Our History

Frontier Roots (1850s–1920s)

The first family business, Ephraim & Rosenfield, opened on Main Street in Houston in 1852 before moving to Hempstead and later Tyler. Abe “Honey” Donsky and his wife Margaret ultimately brought the enterprise back to Houston in 1953, just blocks from where Margaret’s grandfather Jacob Ephraim once sold goods to early Texans.

• Continuously owned and operated by the same family, now in its fifth generation of active management.
• Retail focus evolved from general stores to fine jewelry, catalogs, and today’s omnichannel experience.
• Each era embraced new media—from newspaper ads to television, home movies, and now e-commerce.

These frontier roots shaped a family culture that valued resilience, innovation, and treating customers like neighbors.

Merchant Brothers & Texas Lore (1930s–1940s)

The story is as much about family as business. Jacob Donsky moved to Dallas in 1898 and raised 10 children, including brothers Abe “Honey” and Nathan. During the 1920s and 1930s they tried every merchant venture imaginable—rodeo concessions, baseball games, and pawn shops. Family lore even includes Honey being held up by Bonnie and Clyde while hauling beer for the Glazer family.

• Community support: Margaret Solinger’s parents ran Leon’s in Tyler and extended credit to neighbors through the Depression.
• Service tradition: Nathan’s Jewelers in San Angelo thrived near the Army Air Corps base, with siblings helping run branches across Texas.

By the late 1940s, brother Ervin and his wife Frances returned to Dallas, purchased Kuhn’s Wholesale Jewelers, and transformed it into Sterling Wholesale Jewelers—one of the country’s first catalog showrooms.

Catalog Showroom Innovation (1950s–1960s)

In 1953 Honey Donsky partnered with Dave and Ruth Rubin of DaRu Jewelers to open Houston’s first catalog showroom, Houston Wholesale Jewelers, at Main & Rusk. Brothers Nathan, Ervin, and brother-in-law Bob Slaton invested, mirroring the Sterling Wholesale model so they could co-produce catalogs and leverage buying power.

• 1955: Investors were paid back thanks to rapid success.
• 1956: The showroom moved to a larger space in the Houston Club Building.
• 1957: Honey purchased Rubin’s share, and Ruth remained a buyer into the 1980s.

When Texas law later barred “wholesale” businesses from selling to the public, Houston Wholesale Jewelers pivoted to become a buying agent and service provider for Houston Jewelry & Distributing Company—showing the family’s ability to adapt quickly.

Flagships & Suburban Expansion (1960s–1980s)

Sensing suburban growth, Ervin Donsky built a 50,000 sq. ft. store at Northwest Highway & Central Expressway in Dallas in 1961. Honey and Nathan invested while continuing to run their own operations.

By 1966 Honey purchased the former Star Furniture buildings at Milam & Rusk and transformed them with architect Arnold Hendler into a modern downtown Houston flagship.

The opening of The Galleria in 1971 signaled another retail shift. The brothers bought five acres at Westheimer & Gessner, planning a supersized store similar to Sterling’s Dallas model. Although a planned public offering stalled after the 1973 oil embargo, the family continued to grow privately, opening Richardson, TX in 1979 and later selling the downtown Houston property before the 1980s real estate crash.

Through the 1980s the downtown operation shifted to First City Financial Tower, but by 1991 the focus returned entirely to the Westheimer & Gessner flagship.

Modern Transformation (1990s–2000s)

The early 1990s brought major change. With 35 family owners, four stores, and more than 800 employees, the catalog-showroom industry faced intense competition from big-box retailers. Rather than chase volume, Honey’s son-in-law Andrew L. Solomon, daughter Dana, and grandson Rex chose to reinvent Houston Jewelry as a high-end jewelry and fine gift destination.

In 1993 Sterling Diamonds & Fine Gifts opened in Dallas while Houston Jewelry & Fine Gifts launched in Houston. Howard Donsky later founded the award-winning Jeffrey Howard designer line and branched into pet jewelry with Silver-Bones.com. By 1998 Nathan’s children sold Nathan’s Jewelers to the Silverman chain, and Jeffrey Donsky founded Perfect-Timing.biz to trade vintage watches.

Houston Jewelry also embraced e-commerce early with 1WeddingBand.com, which remains a meaningful part of the business today.

Honors & Recognition

State and national leaders have recognized Houston Jewelry’s enduring impact:

• 2008: Received the Texas Treasure Business Award from the Texas Legislature and Texas Historical Commission.
• 2014: Honored by the United States Congress for decades of community leadership.