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ALICE WEIL: A LOVING
Alice Weil (1919-2020) A loving tribute to a remarkable woman and an industry gem
OUR HEARTS AT SA JEWELLERY NEWS were broken when we heard the news of our beloved Alice Weil’s passing on Friday, 17 July. Alice was 101 years old and still writing for SA Jewellery News (SAJN). She was an icon in the watch and jewellery industry and was loved, admired and respected both locally and internationally. Through her research, global travels, life experience and deeply enquiring mind, her verbal choreography entertained and informed SAJN readers for 41 years.
“Alice’s soft nature, wicked sense of humour and curious, encyclopaedic mind made her a magnificent example of her profession. When she entered a room, she brought with her charm, poise, grace and elegance. You knew instantly she was a woman of great substance,” says Jason Aarons from the SAJN team.
Born on 14 March 1919 in Cape Town, Alice was the oldest child of Elias and Ella Stern. She matriculated at the age of 16 and attended the University of Cape Town, graduating from the Michaelis School of Fine Art with a degree in fine art.
In 1942, while visiting a friend in Johannesburg, she was invited to a tennis party, where she met a young man called Aubrey Levy. They soon began courting in a different way and six months later, they were married at the Gardens Synagogue in Cape Town. Their oldest child, Andrew, was born on Alice’s birthday in 1947. After Aubrey passed away in 1959, Alice met Alan Weil, whom she married in 1963. Together with Andrew, their daughter Patricia and son David, they became a family of five.
Alice had always been a very competent writer and in the 1970s, she authored numerous radio scripts. At the same time, she worked as a Personal Assistant to David Gevisser of the wholesaler Moshal Gevisser and in Engelhard Industries, when Gevisser became its CEO.
At 60 years of age, Alice retired. However, this was short-lived: through a chance conversation at a hairdresser, she was offered a job on the then Diamond News and SA Jeweller (which later became SA Jewellery News).
(Left): Alice’s grandson Daniel Levy took this photograph of her at her 100th birthday party. “She was thoughtfully sitting and editing her speech. After a few minutes she looked at me, said: ‘I speak better off the cuff anyway’ and then put away the pen and paper. Quite remarkable!” Levy fondly remembers.
During her time at SAJN, Alice was highly regarded in the international luxury watch and jewellery industries.
In 1979, Alice and 11 other journalists were given VIP tours of the Basel show in order to learn about the Swiss watchmaking industry and its products. This opened up a new world of learning and appreciation for her. She was mesmerised by the precision and beauty of these delicate timepieces and developed an immediate passion for them. For the next 35 years, Alice attended Baselworld, which is still regarded as one of the most important gatherings of the global watchmaking and jewellery industries.
One year, Omega took Alice and two other senior journalists on a journey of Switzerland on the Orient Express. On another two occasions, Cartier invited Alice to exhibitions of its museum pieces of jewellery in
(Right): Alice in the 1940s. (Below): Alice with her sons Andrew and David, her daughter Pat and her grandchildren. Alice was known as GA (Granny Alice) in the family.
Lausanne. On the second occasion, in Zurich, her friend – the woman who headed the museum – spent three hours explaining every piece on show, including the actual wristwatch Louis Cartier had specifically made for his friend, Brazilian pioneering aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont. The late Raymond Weil – who was not related to Alice – called her his “cousin of heart”. She came to know his family well and they met every year, enjoying dinners together and discussing their
common love of music. One of Alice’s prized possessions was a unique burgundy wristwatch Raymond had given her. Many years later, when his successor and son-in-law, Olivier Bernheim, heard that it had been stolen from her, he instructed his watchmakers to scour their store of spares in order to recreate that particular timepiece. When it was completed, he sent it to her. Alice’s other travels included visits to the manufacturing premises of most of the Swatch brands, including Omega, Longines, Tissot, Rado and Swatch. It was a particular honour for her to be invited to the Rolex factory in Geneva, which traditionally does not encourage visitors. For her 100th birthday, Rolex held an exclusive celebration in her honour in Sandton, Johannesburg.
“Alice was always clear-thinking and had an encyclopaedic knowledge of especially the watch industry,” remembers Jennifer Moss, Director of Picot & Moss and close friend. “She had many interests and was non-partisan. She was always magnificently
(Above): A note from Cartier to Alice. turned out and whenever we were with her, it was like being with a family member. She really was an inspiration to us all. She was dearly loved and will be sorely missed.”
