Harry and Clara met in a small town in Poland in the 1930’s. Harry’s love for Clara was intense and consuming—the kind of love story one would see in a movie.
In 1937, Clara and her family fled from Europe to Canada to flee the country during World War II. Harry, trapped in Poland, spent the next seven years in hiding, writing letters to his beloved in Canada. Harry’s love for Clara inspired him to remain positive even while his life was on the line in Poland. He knew that his love for Clara would last him a lifetime, so his desire to ask her to marry him kept him alive.
In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent an executive order authorizing 1,000 refugees to enter the United States. Harry was one of the 982 refugees aboard the Henry Gibbins ship. Upon arrival in the United States, Harry and Clara met at Fort Oswego, a refugee camp in upstate New York, where he asked Clara to marry him.
Ultimately, they settled down in New York City where Harry worked as a watchmaker on 47th Street in the Diamond District. Throughout the years, Harry and Clara collected diamonds and gemstones to create one-of-a-kind designs to sell in their store.
The love letters that were written from 1937-1946 were never spoken about by Henry and Clara. Newman found them in a black leather briefcase while rummaging through their closet. Newman had the love letters translated from Polish and Yiddish to English.
When they retired in the 1990’s, their precious and unique gemstones and jewelry sat locked away in a vault for years. It wasn’t until their passing that Estelle Newman (@harryanddaughterjewels), their daughter, realized the true value of these stones.
Newman created Harry + Daughter Jewels, but found that selling loose stones per carat was not something that brought her joy. She wanted to give back and help young jewelry designers who might not have the resources to make their designs come to life. Newman also began working with the Jewelry School of the Arts and FIT in New York to help young jewelry designers just getting on their feet.
During the time of COVID-19, Newman reflected on the unprecedented times and how they, in some ways, reflect the challenges of being separated that her parents faced.
Newman created the #LoveDoesNotStop giveaway. The giveaway was created to honor the best pandemic love story to receive an engagement ring from Harry and Clara’s collection.
The engagement ring is a genuine blue sapphire and diamond engagement ring. Newman is receiving applicants with love stories from all different walks of life.
