Third generation family’s
business well matched to
Broad Street location
BY GLORIA STRAVELLI
Staff Writer
Above, Irving Siegel poses in this 1926 scene of the interior of the jewelry store he purchased to found Hamilton Jewelers. JEFF GRANIT staff At right, Bernard McGrehan, manager of the new Hamilton Jewelers store on Broad Street, sees Red Bank as a good fit for the 90-year-old company. Below, fine jewels on display at the store.
Sure, they’ve got precious baubles and elegant bangles, but at Hamilton Jewelers in Red Bank, it’s about attainable luxury.
"I think people come in to a fine store and they expect everything to be in the stratosphere and we’re just the opposite," explained Hank Siegel, the president of Hamilton Jewelers, Broad Street’s newest luminary.
"We want to be very accessible. Our philosophy is one of offering service no matter what your budget," said Siegel, busily putting the finishing touches on the new Hamilton store at 19 Broad St. The store will have a grand opening Saturday.
While unquestionably high end, at Hamilton, fine jewelry and accessories can be found starting at $10 for a glass holiday ornament or $25 for a stretchable pearl bracelet.
"We try to sell quality. They have beautiful luster, even for something modestly priced," Siegel explained.
"We have expensive things and inexpensive things and they will be the best you can buy at that price. We don’t just put something in for the price point," concurred Bernard McGrehan, store manager.
At the upper end of the price spectrum. . .
"The sky’s the limit," acknowledged Siegel, noting that Hamilton has the capability to create pieces of fine jewelry at its own manufacturing facility in Princeton.
These include pieces designed and created to mark major events, like the medallions given by the state’s governor on the occasion of New Jersey’s Bicentennial, he said.
The third generation of his family at the helm of Hamilton Jewelers, Siegel grew up in the family business, beginning as a stock boy at Hamilton’s Lawrenceville headquarters. He joined the firm as a sales associate in 1982.
"There was never a doubt that this is what I was going to do," said Siegel, who shared a favorite childhood story that presaged his current career.
"When I was about 7 or 8 years old I would go up to the attic and play jewelry store. I would take the plastic decoder rings I got from gumball machines and arrange them very neatly in a display," he recalled. "One evening my father got a telephone call from a neighbor and I watched as my father’s eyes got bigger and bigger and his face got red.
"When he got off the phone, he asked me, ‘Did you make a sale today?’ I said yes; I had sold my mother’s three-carat engagement ring to our neighbor for 25 cents. That was my first diamond sale and almost my last."
"I love what I do," confided the Princeton resident. "We’re in a business where we help people commemorate special occasions and do it while being surrounded by beautiful things. It’s very satisfying."
A Hamilton hallmark is the company’s focus on core values like service, integrity, professionalism and relationships.
Every member of the staff attends an eight-week Hamilton Jewelers University program, Siegel said, where employees learn that customer service must "exceed our clients’ expectations" and providing good value means giving clients "more than they imagined for less than they anticipate."
According to Siegel, Hamilton Jewelers has been able to retain these values for 90 years because the company has remained an independent, family-run business.
"It’s a strength of ours," he noted, adding that Hamilton’s expansion has deliberately been limited while other jewelry companies have grown to hundreds of stores.
"While they’re fine companies, once they get to be that size, they lose the personality and individuality our stores have," he said.
"Our philosophy is one of slow and steady growth," he added. "It’s not my desire to have 20-50 stores."
That’s not to say growth has been stagnant — volume has increased sixfold since Siegel joined the family business in 1982.
"Our customer base is currently in excess of 50,000 clients who shop with us from around the world," said Siegel, when pressed for an indicator of the company’s size. "We’re recognized in the industry as being one of the leading independent, family-owned jewelry companies in the country."
Founded in Trenton in 1912, Hamilton’s predecessor was purchased by Irving Siegel in 1927. In 1955, his son Martin, now chairman, joined the business and in 1982 Hank became the third generation of his family to opt into the jewelry business.
Hamilton’s headquarters were moved to Lawrenceville in 1973, the same year Irving Siegel headed south to Palm Beach, Fla., for a short-lived retirement.
Three years later, he opened a store on Palm Beach’s tony Worth Avenue.
Hank Siegel, who became president in 1985, is credited with initiating Hamilton’s expansion into the Princeton market, where the company opened a retail store that year.
In 1988, Hamilton added a second Florida location, joining other luxury retailers at the Palm Beach Gardens center.
The Red Bank store, Hamilton’ fifth, gives the company entrée into a coveted market.
"We’ve been looking in Monmouth County for five or six years," explained Siegel. "We feel the time is right. It was more a question of the space being available.
"We really wanted to be in this area. We like being in a city that is a destination, plus we like historic buildings. We feel historic buildings have an affinity for our company history."
The newest Hamilton outpost has the same signature architectural details as the other locations — bird’s eye maple, brushed stainless steel trim — in a 5,000 square-foot, two-level space.
At the Broad Street store, the main floor is devoted to fine jewelry, Swiss-made watches and a display of Steuben glass, while china, flatware, gifts and home accessories are located on the upper level.
In a nod to tradition, a small display near the entrance reprises vintage Hamilton pieces, some designed by Hank Siegel’s grandfather.
As in its other locations, Hamilton aims for diversity, with styles ranging from casual to formal, and some items that are exclusive.
In Red Bank, in addition to Steuben, exclusives include Versace china, Daum crystal and Simon Pearce blown glass pieces.
The company has a growing corporate gift division, Siegel said, and expects future growth through its Web site. www.hamiltonjewelers.com.
For McGrehan, his new post at Hamilton marks a return to Red Bank, where he formerly worked at men’s clothier, Roots.
"We’re a family business, so we like the association with this town and we like the way things are changing," he said. "It’s a happening community, it’s not stuck in time.
"That’s why I like Red Bank," said McGrehan, who lives in the borough. "It knows where it’s been and it knows where it’s going."