Few people would have been familiar with the Long Island town of Manhasset, NY, (pop. 8,176) before the Americana Manhasset upscale shopping mall developed into one of the country’s most luxurious clusters of boutiques; home to the likes of Hermès, Dior, Cartier, Bottega Veneta, Chanel, Fendi, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., and Prada.
Anchoring them all is the ever-expanding flagship of London Jewelers, which also runs stores in the more famous Hamptons neighborhoods along with an outpost in the Westfield Ocular Center, a gateway into the financial district and Lower Manhattan, along with a multibrand and a Rolex boutique in the mall of Short Hills, an affluent commuter town in New Jersey.
Family owners the Udells recognize the power of the world’s biggest jewellery and watch brands to pull in affluent shoppers from across the island, and have built the Manhasset showroom around blockbusters including Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, Cartier, Chanel, Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe.
Some have branded frontage, their own entrances and private meeting rooms.
Owners Mark and Candy Udell say the aim of the showroom is to ensure Long Islanders feel no need to travel into Manhattan for their luxury shopping, and has something for everybody including a prestige giftware boutique on an upper floor.
Customers can get lost for hours browsing through the interconnected watch and jewellery showrooms, while being taken care of by one of the most attentive teams in the industry.
The footprint of the connected emporium of multibrand and monobrand showrooms keeps expanding, and is also constantly being reconfigured to give more space and prominence to the hottest watch and jewellery brands.
While London Jewelers’ Manhasset emporium would have made it into the Greatest Showrooms list on the strength of its scale, scope and styling, it is really the service that singles it out for inclusion.
The family-run business and its team is obsessed with delighting clients.
You see it as every finger print is polished from the glass doors seconds after they appear; a leaf, blown in on the autumn wind, is instantly plucked from the showroom floor.
Experienced staff are part of the Udell’s extended family, and treat every customer as part of their exclusive club.
