With a nod to New York history, Greenwich St. Jewelers co-owners Jennifer Gandia and Christina Gandia Gambale say they have created a “modern jewelry sanctuary” in their new store location, which opens Tuesday at 93 Reade Street in Tribeca.
Gandia says she hopes her clients feel like they’re visiting a friend’s chic New York railroad-style apartment, giving this new flagship store a welcoming atmosphere and a true connection to the neighborhood.
“For us, there’s something really important to have a retail store and to be in an area that values neighborhood,” Gandia says. “It’s got beautiful architecture. It has lots of other mom-and-pop specialty retail. And it has a strong community. All of that felt really important to us in regards to where we wanted to land in terms of a physical home.”
The new space is contemporary with its bold use of color and custom art, Gandia says. Yet it also fully embraces its location inside a 1857 landmark. The new Greenwich St. Jewelers is inside the city’s second-oldest cast-iron building in the city, Gandia says, which was known as the Obsidian House.
This neighborhood had multiple jewelry and silversmith businesses along Reade Street, so Gandia says the sisters feel right at home. Gandia says they worked with their architecture firm, MAOarch, to design the store and restore its original facade.
Moving is always challenging, but having 1,550 square feet of space not only opened up new design and display possibilities but will also allow the store to add more designers, Gandia says. Greenwich St. Jewelers had been its previous location at 64 Trinity Place for 20 years. Greenwich St. Jewelers was founded by Carlos and Milly, Jennifer and Christina’s parents, in 1976.
“Having a shop maintains our father’s legacy and maintains the legacy of what a jewelry store traditionally has been,” Gandia says. “For us, this project has an intersection of old and new. It’s about us getting curious and keeping traditional jewelry store elements while bringing that tradition into today.”
With the design concept, Gandia says they wanted clients to walk through actual rooms, which emulate a living room, dining room, or bedroom space. Working with local artists and designers also helped the sisters imagine and then implement a space that now feels like home, Gandia says.
“When we found our new location, we knew it was the one immediately,” Gandia says. “We fell in love with the facade first. Then, it was the space itself, it’s three times the size and had some original elements, like a beautiful old brick wall running the length of the space that we got really excited about.… It just felt right.”
The famous downtown art scene influenced the interior vibe, which includes a custom plaster wall installation by Brooklyn-based muralist Mason Nye and an original commissioned painting by East Village artist Rosalie Knox.
“We knew we wanted to stay downtown and that we wanted to be in an area that felt like a real neighborhood, with other independent retailers and businesses that serve the community,” Gandia says. “We set our sights on Tribeca after considering many other neighborhoods because it’s an area with great history, a tradition of supporting small business, and a tight-knit community of residents.”
As was the case in its previous location, this new store will carry custom jewelry and bridal designs as well as offer repairs onsite by Greenwich St.’s master jeweler. Private spaces, including dedicated VIP and bridal salons, were also included in the fresh design. Brands carried at Greenwich St. include: Alice Cicolini, Eva Fehren, Marla Aaron, Melissa Joy Manning, Single Stone, Sylva & Cie, Ten Thousand Things, and Wwake.
Top: Original artwork, soaring architecture, and room to grow are among the new design elements inside the Tribeca flagship for Greenwich St. Jewelers, which officially reopened in its new location Tuesday (renderings courtesy of Greenwich St. Jewelers).
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