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1923
Charles London, a young, self-taught clock maker emigrates alone from Europe to Glen Cove, New York. Charles goes from house to house on the Gold Coast of Long Island selling his clock repair services to make enough money to send for his wife and three children to join him in the United States.
1926
Charles London establishes his own store selling and servicing clocks and watches on School Street in Glen Cove. With the changing fashions of the roaring twenties, he develops his store to include jewelry. London Jewelers is born.
1929
Finally having raised enough money, Charles is able to bring his wife and children to the United States. His daughter Fran remembers, “Charles took us by trolley to School street and there it was, London Jewelers, our savior. It was a tiny, dark, humble shop that was built with dreams of hope, freedom, and joy.” As Fran grew up she would go on to spend many hours working at the store, learning the jewelry trade at her father’s side.
1939
Mayer Udell, the youngest of six children, is chosen by his family members to immigrate to America from Europe in search of a better life. He arrives at Ellis Island just as the sun was rising over the Statue of Liberty.
1946
After working for several years in the garment business, Mayer Udell is set up on a blind date with Fran London. After dating for seven years, Mayer proposes to Fran. His father-in-law, Charles, picks out a special engagement ring. After some success with his own mill, Mayer decides to sell his business and invest in London Jewelers. He goes to work six days a week with Fran and Charles.
1951
Mark Udell is born to Mayer and Fran. From a young age, Mark is curious about the jewelry business. His passion grows as he spends a great deal of time at the store learning everything he can about jewelry and watches. Mark travels with his father to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the center of the jewelry district at the time, to buy merchandise for the store, get items engraved, and to meet the characters that populated the thriving jewelry industry.
1960
The store in Glen Cove is booming. London Jewelers expands to include a vast selection of jewelry. Prominence and reputation allow Mayer and Fran to begin carrying renowned brands in their store.
1973
After graduating from the University of Miami, and working for Mayor’s, a high-end jewelry store in Florida, Mark returns to Glen Cove to work for the family business. He marries his college sweetheart, Candy, and goes to work full-time with bright aspirations for the future of London Jewelers. With Mark’s business savvy, and Candy’s talent for design and marketing, the pair is a dynamic duo. Together, their ambition leads to carrying one of the world’s most sought after watch brands. They make plans to open a second London Jewelers store.
1980
Mark and Candy welcome the arrival of their first child, Randi. The Udells open London Jewelers’ second location at Wheatley Plaza, a luxury shopping center in Greenvale, just a few miles away from Glen Cove. It is with this store opening that the Udells create a retail concept that has become the standard in the world of fine jewelry. The retail space is designed to feature a series of small boutiques that showcase brands individually. This allowed London Jewelers to form unique relationships with some of the world’s most sought after brands, as well as earn Mark and Candy a reputation for innovating thinking and industry leadership.
1984
London Jewelers opens its doors at Americana Manhasset, a high-end retail property that hosts the who’s who of luxury retail brands. With the opening of London’s third store, the Udells travel the globe in search of unique pieces, never before seen in the United States to add to their showroom. That same year, their second child, Scott, is born.
1996
The Udells purchase the empty VFW building on Main Street in East Hampton. The new East Hampton storefront helps usher in a new wave of high-end retail shops in one of New York’s most desired vacation destinations. Celebrities are known to frequent the store for London’s unparalleled selection of fine jewelry, watches, and cigars from the walk-in humidor. The East Hampton store also becomes the place to be for in store events.
2003
London Jewelers at Americana Manhasset expands by opening two adjacent boutiques, David Yurman and Van Cleef & Arpels. The opening of the new boutiques allows London an unprecedented privilege: to open the new branded boutiques under London’s ownership.
2007
London Jewelers at Americana Manhasset expands again, by building what quickly becomes one of the most recognized watch salons in the country. The Watch Salon at London Jewelers showcases a vast selection of internationally recognized luxury watch brands.
2011
London Jewelers launches its visionary new concept store, TWO by LONDON, the Engagement Shop, at Americana Manhasset.
