Becker’s Diamonds Fetes 40 Years

West Hartford, Conn.—This year, Becker’s Diamonds & Fine Jewelry celebrated 40 years in business and to mark the occasion, the company did what it usually does: help others in the community.

Husband and wife Paul and Risa Becker opened the business in West Hartford, Connecticut, in 1978 with the motto “Make it Perfect,” and have been serving generations of bridal customers ever since.

Along the way, the Beckers’ business became deeply embedded in the local community.

“My late wife, Risa, and I were always overwhelmed by the support our small business received from the West Hartford and Saybrook communities,” Paul Becker explained. “To show our gratitude, we dedicated ourselves to becoming active civic leaders, seeking out groups that would most benefit from our involvement and participation.”

Becker’s Diamonds & Fine Jewelry donated time, money and merchandise to numerous charitable organizations over the years, including Make-A-Wish Connecticut, Nutmeg Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Greater Hartford Arts Council, Urban League of Greater Hartford, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Wadsworth Athenaeum, Nutmeg State Games, The Jewish Federation, The Jim and Pat Calhoun Cardiology Research Endowment Fund for UCONN Health Center, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Capital Community College Foundation.

They also hosted holiday coat drives through a partnership with local dry cleaning business French Cleaners.

Risa Becker died of ovarian cancer and a brain tumor in 2013. In the year of her passing, however, she still managed to organize a team to participate in the National Ovarian Cancer Run and Walk in East Hartford. “Team Becker” went on to raise over $10,000 to go toward research and patient care.

That same year, Risa’s son Scott Becker and his wife, Lori, accepted the Gladys and Warren Phinney Lifetime Volunteerism Award from Easterseals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut on Risa’s behalf. She was a passionate supporter of Easterseals, which provides services and advocacy for people who are disabled.

This month, Becker’s Diamonds donated $5,000 to the organization.

“Risa was a determined, strong woman who inspired all of us in the business and more importantly through her charity work,” Paul Becker said. “She wanted us to persevere both personally and professionally. The best way for us to honor her memory is to continue to give back to the community as she did.”

Becker’s also hosted a 40th anniversary sale for customers from June 18 to 23, with shoppers at both of the store’s