In an industry centered around high-end gems, David Cohen values trust over everything.
For the Virginia Beach man, building relationships with customers and colleagues is the most important aspect of his career as a diamond wholesaler.
From the moment he first came to the United States 26 years ago from Tel Aviv, Israel, Cohen said he has built his reputation on strong morals.
“In the diamond business, trust is very important because when you hold a lot of money there is a lot of temptation to lie and cheat,” he said. “If you be honest and keep things the way it should be and are honest with your customer and not try to [cheat] anybody … I believe you can stay in business for a long time.”
Being in America, however, wasn’t always easy for Cohen. Within months, tragedy struck.
Rough start
Cohen’s best friend from Israel was killed at their wholesale office shortly after they moved to Virginia.
While Cohen was away working with a customer, he recalled, his partner remained at the office with men they felt they could trust.
According to Cohen, the men cleaned out their safe and left his business partner and friend dead.
“On every level, it was hard because they stole everything,” he said. “I didn’t have anything … I had just moved here and didn’t know too many people.”
In an interview with WYDaily, Cohen was reluctant to get in-depth about the tragedy, but on the Boyer’s website a post titled “David’s Story” paints a picture of heartbreak and horror.
“I was devastated,” it says. “I had a wife who was terrified, a son who was four years old, and I spoke very little English. When my mother heard about it, she sent my older brother to come get me.”
Instead, Cohen stayed and chose to rebuild.
He didn’t know many people in his adopted country, but Cohen said he received assistance from his small circle of friends.
According to Cohen, a diamond vendor in Israel loaned him diamonds to help him get back on his feet.
Cohen continued to do business in Virginia, selling diamonds to jewelers throughout Hampton Roads.
A successful partnership
Among Cohen’s customers was J. Hardin Boyer, who had owned Boyer’s Diamonds in Williamsburg since 1987.
After more than 20 years of running the location, Boyer said he was prepared to retire but wanted to make sure his business would be left in the hands of someone he could trust.
“Part of the basic philosophy we had was that we didn’t want to just sell jewelry,” Boyer said. “It was not just to make money. Our goal was to, in a very true and honest way, take care of our customers.”
Faced with the task of finding a successor Boyer deemed worthy, the pair’s working relationship paved the way for a leadership transition.
When Boyer began considering potential buyers, he knew he didn’t want to lose the connection to the community that he had built over the years.
Rather than selling the store to a franchisee, Boyer said he felt Cohen was the perfect person to take over his store.
Boyer says Cohen’s integrity as he conducted business throughout Hampton Roads, and with Boyer, eventually led him to take over ownership of the Williamsburg store in 2011.
As part of the agreement, Boyer asked Cohen to retain the store’s staff for a one-year evaluation period. Cohen said he did and kept everyone on the payroll after the year was up.
“I felt comfortable with him,” Boyer said. “I felt like he was honest, and he would take care of our customers the way that we had and the same with our employees. He was the first person that I met, who I felt comfortable in passing the store on to.”
Expansion
After six years of running the store, Cohen said he is ready to expand and open a second location in the fall to commemorate the 30-year anniversary of Boyer’s Diamonds.
Renovations have already begun as Cohen prepares to set up shop in Virginia Beach at Town Center.
Cohen has split his time between Williamsburg and Virginia Beach for six years and in that time, he said that he has noticed the growth of business at Town Center.
With the variety of people and the mix of culture and entertainment, Cohen said the oceanfront city reminds him of home.
“It’s a cosmopolitan city 24 hours around the clock, and Town Center is the closest thing to what I grew up with in Tel Aviv,” Cohen said. “You see different people walking down the street. I love it, seeing people in the street, sitting in coffee shops, walking to the movie.”
The latest storefront will feature a contemporary and classy look while offering an array of jewelry selections like watches, and other diamond-set items, according to Cohen.
Cohen said he plans to make his new shop as inviting as possible to the patrons in Town Center by sticking to the morals that carried him this far.
“In my experience, I know how people feel when they go to jewelry stores,” he said. “Sometimes they’re unsure because they hear so many stories about people lying, people switching diamonds, or people who don’t tell the truth, but the first store for Boyer’s Jewelers has been there for 30 years, which means we do it right and we’re honest.”
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