“Jewelry is a very important category for Saks, and it’s becoming a more important category than ever for the company,” says Marta ​Nowakowski, vice president and divisional merchandise manager of jewelry at Saks Fifth Avenue, when discussing the company’s new jewelry section, Jewelry on 2, that debuts today at the company’s Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York City.

Jewelry on 2, which essentially re-creates the feel of a trend-driven jewelry boutique inside a department store, features both established and emerging collections. Its 7,000 square feet of selling space represents a major investment in jewelry on the part of the department store.

Among the section’s displays are seven shops-in-shops that highlight a handful of Saks’ best-selling jewelry brands: David Webb, Roberto Coin, Messika, Marli New York, Vhernier, Renee Lewis, and Anita Ko.

Pieces in the section range in price from around $500 to $300,000, which by many yardsticks covers jewelry’s higher end. But plans are already in motion to add a second jewelry section in the store to spotlight even pricier jewelry. Saks will duplicate the Vault—a jewelry-specific shop-in-shop it debuted in its Greenwich, Conn., store in 2017—in its Manhattan flagship this year. (Nowakowski says the company considers Jewelry on 2 “phase one” and the Vault “phase two.”)

The retailer hopes the sections will help solidify Saks’ standing as a must-shop jewelry hub in the affluent neighborhood and beyond. “We’re seeing so much interest in jewelry from customers and [opening these concepts] is the next step for us,” says Nowakowski, adding that when the Vault opens, “then shoppers will really have the full jewelry experience where they can find everything.”

Considering the massive list of jewelry brands represented in Jewelry on 2 alone, “everything” doesn’t feel like much of an exaggeration.

In addition to seven brands with their own displays, the section also stocks Amali, Amsterdam Sauer, Aurélie Bidermann, Annette Ferdinandsen, De Beers, Dinh Van, EF Collection, Etho Maria, Gurhan, Hueb, ILA Jewelry, Ippolita, Jacquie Aiche, John Hardy, Kwiat, Lana Jewelry, Lele Sadoughi, Marco Bicego, Marina B, Meira T, Mikimoto, Mizuki, Monica Vinader, Nina Gilin, Phillips House Fine Jewelry, Pomellato, Shay Fine Jewelry, Stefere, Sydney Evan, Temple St. Clair, Tomasz Donocik, Zoë Chicco, and ZYDO. Many of these brands have exclusivity deals in New York City with the retailer.

Jewelry on 2 was designed by Saks’ store design and planning team in collaboration with design firm Gensler. The pretty space features a neutral color palette, textured agglomerate white stone flooring, handmade wallpaper boasting glittering beads and mica flakes, and a cool suspended metal and ceramic wire art installation called Bird & Pearl.

Top: Saks Fifth Avenue’s New York flagship (courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue)

Emili Vesilind

JCK Senior Editor