Little Gems, Alice’s monthly column in SAJN, remains a favourite among our readers and delves into the exotic, exciting and glamorous world of jewellery and watches. In 2008 Isikhova Publishing produced an eponymous book comprising a collection of her most beautifully written pieces, spanning decades of service to the industry, featuring fine jewellery, timepieces, diamonds, pearls, coloured stones, precious metals, auctions, luxury goods, shopping, antiques, fashion and celebrities. In 2018, Isikhova Publishing also published her biography, My Notebook and Camera.
“I met Alice some 35 years ago,” recalls Lorna Lloyd, CEO of the Jewellery Council of SA (JCSA). “She was the Assistant Editor and also in charge of sales at the then Diamond News and SA Jeweller. Now known as SA Jewellery News, this remains the official journal of the JCSA. She was also a member of the Jewellex Committee for many years and always had good, practical advice to offer on how we could grow and market the show. She was a judge of the Best Stand Award for many years and would walk around the show with her clipboard, talking to all the people she’d known for so many years. She was a remarkable person. I had a lot of respect for her and always looked up to her with much love.”
“Alice was a mentor and a great friend of our family for more than 30 years,” say Bernard and Hilary
(Above, from top): Alice at SIHH in Switzerland, International Watch Show – Geneva; Alice with the Jewellex Committee in mid-2000. (From left): Arnold Hirschman (Chairman), Lorna Delport (later Lloyd) from the Jewellery Council of SA, Alice (SAJN representative on the Jewellex Committee), Ivonah Heck (JCSA) and Rowan Jacobson (CJR) at a birthday function organised by Bernard and Hilary Stern for Alice.
Stern, former owners of Metal Concentrators, who on one occasion organised a glamorous birthday party for Alice. “There aren’t many people who can be regarded as icons, but Alice was without a doubt an icon not only to us, but to the international jewellery industry. We’ll miss her love, eloquence and wisdom.”
Alice also had a wide network of friends abroad, thanks to her regular attendance of Baselworld in Switzerland and VicenzaOro in Italy, which she continued attending until her early 90s. “Alice was certainly cherished and very highly respected,” says Martin Foster, international journalist and reviewer of watches and luxury items for numerous publications. He knew her for many years and they frequently met up at Baselworld as fellow journalists. “She enjoyed an international standing in the industry that’s unheard of. And she enjoyed this pinnacle of status because she was just Alice, the Alice we all knew and loved.”
At 101 years of age, Alice still lived in her own double-storey
(Above): An award given to Alice in July 2000 by the Vicenza Trade Fair Board in Italy for support given to the Italian jewellery industry.
townhouse in a secure complex and although she had a caregiver for a few hours every day, she mostly did her own cooking and spent several hours every week writing her articles for the magazine. “There were many things about her which I admired, but one that always stood out was her determination to retain her independence,” says SAJN Creative Director Joanne Brook, who worked closely with Alice at the magazine for 16 years. “Everything she was still physically able to
do for herself, she did. She was a truly remarkable person and a wonderful friend.”
Alice leaves an enormous legacy to her sons Andrew and David, her daughter Pat, her seven grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and many friends.
“My gran was someone who inspired awe in all of us. She was always
(Top): Alice on a UCT student tour of Europe in 1937.
(Above): Alice on the Orient Express next to an actor impersonating detective Hercule Poirot.
up to date with the latest trends and she could connect very easily with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” her grandson Daniel Levy lovingly recalls. “She always encouraged
(Above): Alice with Joanne Brook from SAJN. us to learn – and to continue learning throughout our lives. She believed that hard work wasn’t enough to be successful: it had to be combined with drive and passion. She always offered very wise counsel and advice – trying to guide each of us on our life paths – usually with an intuitive understanding of what was best for us in each situation. She had an amazing knowledge of the arts, including music (she was an accomplished pianist), architecture, design and, of course, the written word. She also understood business, including the importance of presentation, sales and marketing, and she had no hesitation in pursuing a professional career, something that was quite unusual for a woman at that time. Most of all, I’ll miss my gran’s witty comments and insights into life. Her wisdom and experience were second to none.”
SAJN extends its deepest condolences to her family and wishes them long life.
Alice, you have left some wonderful memories that will never fade from our hearts. Thank you, our dearest friend, and rest in peace.
Alice’s great-granddaughter, Arielle, gave the following speech at her 98th birthday party.
