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The story of Fredric Rubel Jewelers doesn’t begin in Laguna Beach — it starts with Rose and Barney, a husband-and-wife team in San Bernardino who believed good taste didn’t need to shout. Their first store, Crescent Jewelers, was small and modest, but it quickly became known for something larger: remarkable jewelry and genuine relationships.
By the 1940s, Crescent Jewelers had grown enough to open a second location. At the time, their son Fredric was sixteen — old enough to polish cases and watch quietly as his parents built a business rooted in trust and curiosity. It didn’t take long before he fell in love twice: once with jewelry, and once with Joan, who would become his wife and lifelong partner in the business.
In 1972, the Rubel family opened a new store in the San Bernardino mall — a modern, architectural space that felt like a statement of intent. The name changed to Fredric H. Rubel Jewelers, marking a new era that balanced classic taste with a modern sense of design.
Through the 1980s and ’90s, the family’s focus shifted toward Orange County. Mission Viejo opened in 1999, Laguna Beach followed in 2004 — two locations that reflected the same warmth and artistry that began decades earlier. Fredric may be retired now, but he still calls to ask what’s new with clients or which designer just released a piece worth seeing in person.
Today, that same curiosity drives the next generation. Running a jewelry house like Rubel’s isn’t just about diamonds or gold — it’s about noticing what lasts. The shape of a setting. The balance of a collection. The quiet confidence of a piece that feels like it’s been waiting for you.
“Our father built the business on relationships,” the family says. “He taught us that being a jeweler means knowing people as well as we know gems.”
Nearly a century later, the details remain the same — only now, they shine from a new coast, under a different kind of California light.
