Roberts Jewelry in Harlingen Main Street District. State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr., presented Roberts Jewelry in Harlingen with the Texas Treasure Business Award in 2007. This three-generation family operated business began when founder R.B. Roberts opened in 1922 offering services as an “Optometrist and Watchmaker.” Son Bert Lund Roberts gained a reputation as a respected clock and watch repairman, and step-grandson, Brett Nelson became one of the very few certified gemologists in South Texas with a graduate degree from the Gemological Institute of America.
Always located in the historic downtown district the business moved to its present location at 216 East Jackson in 1978. At that time Cindy Nelson, Brett’s widow, recalls that others were abandoning downtown and moving their businesses to the new malls, Bert Roberts urged them not to do so. That determination to stay in the heart of Harlingen has paid off since many of the retailers that moved to the malls have since closed and Roberts Jewelry, committed to serving the public in one central location, still survives and thrives.
For many years Roberts Jewelry served an interesting and important role in the community by inspecting and synchronizing the clocks, pocket watches, and wristwatches used by workers of the Southern Pacific and Missouri Pacific Railroad Lines.
