Bernie Robbins Jewelers owners could’ve sold their jewelry business. Instead, they’re giving it to employees for free.

After more than 60 years, the owners of Bernie Robbins Jewelers are stepping back from the family business — handing ownership over to a group of employees for free.

“We didn’t want the business to go away if something happened to us, so we needed to find succession,” said Harvey Rovinsky, who owns Bernie Robbins Jewelers with his wife, Maddy. “Who could better succeed us than the people that are running the company with us?”

The business, which Maddy’s parents opened in 1962 as an appliance store, was first at 12 S. Mole St. in Philadelphia.

Over the years, the company transitioned away from selling Maytag and GE appliances to selling high-end jewelry from brands including Cartier, David Yurman, and Roberto Coin. The company employs 40 people across its three locations in Somers Point, Villanova, and Newtown.

There have been offers to buy the business, but it was more important to have the right people own it than to sell it, said Harvey.

“We have run this company exactly the way that Bernie did it when he started it, and that’s why we were not going to just sell it to anybody who would take it over and change it,” he said.

After the ownership is transferred, the couple will stay involved in the jewelry stores’ operations for some time. Harvey has been asked to fill the position of CEO going forward, he said.

Although Harvey couldn’t disclose how many employees will get ownership and who they will be, the handoff of the business is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2024. The Philadelphia Business Journal reported that the new ownership group will likely consist of about six longtime employees.

Some of the company’s employees have been with the business for decades, Harvey said.

“This is actually ... the third generation even though they’re not our children,” Harvey said. “It’s a third generation that’s going to be running Bernie Robbins Jewelers.”

To defray the company’s existing debt before the ownership change, beginning Thursday, $25 million worth of inventory at the Somers Point and Villanova stores will be marked down as much as 60%.

Throughout the years, Harvey said, he’s loved his job. Beyond working with “the most beautiful things in the world,” he said, the company has also built relationships with customers.

“I’m selling engagement rings to the grandchildren of people that I first sold engagement rings to,” he said.

He got his start in the business at age 19, delivering refrigerators up three flights of stairs and installing air conditioners late at night. Then in 1976, the company began to shift its focus from appliances to giftware and jewelry. The family made a decision to transition the business to a luxury jeweler in 1992.

“In ‘92, nobody was doing branding,” he said. “Most of the [luxury] brands were either just emerging — nobody had heard of them. So we were very early on into that.”

The company struggled amid the economic downturn in the early 2000s. In 2008, the company closed a store in Short Hills, N.J., two years after it opened and went through salary cuts and reductions in staff.

“Our business has been recession-proof, but 2008 almost killed us. That was devastating,” he said.

Looking ahead to the future, Harvey said, “we hope to continue with what we’re doing and expand upon it.”