Jeweler David Tishbi Rises from the Ashes of Pacific Palisades to Work in New Digs in Santa Monica

September 11, 2025 - "It's not all negatives," David Tishbi told me in his classy new Santa Monica location. Flowers and large windows brighten the rooms on the second floor overlooking Montana Avenue. "There are also opportunities with this."

Tishbi's optimistic outlook has come in handy since he lost both his home and his jewelry store in Pacific Palisades on January 7. And the recovery since then has not been easy. Tishbi says the fire was worse than anything that ever happened to him in post-revolutionary Iran.

He thought little of it when he first smelled smoke on the morning of January 7. He'd returned to the Palisades after taking his teenage daughter to school in Santa Monica and, from the odor, knew there was a fire in the area. "I thought they'd take care of it." He left the store around 10 am to go meet his downtown Los Angeles suppliers.

While downtown, he started to receive text messages ordering the evacuation of the Palisades. His wife, Holly, who was supposed to be working at the store, decided she'd better return home to get their dogs. She was afterward unable to return to the store. Tishbi called his assistant to put the merchandise away and lock up. He thought he'd be back there the next day. He never considered instructing either his wife or his assistant to remove any of the items from the store altogether.

By noon, Tishbi's daughter was worried about the fire. Tishbi assured her there was no need to worry, thinking that of course the fire department would put out the fire. But by five in the afternoon, his daughter felt certain their house must have burned down. By night, they knew she was correct.

But Tishbi hoped his store might survive. An acquaintance sent him a photo of his store shortly before dark, so he thought there was a chance. He monitored the cameras at the store until, suddenly, they stopped working. Tishbi figured either the power had been cut, or the store had burned down.

On the third day after the fire, Tishbi, his daughter, and his master jeweler attempted to get into the Palisades to see exactly what had happened to the store. They were blocked at every road from entering the area. Tishbi decided the only way in was to walk, so the three of them hiked up the bluffs between Chautauqua and Temescal. It was not easy, but Tishbi is a hiker and had hiked often in the area.

"We found the whole bluff flat," Tishbi described. "It was still smoking in some places." They proceeded to walk to his store on Via de la Paz. "There was nothing left." The safe was still standing, but it was too hot to touch.

Alyssa Erdley

Dedicated ear piercing room

The fire department offered to get the safe open. For three hours they tried but got nowhere. The safe eventually had to be lifted by crane and taken to a special facility. Even there, it took two days to get it open.

The result was disappointing. "Not really anything was salvageable," Tishbi explained. Softer items like pearls and turquoise and opals were not able to stand the heat. Safes like this were designed to withstand fire for an hour or two, he explained, until the fire department puts it out. They cannot protect items in a fire that was left to burn for three days. Instead, the safe had become an oven, baking everything inside.

Homeless and with no store or merchandise, Tishbi and his wife considered leaving the area altogether, but eventually decided to keep their daughter in her school and look for a local place. Tishbi said he was having coffee on Montana Avenue and happened to see the for-lease sign on the building at 7th and Montana.

It turned out to be perfect for him. "Everybody who comes here feels good and wants to come back." Although some of his Palisades customers have moved away from the area, he's gotten new customers since moving to Santa Monica. A few have told him they never would have thought of coming to him while he was in the Palisades.

Alyssa Erdley

Along with traditional equipment, Tishbi has a laser machine, able to do what the human hand and eye cannot.

"I'm very grateful and very thankful to get to do what I like to do again," Tishbi said. He is the only jewelry store on Montana Avenue to have his own workshop. He makes his own lines of jewelry, specializing in 22 carat gold. He can do repairs onsite - and has done so for many of his Palisades customers, cleaning damaged jewelry. He also sources fine watches and has a dedicated room for ear piercings, using a special, nearly pain-free technology.

His favorite tasks are to create pieces according to the customer's desires and to transform old pieces into something new.

"I've been waiting for this moment to do this again. And help people with my knowledge and my talent and my craft."

Alyssa Erdley

He has received many requests for Pali pendants, which come in silver or gold

Alyssa Erdley

Hand-made 22-carat gold chains, for which he's known

Alyssa Erdley

David Tishbi Jewelry

Holly and David Tishbi