to upgrade. I have some customers that I did their engagement ring in 1973, I did their kids and their grandkids engagement rings. I love doing it. It's amazing.

Jason
Tell us from your perspective, how do you get across this passion, excitement, vision you have with your entire team?

Mordechai
Well, my kids went to college in California. After they graduated, they decided to come and work with me. All of them spend time with me in a store learning everything from the beginning to the final product, how to handle customers. So, I have my second generation, walking in my steps and taking over. Slowly, slowly. I'm not planning to retire because I love what I do.

Jason
You've worked with so many foundations in the area. Tell us what are some that are top of mind.

Mordechai
We do every charity organization. We've helped schools. We are what we are because the community helped us become what we are. I've been here when Las Vegas’ population was only around 50,000 people. Now we're about 2,500,000. It's a whole different game.

Every customer is a new excitement because they come from all over the world. Throughout the country and overseas. It’s a joy to work with them.

Jason
What do you think they talk about?

Mordechai
When you walk in the store, they see all the memorabilia from so many years back. We're concentrating to make sure that the customer gets the best service and the best product for the best money.

Jason
Any trends or products that you think people should come check out?

Mordechai
Many special pieces. We have a big book that shows all the specialized items that we made.

Jason
When you think through the next five, ten years, where do you see The Jewelers going?

Mordechai
We're pretty much gonna concentrate the same as we did for the last forty-seven years—to make sure that customers get what they want for the best price. We stand behind everything we sell.