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America’s Coolest Stores 2012: Honorable Mentions

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America’s Coolest Stores 2012: Honorable Mentions

INSTORE extends congratulations to 10 honorable mentions in the America’s Coolest Stores contest. Look out for full-length Cool Stores feature stories on these impressive stores in upcoming issues of INSTORE.

 

America’s Coolest Stores 2012: Honorable Mentions

CHARLES KOLL Jewellers, San Diego, CA (BIG COOL DIVISION)

URL: charleskoll.com

Owners: Malcolm Koll & David Armstrong

COOL FACTOR: Founded 50 years ago in South Africa, the store moved to San Diego in 1991 and to its newest location there in 2011. How many stores have you been to that have a jewelry reference library for clients, designers and the manufacturing team? The books cover design, machining, mathematics, metallurgy and gemology.

America’s Coolest Stores 2012: Honorable Mentions

WORTHINGTON Jewelers, Worthington, OH (BIG COOL DIVISION)

URL: worthingtonjewelers.com

Owners: Joe Davis & Bob Capace

COOL FACTOR: The store’s newly expanded showroom melds a 107-year-old historic building with a new addition that emphasizes traditional style in its handmade cases and craftsman-style architecture and stained-glass light fixtures.

America’s Coolest Stores 2012: Honorable Mentions

WORTHMORE JEWELERS, Atlanta, GA (BIG COOL DIVISION)

URL: worthmorejewelers.com

Owner: Harris Botnick

COOL FACTOR: Named a Cool Store in December 2002, the completely renovated and refreshed Worthmore remains cool at heart, keeping up with the times, always pushing itself to remain a step ahead. 

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America’s Coolest Stores 2012: Honorable Mentions 

E.M. SMITH JEWELERS, Chillicothe, OH (BIG COOL DIVISION)

URL: emsmithjewelers.com

Owners: Don & Bob Smith

COOL FACTOR: The jewelry store that bills itself as Ohio’s most fun is certainly one of the state’s most innovative. Jumping on the silver bandwagon, the store instituted a paid-membership “Club 925” that gives customers access to special events, deals and exclusive products.

 America’s Coolest Stores 2012: Honorable Mentions

TIVOL, Overland Park, KS (BIG COOL DIVISION)

URL: tivol.com

Owner: Cathy Tivol

COOL FACTOR: Tivol’s flagship store took Third Place in the Big Cool division of our 2008 contest. This younger sibling, remodeled in 2011, houses a 500-square-foot Rolex boutique and a Cartier wall. The store is flooded with natural and overhead ambient light that adds to its approachable, yet sophisticated, interior design plan.

America’s Coolest Stores 2012: Honorable Mentions

Jamies The Diamond Mine, Virden, IL (SMALL COOL DIVISION)

URL: jamiestdm.com

Owners: Cliff & Kelly Hughes

COOL FACTOR: This stylish, contemporary store is a place where two worlds collide: the appeal of a small town setting, and the sophistication of an urban lifestyle.

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America’s Coolest Stores 2012: Honorable Mentions

Howard’s Diamond Center, Triadelphia, WV (SMALL COOL DIVISION)

URL: howardsdiamondcenters.com

Owner: Seth B. Posin

COOL FACTOR: To find other chandeliers by the same artist who created the one in this West Virginia store, you’d have to go to Singapore, Hong Kong or Riyadh.

America’s Coolest Stores 2012: Honorable Mentions

Collins Diamonds, Liberal, KS (SMALL COOL DIVISION)

URL: collins-diamonds.com

Owner: Audie & Karla Bartel

COOL FACTOR: With only a shoestring budget for marketing (sound familiar?), Collins Diamonds began doing in-store photo shoots of jewelry modeled by staff and customers. The community loved the idea of seeing their friends and neighbors, and more than 30 shoots are scheduled this year.

America’s Coolest Stores 2012: Honorable Mentions

Almaza Jewelers, Houston, TX (SMALL COOL DIVISION)

URL: almazajewelers.com

Owner: Ziad H. Noshie

COOL FACTOR:Almaza means small diamond in Arabic. Between the Almaza Jewelers staff, they can provide help in six different languages; English, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, French and Italian.

America’s Coolest Stores 2012: Honorable Mentions

Richter’s Jewelry & Design Studio, Londonderry, NH (SMALL COOL DIVISION)

URL: richtersjewelry.com

Owners: Paul & Amy Richter

COOL FACTOR: At Richter’s pull a chair up to the kitchen bar while owner Paul Richter indulges in his other passion of cooking, and pair a wine to your favorite gems.

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