Washington’s Tiny Jewel Box — the go-to jewelry store for the city’s elite for more than 75 years — is looking to expand its clientele beyond the over-40 set with a host of new marketing programs that reposition the famed store as a hip place to buy jewels and accessories.
Tiny Jewel Box has been a mainstay of Connecticut Avenue since it was founded by the Rosenheim family in 1930, but the typical client has been “the classic Washingtonian. It’s the people that are known, the people you hear about going to the galas,” said Paola Domenge, Tiny Jewel’s 32-year-old marketing director, who was hired to reposition the jewelry store and bring in younger customers. Domenge previously worked for the Coldwell Banker’s luxury division in Los Angeles.
Affluent women between 40 and 65 and men between the ages of 35 and 70 tend to frequent the store, she said. “I want to bring in the 25-to 39-year old women and men.”
A new advertising campaign, plans for a more interactive Web site and this weekend’s show of new products, which will feature a slew of hot, up-and-coming jewelry designers are on the drawing board. This year’s kickoff event on Friday and Saturday features designers who would appeal to younger jewelry shoppers. For example, red-carpet favorite Stephen Webster, whose jewels have been worn by Jennifer Aniston and Sandra Bullock, will bring his line to Washington for the first time.
“It’s a really sexy event,” Domenge said. “We’re using cocktail glasses to display the jewelry … and Stephen Webster isvery rock and roll, so to have him in the store himself is pretty hot.”
The store also launched a new advertising campaign recently, which moves away from the typical jewelry ad. “Instead of photographing [a diamond ring] on a white background, we put it on a cupcake with the tagline ‘Just a little frosting,’” Domenge said.
