Hales Jewelers, Inc.

Hale’s has marked the significant moments in people’s life stories for over a century and a half. To us, those are the stories we are most proud of. However, when your business has served a community as dynamic and unique as Greenville for 156 years, you’re bound to have a story of your own to share.  Here are the highlights of our Story

James Hunter Randolph opens his own business engraving and selling watches and fine jewelry in a wooden structure on Main Street. Randolph soon hires his first employee, B. Wehrle, a watchmaker from Philadelphia and veteran of the Civil War, who later takes responsibility for the business.Randolph’s grandson, William Randolph Hale, takes over the family business, renaming it Hale’s Jewelers.Hale’s son, William Randolph Hale, Jr. becomes proprietor following his father’s death.

Hale Jr. installs the famous Hale’s Clock, a community timepiece and landmark which served as the standard time for the residents of Greenville.Hale Jr. sells the business to Hewlett Sullivan, Sr., and Hale’s remains with the Sullivan family for the remainder of the 20th century.Hale’s moves to 12 South Main Street.

Way before his time, literally, Hewlett begins importing watches from Europe, making Hale’s Jewelers one of the first businesses in the entire U.S. to offer the Swiss watches that would soon come to dominate the market.Hewlett’s sons, Heyward and Hewlett, Jr., take over the business after their father’s death. The Sullivan brothers usher in an era of unprecedented growth and expansion for Hale’s.Hale’s opens a second location in McAllister Square Mall.

Hale’s moves to its present day location; a free-standing location on Haywood Road.The downtown store merges with the Haywood Road location, bringing its merchandise and employees with it.Lucian Lee buys Hale’s from the Sullivan family. An employee of the business for twenty seven years, Lucian walked in to Hale’s in 1973 to buy a ring, walked out with a job to help pay for his purchase, and hasn’t left since.

Under Lee, Hale’s Jewelers continues to be applauded for its knowledge and professionalism, and for understanding how to balance trends, both unique and appealing, with the time-honored value of classic elegance.