COMPANY HISTORY

at the age of 18, Hing Wa Lee graduated to become a master gem carver and started his own factory exporting gemstone carvings worldwide to great acclaim. The first factory was named Hing Wa Lee Shan Wu Jade Workshop and it was located in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

Hing Wa Lee’s talent was widely recognized that he was later named as one of the great modern day master of gemstone carving. He became the lifetime honorable Chairman of the Hong Kong Carving Association and he started teaching apprentices in 1965.

At the Smithsonian Museum in America, due to mishandling and moving around of priceless Chinese Antique Carvings, many items own by the Smithsonian were damaged. Hing Wa Lee was called upon by the Inter-Gem Mineral Society to perform the restoration work. Betty and Danny Duke, whom lead the restoration project team to search for the best restorer for this project for the Smithsonian Institute, Identified Hing Wa Lee as the ideal craftsman due to his well acclaim reputation, skills and expertise in the this field. They recognized Hing Wa Lee as the best of the best candidate for such a difficult restoration task. Thus, began Hing Wa Lee tenure in the United States.

In the 70’s

When Hing Wa Lee was in the Washington D.C., he saw a tremendous appreciation and opportunity in America for Chinese Arts. He decided to start his wholesale business in the city of Bethesda, Maryland. He imported gemstone carvings and wholesaled them to the retailers and galleries throughout the United States under the business name Hing Wa Lee Gallery.

In 1980

Hing Wa Lee moved to Los Angeles and opened his first West Coast wholesale operation on Hill Street in the Downtown Los Angeles. He began offering imperial jade and other gemstone jewelry to retail jewelers all throughout the United States.

In 1992

David Lee, Hing Wa Lee’s eldest son, graduated from Entrepreneurship program at USC Marshall School of Business and joined the family business and change the business model to retail catering to growing Chinese-American market in southern California as well as the local clientele in the San Gabriel Valley.

In 1993

the first luxury retail store was opened in the San Gabriel Square in the City of San Gabriel. David also bought in reputable Swiss made timepieces in addition to their existing fine jewelry and gemstone carving collections. With his great effort, Hing Wa Lee Jewelers quickly recognized and accepted as a premium Jewelry store in the Chinese community in Southern California.

In 1995

Hing Wa Lee Jewelers became an official Rolex Jeweler for the Chinese market and San Gabriel Valley. Hing Wa Lee Jewelers was the first and exclusive Rolex Authorized Jewelers in the Chinese community in the U.S.. Since then, the company has thrived under David’s leadership, as he pledged to uphold the highest standards of service in every arena, while presenting a fantastic array of luxury wares to a culturally diverse clientele.

In 1997

The second Hing Wa Lee Jewelers was opened in the Hong Kong Plaza in the City of Rowland Heights, Los Angeles County. The New store occupied 8000 square feet of showroom and continued the taste of luxury. This store was later relocated to the newly built Hing Wa Lee Plaza in 2004

In 2003

Hing Wa Lee Plaza was born and built. It located in city of Walnut. This plaza stretched out to 30,000 square feet of retail spaces along with 3 levels of parking. Obviously, this would be the new home of our anchor store. This Hing Wa Lee jewelers occupied 11,000 square feet of showroom on two floors offering the biggest selections of timepieces, jewelry, and accessories in the United States. Hing Wa Lee Groups HWL Real Estate Commercial Development Company acquired a property across the street to Hing Wa Lee Plaza establishing an even greater shopping experience of our customers.

In Oct 26 2013

Our 15,000 square foot state of the art in consumer luxury experience flagship store opened its doors as the landmark building for the city of San Gabriel. The design and styling of this remarkable building is inspired by those in Geneva. The interior is the most contemporary luxury of international standards. Each brands is offered the biggest amount of space to create the best expression for their brand to offer our clients the ultimate brand experience.