Company History

When artisan Simon Schneider first emigrated from Russia to Los Angeles in the 1920's, he had nothing but a collection of handmade cigarette cases to his name. After a few months, he opened a fine jewelry store in downtown Los Angeles and had built the beginning of a three-generation Schneider Family jewelry legacy.

Simon's sons Max & Irving followed in their father's footsteps and in the 1930's opened jewelry stores in Long Beach. In 1945, their youngest brother Dave, Mark’s Father, joined in and opened his own wholesale jewelry business in the historic Insurance Exchange Building in downtown Long Beach. In 1961, Dave expanded his operation and built a free standing 2-story brick building, just blocks away from the original location where Mark Schneider Design still stands today.

Schneider’s had success as wholesale jewelers, with their largest account being Montgomery Ward. However, in 1982, Dave Schneider turned the business over to his son, Mark Schneider. With his unique vision and inspiration, Mark decided to take the business in a different direction and took the company from a mass manufacturer to a design studio. Quickly gaining popularity for his cutting edge designs in the 80’s, Mark entered and won his first design competition in 1991. Since then, Mark has been recognized internationally as an award winning designer and has the extreme honor to have a piece on permanent display at the prestigious Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.

It was not until 2001 that Mark noticed a lack of originality in one jewelry field in particular - engagement rings.  He saw an industry often unimaginative and steeped in tradition. Mark decided to go against the grain and create something unique by designing a fresh and contemporary line of engagement rings. Just like his award winning colored gemstone jewelry designs, his engagement rings are clean and flowing, with nods towards architecture, furniture design, and nature. When designing, Mark places much importance on form and function, how the design looks from all angles, and how it looks on the hand. His designs are made to outlast the test of time and to be handed down through the generations. Each ring is truly a work of art for each bride to proudly wear.