Stanley Jewelers Gemologist in North Little Rock, AR, is closing its doors after eight decades in business.
In a letter posted on the store’s website, Loyd Stanley writes that he’s decided to retire. Stanley’s parents, Sally and Charles Stanley, borrowed $400 and opened the business in 1936.
“In 1959, I joined the family business and we opened on Park Hill in 1960 … where over the years, all of my children have contributed to the growth and success of Stanley Jewelers,” he writes.
He said he arrived at the decision to close the store after “much deliberation and study.”
Loyd Stanley’s daughter, Laura Stanley, is also part of the business.
The store is now holding a going-out-of-business sale that Loyd Stanley says will be “the largest sale of fine and estate jewelry that Arkansas has ever seen.”
The store received national attention last year when the Esperanza, one of the largest diamonds ever found at Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park, was cut there by Mike Botha of Embee Diamonds.
Read the letter.