About Us

 

The story here started about 50-60 years before Oscar Stone or Pay Me Now Pawnbroker came to fruition back in Peru. Oscar Izaguirre Jr.’s grandfather was a solar smith and was introduced by a family friend to the Silver business which led him to open his first jewelry store back on the motherland.

The temptation and excitement to come to America during those times was heightened by many who craved the opportunity to have a better lifestyle. Oscar’s grandfather left behind the jewelry store to Oscar’s father, Oscar Senior, at the age of ~16 years to manage the jewelry business as he ventured off to America. Oscar Senior was then exposed to the Gold business and was a full fledged jeweler making pieces from rings, name plates, and even setting diamonds. At the age of 21, Senior was forced by his father to move to America where they went into business in the states.

Fast forward the venture terminated as Oscar Senior and Oscar OG didn’t see eye-to-eye on dealings because their ideas clashed. Similar to Oscar Senior, Oscar Jr. is full of youth, energy, and ideas yearning to bridge the gap between old school and new school ideas. It took some time for Oscar Sr. to realize the full potential of modern day social media marketing, however once he saw the results he quickly jumped on board.

Oscar Sr. shortly after fled back to Peru without his father knowing to marry Oscar Jr.’s mother, Elizabteh (XXX). Sr. and Elizabeth, a beautiful pairing to foster extreme talent as an immigrant power couple with Elizabeth being a charismatic saleswoman with an english language barrier that only deterred her to provide a successful customer experience meshed with Sr.’s craftsmanship, both come to New York and launch their first jewelry store in Mclean Ave, Yonkers, NY with a small loan from a family friend. To describe their hustle and bustle mentality, they would place the same ring on layaway 5-9 times until enough money was made to keep the business profitable. This model was done for years and they later maintained two stores front. Things changed personally for the couple leading to a split where Elizabeth kept the location on 207th street in Uptown Manhattan now known as Elizabeth Jenewley and Sr. kept the location in the Bronx on Grand Concourse previously known as Oscar’s Gold and Diamond currently branded as Pay Me Now Pawnbrokers. They worked their business as separate entities.

Pawning became a lucrative business for the family for many reasons. When you conduct business as a retail jewelry store you commit to selling a bulk amount of merchandise at once to wholesalers and suppliers. The brand was not strong enough to move heavy products. Sr. focused on creating jewelry for other merchants and repairs. Building great relationships has been a niche for the family as pawning was also later introduced by another family friend.

For the last twenty years, we have been the go-to neighborhood friendly pawnbrokers with hard cash for collateral loans based on valued jewelry items. Jr. was born and raised by both his parents to understand business always comes first. He adopted the business and was more than ready to take this empire to the next level. At the age of 21 years old, Jr. graduated from college and joined the business. He took his ideas for the business and brought it to the fore-front with Branding being on top of the list. It was highly important to brand the Oscar name to the point it was recognized on a first name basis. Being comfortable with all the demands that come with building a social media presence included spokesperson, content creation, and heavy marketing. This allowed us to receive astronomical success in a short period of time to launch our Diamond Flagship store, Oscar Stone, and reband Oscar Gold and Diamond as a full fledged pawning loan servicer for the community with a full trained staff to meet the needs of our clients who need money.

Pay Me Now Pawnbrokers is a family owned and operated business with 50 years of leading experience in the jewelry business and we are proud to be from the Bronx and represent New York City.