Family-Owned Luxury Jewelry Store Finds New Home In Tribeca

Generally house is the place the jewellery is. Sisters Jennifer Gandia and Christina Gandia Gambale have discovered one other downtown location for his or her household’s jewellery retailer, Greenwich Road Jewelers, to name dwelling. The enterprise, based by their dad and mom Carl and Milly in 1976 on its namesake road, has relocated to a 1,550 sq. foot location on Reade Road after spending the final twenty years on Trinity Place.

Situated within the second cast-iron constructing constructed in New York referred to as Obsidian Home and courting to 1857, the ethereal area attracts upon authentic particulars to create a contemporary, fashionable surroundings. Working with Maori Hughes of MAOarch, the unique uncovered brick partitions and an archway are fused with modern partitions and lighting, leading to a backlit architectural element lining the area. The arch design additionally creates three distinct sections of the shop. Behind one newly constructed arch are a try-on desk and a door resulting in a non-public Bridal salon appointment room. In accordance with Gandia, regardless of a wholesome digital presence, most engagement rings are offered in particular person.

“We needed to mix the outdated and the brand new to make it really feel like getting into an condominium,” mentioned Jennifer, the eldest Gandia, noting the reclaimed wooden flooring and a contemporary artwork mild sculpture sourced from a neighborhood artist. The partitions additionally function native artwork abilities Rosalie Knox and Mason Nye found within the space, which now has lots of gallery areas.

The choice to maneuver from Trinity Place was spurred by a lease renewal and fluctuations within the space since 9/11. “My dad and mom, who witnessed the assaults that day, needed to transfer as there was harm to the constructing. Trinity Place was a great alternative because it was thrice the scale,” remembers Gandia.

At the moment, Jennifer had taken a sabbatical from her place doing press for NARS
AR
S cosmetics to assist her dad and mom get began once more (the enterprise was shut for ten months after 9/11). “It was on the time when unbiased jewelers had been coming onto the scene, and jewellery grew to become cool and a trend assertion,” she recollects including how receptive her dad and mom had been to the brand new concepts she delivered to their enterprise. “They had been open to taking over new manufacturers when folks had been trying simply to outlive,” she mentioned.

As soon as the 9/11-induced downtown ghost city ended virtually 5 years later, issues rebounded till Hurricane Sandy and Covid. “The pandemic eroded the world’s momentum, which struggled with foot site visitors attributable to lack of close by retail in addition to the Oculus. Issues are closing there too,” she famous.

The enterprise has a robust downtown DNA the offspring needed to protect, so Tribe
TRIBE2
ca was a pure alternative. “We now have a service enterprise, and this was a neighborhood the place we may provide that service. We now have two grasp jewelers on workers, and we do customized work, vintage restoration, restyling, and restore. That was the beginning of my mum or dad’s enterprise,” mentioned Gandia. Coincidentally throughout their search, they found the world between Reade and Chambers was as soon as dwelling to a small silversmith and metalsmithing district within the late 19^th century and early 20^th century.

Upon getting into, purchasers discover a tightly curated choice of items by manufacturers comparable to Melissa Pleasure Manning, Eva Fehren, Alice Ciccolini, Marla Aaron, Single Stone, Sylva & Cie, Tenthousandthings, Lorraine Wesr and Wwake. A show of daring, colourful stone rings by Jamie Joseph sits on the entry of the shop, tempting try-ons like a sweet bowl of knickknack.

The sisters have additionally launched a number of in-house traces comparable to Chroma that includes rainbow-colored stone combos, Astra, the diamond and enamel pendants resembling pocket watches, and a few on-trend beaded necklaces and bracelets.

Bridal was and continues to be a giant enterprise for the shop, with about 70 % of the bridal types coming from the in-house model. For trend fantastic jewellery, 25 % is the in-house model, and the opposite 75 % is unbiased manufacturers usually which are feminine or BIPOC-owned.

Most items at Greenwich Road Jewelers are comprised of recycled gold, whether or not by design or circumstance, basically turning into the trade customary within the wake of sustainability considerations. “Most main casting homes use it now; it is like the choice was made for you as a result of they use it,” she mentioned.