A gem of a jewelry store closes

He is a Holocaust survivor who lived in the same Forest Hills neighborhood as his wife, Ruth, a woman Erwin Forley met on a blind date, and the person he credits for his successful career as a jeweler.

“She is my inspiration for the business, without her the business would not have succeeded,” Forley said as he sat in the office of his Forley Jewelry store at 296 Central Ave. in Lawrence, noting that Ruth became a certified gemologist.

In business for 56 years, Forley recently announced that he will close the store — a final sale is ongoing to Oct. 12 — but will be available by appointment for his customers in the Five Towns, New York City, New Jersey and Westchester. Appointments can be made by calling (516) 569-0419.

“I am closing by choice not necessity,” Forley said. “I am in good health, have two grandchildren and three children and want to spend time with them.” Along with Ruth, the family includes Bryan, a plastic surgeon and Glenn, an architect, and daughter Diane, a chef, her husband Michael Otsauka and their children, Olivia, 11, and Adam, 9.

Forley lost his brother and father and a good portion of his father’s family in the Holocaust. His mother and sisters survived. A native of Munkacs, Hungary, Forley spent nine months in Auschwitz. The concentration camp was liberated on, “January 27, 1945,” he said enunciating the date with the preciseness of a jeweler.

After being freed, Forley spent a year in Prague attending a textile engineering college and taking an intensive academic program that crammed two years of education into one.

Through an uncle on his mother’s side who owned a diamond business, Forley came to the U.S. in 1946 at 18 and was introduced to the jewelry industry. He worked for Tibor Fornoy, who became his mentor in jewelry design. When Fornoy moved to Harry Winston, he brought Forley with him, and again when Fornoy opened a store in Great Neck in 1953, which was also the year Forley met Ruth.

“It was a blind date, her [older, married] sister went to the same temple as my mother, and my mother’s friend asked, ‘do you have a sister as good looking as you,’” said Forley who met Ruth Cohen in May and were wed in July. “We liked each other,” he said explaining their whirlwind romance.

Drafted by the U.S. Army, Forley and Ruth went to Europe in 1954, where he served for two years in intelligence due to his language skills. Forley speaks German, Hungarian, Czech and English. His office was in the Palace of Justice, where the Nuremberg trials took place.

After his discharge, the couple returned to Forest Hills. Driving through Lawrence they saw a vacant storefront and thought it would be a good spot for a store. “We have been here since,” Forley said.

Longtime assistant Laurie Provenzano, who Forley called “my right hand” said she has worked at the store for nearly 29 years because Forley is more than a boss, he is her mentor and a friend. “I love the idea that every day is a little different, we are always interacting with the customers and are friendly with the customers.”

When Cedarhurst resident Ruby Klinger, a 40-year patron of Forley’s first learned of the store closing she said, “It breaks my heart,” adding that Forley conducted business in an honorable and elegant manner.

Dr. Steve Greenstein, a Woodmere resident, where his practice is based, has been a customer for more than 50 years and has bought jewelry for four family generations. “Everything he designs is superb,” said Greenstein, adding that the work is of the highest quality and very creative.