Our Story (About us)

In the summer of 1989, my parents Charles and Dianne Jacobs wandered into a pretty little estate jewelry store on Union Street, in the historic Cow Hollow area of San Francisco. With a little convincing they purchased the shop and Old and New Estates became Dianne’s Old and New Estates. This little store quickly became known all over San Francisco as “The Place” to go for beautiful old engagement rings, wedding bands, and vintage watches. Over the years, they built an enviable reputation for honesty, integrity, and stellar customer service that few jewelers could match.

In 1997, Disney® Corporation approached them with the idea of opening a store in the New Orleans Square area of Disneyland® park in Anaheim. It was time for the second generation to join the business and they hired me, their youngest son Alex, to run the Disneyland® shop. The shop was named “The Jewel of Orleans” and occupied a spot which previously housed Madamoiselle Antoinette’s Perfumerie. I managed this store for five years before getting married and returning to the Bay Area to help run our San Francisco store. Nowadays you can find our wonderful manager Jan Kauffman, and her knowledgeable staff working their own type of magic at our little store.

While Charles and Dianne spend many weeks away from the shop buying and traveling, they still love the business and remain very active in the company. You can usually catch them on the weekends at our San Francisco store when they are in town. If you want to talk vintage watches, make sure to call ahead to see if Charles is in!

In the spring of 2008 another unique opportunity presented itself. As regular vistors to the Sonoma county wine country, my wife Lucretia and I fell in love with the small town of Healdsburg, CA. After several years and several near misses, we have leased a stunning retail space one block from the Healdsburg town square. Our planned opening date is sometime in September of 2008. I intend to split my time between the stores while we raise a third generation of jewelers in the wine country. We hope to see you there!

-Alex Jacobs