Hamilton Jewelers is honoring its 110th anniversary in business the best way that a brand known for its expert craftsmanship could: It recently debuted its 110th anniversary collection, a special jewelry capsule that tells its story through gold, diamonds, and gemstones.
The collection took more than a year to develop, but that is symbolic of the family that has led this brand for four generations, says Anne Russell, Hamilton Jewelers’ executive vice president.
“We took a deep dive into our archives to create the Anniversary Collection. It was a real passion project,” Russell says. “Our goal was to showcase the creativity and timeless design of the past century, but with a modern look and feel that would resonate with our current customer.”
The 110-year capsule collection features fine jewelry pieces that are meant to highlight the “creativity and timeless design” that Hamilton Jewelers is known for by its customers and the industry, Hamilton president and CEO Hank Siegel says.
This collection reflects Hamilton Jewelers’ overall desire of having Hamilton signed pieces “come to auction and be recognized for their exceptional gemstones and quality,” Siegel says.
He also hopes people think of Hamilton Jewelers and know two things: The “experience, diversified skill set, and dedication of our team members, many of whom have tenure from 10 to 35 years” as well as his dream of “preserving as much of our archives as possible to draw upon our past in creating new or current collections.”
Hamilton Jewelers was founded in 1912 in Trenton, N.J.; longtime owner Irving Siegel purchased it in 1927. Back then, Irving was a former errand boy for a jewelry store. He bought Hamilton Jewelers for $15,750 in notes payable to the store’s former owners, as family lore goes.
Irving and his son, Martin, ran the business together. They added Irving’s grandson, Hank, in 1982. The fourth generation, Hank’s son Andrew, joined the business in 2017.
In addition to the newly created 110-year capsule collection, the company offers its own Exclusively Hamilton collections, designed and manufactured in-house, as well as a selection of antique and estate jewelry, timepieces, and giftable items.
The brand portfolio includes three freestanding Hamilton Jewelers boutiques. Palm Beach, Fla., opened in 1977; Princeton, N.J., in 1986; and Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., in 1988. This slow growth was purposeful, Siegel says, “as opposed to expanding with multiple stores and diluting the experience.”
In November, Hamilton Jewelers celebrated another new beginning—the opening of its first home store. Hamilton Home features home decor items and gifts from the latest seasonal collections and design trends to pieces from heritage brands including Baccarat, Ginori 1735, Simon Pearce, William Yeoward, Juliska, and John Derian.
“We are continuing to follow our founder’s philosophy of controlled growth to best serve our clients,” Siegel says. “It’s about attention to detail—we sweat the small stuff [and] take a long view. We are less concerned about making a sale today than we are in developing a client for the long term.”
Those clients are why Hamilton Jewelers is still around and celebrating, Siegel says.
“Our clients choose to celebrate their amazing moments with us every time they choose Hamilton, and we love to be a part of these special occasions with them,” he says. “It’s a great way to reinforce the unique and special relationships that can only be formed by the personal connections between our family, our team, and our precious clients.”
Hamilton kicked off its yearlong celebration with Springtime in Princeton, a multi-brand trunk show event at its flagship New Jersey location. Next, it hosted several top brands including Roberto Coin and Temple St. Clair for shopping soirées at its Worth Avenue boutique, which included a charitable component. Hamilton also held two festive events in Palm Beach.
Siegel knows his grandfather is smiling on all of it.
“We have never lost sight of our founder’s vision that no matter the price range or occasion,” he says. “You can always find something beautiful at Hamilton.”
Top: Hamilton Jewelers celebrated its 110th anniversary with a special capsule collection, drawing upon its archives to create new signature pieces such as this 18k gold, sapphire, and diamond ring; price on request (photos courtesy of Hamilton Jewelers).
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