The M Jewelers Opens Its First New York Flagship Store Outside The Diamond District
The M Jewelers was created in the well-known Diamond Districtneighborhood New York City, founded in 2014 by Mark Shami. TheDiamond District is where Adam Sandler portrayed a fictional diamonddealer in the 2019 film Uncut Gems, giving much attention to that part oftown. Shami would go a different route - from the character in the movie -from his family's typical jewelry-making business. He learned a little morethan crafting precious metals and stones.
Shami learned to build a brand name that was on par with contemporaryconsumer culture. His father worked as a jeweler for over 40 years, and hehad uncles who worked in retail and wholesale fashion businesses. A portionof Uncut Gems was filmed at his retired father's shop at 20 W 47th Street. Ayoung Mark Shami would learn the jewelry business landscape. Shami saysof that location, "I go back! I’ve been working there since I was like, ten-eleven years old. And those people are still there."
The M Jewelers invites shoppers to be the first customers to shop at the location. ALEXANDER ROTH
Now in its eighth year of operation, The M Jewelers is finally opening a new flagship location, away from New York City’s famed Diamond District to the stylish and culturally relevant Soho neighborhood of NoLita.
Opening on Saturday, January 8, at 204 Mulberry Street between SpringStreet and Kenmare Street, The M Jewelers invites shoppers to be the first customers to shop at the new location. The retail space is 1,200 square feet and detailed with black fixtures throughout, and even adding opulence with a private showroom for ‘appointment-only’ clients who prefer privacy during their shopping experience, creating custom personalized jewelry pieces.
Opening on Saturday, January 8, on 204 Mulberry Street between Spring Street and Kenmare Street, The M Jewelers invites shoppers to be the first customers to shop at the location.
The M Jewelers happens to be one of those epitomes of New York City street culture and fashion. In addition to a current NYC location, The M Jewelers host a Los Angeles location. It has also found its name on the persons of supermodel Bella Hadid and in collaboration with notable brand names likeKith, Nike, and the MLB, which M Jewelers created a 20-piece collection of gold and silver pendants.
Shami remembers his days coming up through the jewelry-making ranks through his father, marketing to his generation. He remembers friends making requests, detailing how "that's - what my job was over there [on 20W 47th]. I was making nameplates and name rings at a really young age.Putting names together, cutting them, and polishing them. My friends were like, 'Can you make me that? Can you make me this?'"
Opening on Saturday, January 8, at 204 Mulberry Street between Spring Street and Kenmare Street, The M Jewelers invites shoppers to be the first customers to shop at the location.
He would operate his business, laboriously marketing The M Jewelers presence through social media and initiating sales on the website. "Later on,I was getting involved in fashion, and the community and people around me. Instagram was at a golden age, and just starting to brew. So I said, 'let me create a website!' I had a little bit of background from high school and learned everything else on my own, making websites and learning a little bit of code. I created the website - really - really basic. Shot everything myself on my sister's camera and then started putting [jewelry] up."
Custom fashion has been reserved for clothing brands, if not just relegated to customization sites. The interactivity of creating a personalized piece of jewelry on their platform was what gave The M jewelers its cool cache among influencers and various celebrities.
Shami describes his strategy stating, "We started sending out stuff to peoplewho wanted it. We were reaching out to huge influencers online at the time.No one was getting paid for social media marketing, so I was - pretty much -reaching out to 100 people a night."
Shami would orchestrate sales from The M Jewelers website. He also operates out of a 150 square-foot booth located in the Diamond District. In addition to pop-ups, Shami is still making custom jewelry designs. The personalization factor was key to the M Jewelers brand's success and name recognition. It is embedded into the new Mulberry location away from the bustle of midtown, providing a boutique shopping experience. An experience Shami calls a "New York ethos brand with a sprinkle of the Diamond District."
The M Jewelers collection. COURTESY OF M JEWELERS
The jewelry covers the high and low markets of the jewelry spectrum, delivering reasonably priced styling pieces, rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, color stones, nameplates, and even allowing select items to go on sale. There are also pieces of jewelry that range from $700 to $1800. The custom pieces manifest according to the ambition of the customer. M Jewelers also accepts precious metals for refurbishing, melting down the surplus metals collected, and making new pieces.
Working with a team of about 25 people, "everyone is pretty much from NewYork, lives in New York, or outside the city. It's a really young brand. We're all ranging from the mid-20s to mid-30s. It's a very scrappy team - definitely evolved in the past years." Shami says.
"We just did a pop-up last November-December, on Howard street. That was our test, and that did really well. After that pop-up was over, we were like, 'let's go find a permonent retail store.' Something we've been wantin gto do for a long time. We live down here, our office is down here. Everyone that's there is our friend," Shami explains.
The M Jewelers collection. COURTESY OF M JEWELERS
He is excited about setting up stating, "Mulberry Street is such an iconicblock. No one want's to come up here from Downtown," he says jokinglyabout his 150 square foot Diamond District location. "The Diamond Districtis its 'own' world."
Shami wants to utilize the space in the ways that we were used to just before the pandemic. He is offering pop-ups, collaborations, events, and other in-store activities. The M Jewelers is a small part of the flourishing in-store retail shopping experiences, resurging and filling the former storefronts of shops that couldn't make it past the pandemic. The M Jewelers is opening on Saturday, January 8, at the new Mulberry Street location. Shami has made a conscious move of resilience for his brand name as a New Yorker and a Diamond District veteran.