“Today I am going to talk about my great-granny – Alexandra Stern-Levy-Weil. She was born 14 March 1919. That’s 98 years ago.
“The most interesting thing about my great-granny is that even though she is 98, she still works. But before I tell you about her career, let me tell you a little about her.
Alexandra Stern was born in Cape Town in 1919. Although her name is Alexandra, she is known as Alice and we call her Granny Alice, or I like to call her the Google Granny. When I was in Cape Town I visited her home in Cape Town.
“Alice went to primary school at the Tamboerskloof Primary School. She and her friends said that TKPS stood for ‘Teach Kids Proper Sense’
She told me she never minded going to school, as she had lots of friends who lived close by to her house BUT it was a long walk, ESPECIALLY in the heat and the rain, ESPECIALLY as it was uphill.
“Her father, Elias Stern, started the plastics factory called Addis. Your Tupperware may even have been made by the company.
“She married Aubrey Levy at the Gardens Synagogue in Cape Town and moved to Johannesburg, where she had one child – who is my grandfather, Andrew David Levy.
Aubrey Levy died in 1958, when my grandfather was 11.
Soon after that she started working and remarried Alan Weil, also known as ‘Boss’ and had two children, Besi and David.
“She had a good career and then she retired. That could have been the end of her working life.
“BUT In 1978 she started working as a journalist. She was 59. She worked for a magazine called SA Jeweller and still works for them!
She writes eight articles a month for the magazine and is very well known in the jewellery business.
Through her work she travelled to lots of interesting places, including Hong Kong, Paris, Geneva, Zurich and Venice. She says the best part of her job was the travel and the many friends she made all around the world.
“I would love to have a career that lets me travel and meet lots of friends.
“So why do I call her the Google Granny?
“She says that work has changed drastically: The work she does has changed because of technology. She uses the Internet for a lot of her research and told me she loves Google! The way the magazine is produced has also changed. Also, she says a computer is better than a typewriter!
She really is the Google Granny.”
IT HAS BEEN 121 DAYS SINCE THE President announced the official lockdown of our country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During this time, our industry has experienced much turmoil, with many companies facing bankruptcies and retrenchments.
The Jewellery Council conducted some research, which we would like to share with you: • 36 companies will close due to the repercussions of COVID-19. • Seven branches will close (this excludes chain stores). • 455 jobs have been lost to date and 245 job losses are foreseen in the near future. • 94 companies applied for government incentives. Thirty-nine of those were granted them, 48 were unsuccessful and 14 were partially successful.
The council and its staff have made themselves available to assist members during this period, specifically to comply with COVID-19 regulations and the Disaster Management Act. We have provided members with standard operating procedures and checklists, as well as resource and policy packs. Although some members have been successful in applying to the UIF TERS Fund, many have not.
We have observed correct procedures when considering retrenchments. The council will continue to assist members through the SA Informal Traders’ Alliance to negotiate better rentals with landlords, especially members who are not yet operating. We have also put in a request to the SA Diamond & Precious Metals Regulator for leniency regarding renewal applications from members.
Slowly, we have all started to adapt to a new normal. There is new hope and companies are diversifying their businesses in an attempt to keep going.
The JCSA is delighted to announce the opening of sales bookings for members to advertise in the first issue of JZA – Your Jewellery Magazine, SA’s first and only dedicated consumer retail jewellery magazine.
The JCSA has officially endorsed the magazine, which will be published by Isikhova Media. The first issue will appear in November 2020.
We are thrilled to be part of this publication. Our industry has had to rethink much of what we do and how we do it. JZA is part of our strategy for doing just that. The publication will develop and sustain a highly focused consumer presence to help retailers rebuild customer loyalty and retention, bring jewellery retailers and their offerings directly to the consumer through online store traffic and in real-time (feetin-store), and ensure consumers identify with the JCSA members’ code of conduct so that they can buy jewellery with confidence. The magazine further aims to promote the collective corporate identity of generic retail jewellery, as well as all individual brands, and rebuild and retain active, loyal consumers.
Members will receive an email communication inviting them to participate.
Lorna Lloyd Chief Executive Officer
Does your advertising feature the JCSA logo? Do you have the correct version?
Remember, this affords you nationwide recognition – whether a wholesaler, manufacturer or retailer – as adhering to the Council’s Code of Ethics and Conduct. And it tells consumers they can buy with confidence too.
