Harry W. Yaseen, Inc.

 Harry W. Yaseen Jewelers was established in 1910.  We specialize in award winning designers who work in mostly 18kt. and platinum and limit their distribution.  We are also known for our expertise in jewelry and watch repair, as well as custom designs.  Whatever your needs, there is something for everyone.  Our family is committed to customer service and satisfaction

Harry W. Yaseen Jewelers strives to accommodate all jewelry needs:  jewelry repairs, watch repairs (all brands) using  genuine parts, award winning and well made jewelry, unique designs, custom designs, appraisals at a reasonable fee, free jewelry cleaning and polishing, free gemological education, free engraving with purchase, fair retail pricing, watches, children's items, religious items, and gift items such as Lalique crystal, jewelry and watch boxes.  Our goldsmith has been on the bench for over 45 years, and we guarantee complete satisfaction on all repairs and custom work.  People often comment that our store carries very unique pieces, unlike other jewelry stores.  We select our designers based upon the uniqueness of their creations, the craftsmanship embodied within each finished piece and their longevity as award winning designers.  Furthermore, our designers are recognized and valued by the finest independent stores in the United States as well as internationally.  The vast majority of our designers perform all their work in the United States as opposed to saving money by sending their work out to job shops in China.

Four generations of family business is most certainly an odyssey as well as a rarity.  Harry W. Yaseen and his two brothers began their jewelry business in New Mexico in the late 1800’s.  This was most certainly not the easiest of places or times to be in this business.  The boys, as I call them, moved to Amarillo and Dalhart, Texas and then onward to Lexington, Illinois.  At the turn of the century, my great grandfather told the boys that there was a boomtown called Chicago Heights, Illinois.  There was industry and a burgeoning populous with a promising cultural awareness that included an opera house and several theaters.  As the story was passed down to me, he said, “If you can’t make it there, you never will.” The rest became history.     In December of 1910, Harry W. Yaseen opened a new store under his own name in Chicago Heights, Illinois.  My grandfather was an unusual man who spoke six languages fluently and without an accent.  He had an operatic voice, was a master at promotion and had a keen love of historic pocket watches.  In 1923, he dropped the world’s first shock-resistant watch from an airplane over Chicago Heights City Hall.  After the drop, the watch was presented to the mayor of Chicago Heights, Dan Bergin.  By the 1940’s, Harry had the largest antique watch collection held by any private collector in the United States.    My grandfather had two sons:

 my uncle, Herbert and my father, Richard.  Both boys loved the arts.  As a young man, Herbert went to California to become a writer.  My father went “on the road” working for a manufacturing jeweler.  Eventually, Herbert came home and went into the family business, and Richard did the same shortly after my grandfather’s passing in 1955.  Both boys loved the business.  They enjoyed people, their community and the art of Fine Jewelry.  Aside from the great depression, life was good.  Oh yes, I forgot.  How did they make it through the depression?  Well my grandmother, Rae, who always worked along side my grandfather was a truly wise business woman.  For example, she bartered jewelry for food and established a credit business for the store.  Times were the worst, but like others, they made it through.