Lifelong retailer Tony Schiffman dies at 78

Greensboro, N.C.--Arnold Anthony Schiffman Jr., family patriarch and president emeritus of Schiffman’s Jewelers, died Monday at his home in Greensboro following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 78.

Known as Tony, Schiffman was born on June 26, 1937 in Greensboro to the late Arnold Anthony Schiffman Sr. and Camille Brinkley Schiffman. 

He joined the family business, Schiffman’s Jewelers, after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1957. Trained by his father, Schiffman was groomed from an early age to run the business founded by his grandfather Simon in 1893.

He was named president of Schiffman’s Jewelers in 1965 when his father stepped down and became the sole owner of the firm in 1975. 

With Schiffman Jr. at the helm, the store expanded from a single store in Greensboro to a company with multiple nameplates and 11 locations in five states. 

He thought it important to stay true to the company’s niche as a long-standing, family-owned store so he pursued companies with a similar legacy but allowed them to retain their original names and branding. 

In 1992, Schiffman surprised the industry when he purchased historic San Francisco store Shreve & Co. 

Today, the Schiffman Companies include Sylvan’s Jewelers in Columbia, S.C., Keller & George Jewelers in Charlottesville, Va. and Schwarzschild Jewelers in Richmond, Va., as well as Shreve & Co. and Schiffman’s Jewelers stores in Greensboro and Winston-Salem, N.C. 

Schiffman stepped back from the firm’s day-to-day operations in 2007 but kept the business in the family, passing on the legacy to his sons, H. Vance, L. Lane, and Arnold A. Schiffman III. 

He continued to come into the company’s headquarters on Elm Street in Greensboro every day until his death. 

Schiffman was inducted into National Jeweler’s Retailer Hall of Fame in 2012, was an American Gem Society titleholder as a registered jeweler and past president of the North Carolina Retail Jewelers Association. 

He also was involved locally, serving as president of the Greensboro Merchant’s Association, a past director of the Greensboro Better Business Bureau, a past member of the Greensboro Rotary and the Merchants and Manufacturers Club and a member of the city’s country club. 

Schiffman is survived by Madeleine, his wife of 56 years; his sons Arnold III, H. Vance and L. Lane Schiffman; and their wives and children. 

In lieu of flowers, may be made to The Michael J.