Devoted Clientele Follows Jewelry Entrepreneurs to Beverly Hills

Longtime customers of the husband and wife team that make up Shale's Gems & Jewelry feel back at home since the Los Angeles-renowned designers relocated from their smaller Beverly Drive space to showcase the inventory.

"I think my parents take pride in the fact that they have had a lot of long time customers who trust them and come to them for their jewelry needs," said Natalee Shale, daughter. "Customers have said to my dad, 'Lee, please do not quit working, because I don’t know where to go to have the service like you give to your customers.'"

Lee and Benchavan Shale reopened the business in April 2012 at 355 South Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills after their lease expired on Beverly Drive. Lee started the business on West Pico Boulevard more than 50 years ago.

Shale’s Gems & Jewelry offers all types of services; jewelry repairs (inc. watches), bead stringing on premises, and buying/selling estate jewelry. They also sell vintage and one of a kind pieces, and occasionally do appraisals.

"They enjoy working with their customers," Natalee said. "Whether it's designing or creating, meeting new people, these customers have turned to be good friends to my parents. They will work until the last day of their life, like my grandfather Sol Shalevetz."

Like his father, Lee fell in love with minerals in 1959 after serving two years in the Navy and earning his associate's degree at Santa Monica College. He began starting a small mail order business out of his garage before selling minerals and rough cutting materials before opening his first retail store at 9234 W. Pico Blvd. Lee stayed there for 38 years.

Natalee said her grandfather Sol Shalevetz was born in Philadelphia in 1908, and at age 17, there was a neighbor who owned a jewelry manufacturing shop. He offered Sol an apprentice job to learn the trade of diamond setting. Sol soon got married and had three children, including Lee.

When the Depression came, Natalee said there were no more diamond setting jobs, and someone in the company heard that there were jobs opening in Los Angeles.

"My grandfather packed and came to Los Angeles first and when he got settled in, he sent for his wife and children," she said. "They traveled across the country by train – with my Dad raising havoc on the five-day train ride."

In 1945, Sol formed a partnership with his friend Manual Hoffman to become diamond dealers and named their M&S Wholesale Jeweler at 220 West 5th St., which Natalee notes as the first jewelry building in L.A. Over the years, the clientele and success grew

"His interest in minerals began when a jeweler in the building told him that he went on field trips prospecting for minerals," Natalee said. "After his first field trip, my grandfather became an avid collector of mineral specimens."

Sol's favorite mineral was the Tourmaline crystal and some in his collection were donated and displayed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Natalee said her mother Benchavan (also called "Benji" for short) was commissioned to repair a very expensive and historical necklace for an important company, worth more than a million dollars. Benji was born in Thailand and moved to the U.S. when she was 25 years old.

"She got her start in the jewelry business when she began importing from Thailand and there was no looking back," Natalee said, noting her parents married in August 1980. "Her decision to become a full time entrepreneur was paying off and it led her directly to my father. When my parents joined forces, their business really took off and they became an unstoppable team."

Shale's Gems & Jewelry was at the South Beverly Drive location for 12 years after moving from Pico Boulevard. The Shale's also owned two popular L.A.-based Thai restaurants: Natalee Thai Cuisine and Melanee Thai Cuisine.

"My parents truly epitomize entrepreneurship while remaining true to their honesty and integrity," Natalee said. "Our five-year plan now involves my sister and I as we hope to be the next generation of Shale’s to take over the family enterprise."

Statement necklaces, gold watches and gold statement pieces, among others, are really talked about right now, Natalee added.

The Shale's plan to launch a website, and for more information, visit their Facebook page.