In 1922, when Joe Denaburg returned home to Birmingham, Alabama from World War I, he made a decision that would affect his family for generations to come. He went to his mother-in-law, Esther Levy, and borrowed $2,500 so that he could open a store. It is Mrs. Levy’s name that has now graced the front of Joe’s store for the past 95 years.  At that time, Birmingham was a large railroad town, so our inventory included luggage, clocks, railroad watches, trunks and jewelry. However, Levy’s success came not only because of the merchandise that we carried, but most importantly because of the personal attention that customers received from Joe. Levy’s quickly became known for its personal attention to clients and for the store’s family atmosphere. There was such a large following that Joe often could not remember names, so began to call everyone “cousin”. Accordingly, he earned himself the nickname “Cousin Joe”.levys-old  Because of his close ties with his community, Joe sought ways to help his customers as much as he could, especially during the depression.

Levy’s began giving loans for jewelry, watches, men’s suits, collectibles and guns. They even began giving loans for wooden legs and false teeth.  Throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, Levy’s continued to grow and experience great success. Unfortunately, the Denaburgs suffered the devastating loss of Cousin Joe in 1972, but the family stayed strong and two of his children, Charles and Rhoda, stepped in to run the store.  During this second generation of management, Levy’s saw more growth and the addition of antique jewelry and its first on-site repair man. Charles and Rhoda worked hard to preserve the family legacy and atmosphere of the store and successfully raised the standard of jewelry and art that could be found in the store.  

Today, Levy’s is in its third and fourth generation of family management and continues to see improvements and growth, all the while staying true to our family roots. In the last four years, Levy’s has made a name for itself in the international antique and estate jewelry industry as well as the fine diamond market. We not only sell to individuals, but also to suppliers in the jewelry and luxury trade. We have clients in Europe, Asia, South America, Central America and every major city in the United States. At Levy’s we pride ourselves in our reputation for purchasing and liquidating estates and for the high quality of our new, antique and personalized design pieces.  We believe that many jewelry stores today are losing that special one-on-one approach to selling jewelry and luxury items. We strive to provide a highly personal experience of jewelry shopping because we know that the items we sell are not simply made of gems and gold, but they are the heirloom pieces and fond memories of the future. We understand that each customer is just as important as the last and should be treated as such. We are proud of our extensive “Levy’s Family” and know that Cousin Joe would be just as proud.