Haltom’s Jewelers announces final day of business for longtime Fort Worth retailer  | Fort Worth Report

Two months after announcing the upcoming closure of Haltom’s Jewelers, the owners of the 131-year-old Fort Worth institution say their final day in business will be Jan. 11. 

All three of the retail locations will close after the final sales on that day, said Jack Miller, who has owned the stores along with wife Ladye Ann since 1983.

“We’re opening the vaults and offering unique pieces that even our loyal customers have never seen,” he said in a news release. “Everything must be sold quickly, so we are putting forth our best discounts.” 

When the closure was announced in November, Miller said they considered selling the company but decided it was in the best interest of employees and customers to close the stores. 

Miller said that while most of the company’s employees would have been hired by a new owner, the new company would not be under any obligation for long-term severance pay if things didn’t go well. Miller said Haltom’s will pay current employees their 2025 salary, health insurance and profit sharing. 

He also said the new owners might not have maintained the high standards of the company. 

“G.W. Haltom, our founder, always had very high standards for the merchandise he sold and his treatment of his customers. He never carried 10 kt gold or any synthetic stones,” Miller said in a statement. “Ladye Ann and I have carried on this same tradition for the last 41 years. Even today as most of our industry has started selling lab-grown diamonds, this is something we never considered.”

Haltom’s Jewelers has three locations currently. The main store is downtown in Sundance Square in the historic Knights of Pythias building. Other stores are in west Fort Worth’s Ridglea neighborhood and Grapevine. All feature an iconic freestanding clock in front of the stores. 

Miller said he and his wife are not retiring. They plan to move their Miller Investments offices to a new location and continue working with their controller and administrative assistant. 

Haltom’s Jewelers was one of several Sundance Square businesses to move from or leave the area in the past year. Reata Restaurant relocated a few blocks away to 530 Throckmorton St. while their neighbor comedy troupe Four Day Weekend took up residence at Stage West Theatre. Melt Ice Creams also closed their Sundance Square location and plans to open a few blocks away at 700 Main St. early this year. 

Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. Haltom’s Jewelers has been a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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