FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   Zimmermann John A 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 02/16/2006 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol ZALE CORP [ZLC] (Last) (First) (Middle) C/O ZALE CORPORATION, 901 WEST WALNUT HILL LANE 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) Group Senior Vice President 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) IRVING, TX 75038-1033 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5) Common Stock 8,000 (1) D Â

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.			SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Stock Options (Right to buy)	07/17/2003(2)	07/17/2012	Common Stock	7,500	$ 14.145	D	Â
Stock Options (Right to buy)	07/22/2004(3)	07/22/2013	Common Stock	40,000	$ 23.23	D	Â
Stock Options (Right to buy)	07/21/2005(4)	07/21/2014	Common Stock	20,000	$ 27.44	D	Â
Stock Options (Right to buy)	09/06/2006(5)	09/06/2015	Common Stock	30,000	$ 27.52	D	Â

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Zimmermann John A C/O ZALE CORPORATION 901 WEST WALNUT HILL LANE IRVING, TX 75038-1033	Â	Â	  Group Senior Vice President	Â

Signatures

John A Zimmermann		02/24/2006
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	Includes 4,000 shares of restricted stock granted under the Zale Corporation 2003 Stock Incentive Plan which vest 100% on 7/21/07. Also includes 4,000 time-vesting restricted stock units granted under the Zale Corporation 2003 Stock Incentive Plan that vest 100% on 9/6/2008. This does not include 4,000 performance-based restricted units granted to Mr. Zimmermann on 11/11/05, which entitle Mr. Zimmermann to receive a specified number of shares of the Company's common stock based on the Company's achievement of performance targets established by the Company's Compensation Committee for fiscal years 2006 through 2008. If the Company fails to meet the specified performance targets, Mr. Zimmermann may receive as little as zero shares of the Company's common stock under the performance-based restricted stock units, or, if the Company substantially exceeds the targets, Mr. Zimmermann may receive up to 8,000 shares of the Company's common stock under the performance-based restricted stock units.
(2)	Represents a 30,000 share grant approved under the Zale Corporation Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan and which began vesting in four equal annual installments on 7/17/03.
(3)	Represents a 40,000 share grant approved under the Zale Corporation Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan and which began vesting in four equal annual installments on 7/22/04.
(4)	Represents a 20,000 share grant approved under the Zale Corporation 2003 Stock Incentive Plan and which began vesting in four equal annual installments on 7/21/05.
(5)	Represents a 30,000 share grant approved under the Zale Corporation 2003 Stock Incentive Plan and which begins vesting in four equal annual installments on 9/6/06.

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