EXPERTS SAY A COMPLETE build-out of an average jewelry store can cost half a million dollars or more, often boosted by architectural elements such as columns, wainscoting, and ceiling design. Showcases are another pricey element. But if that’s not in the budget for 2025, where should you allocate the money you do have to keep the store looking fresh? A simple refresh can boost your confidence, your team’s morale and your customers’ comfort level with luxury purchases. Sometimes, it doesn’t take much of an investment to feel like you’re working in a new and improved store.

Danielle Marzarella, vice-president of retail development for Visual Elements, based in Ontario, Canada, advises retailers to assess the budget and apply the money to where it will make the biggest impact. “Flooring, lighting, painting, and fixtures are four of the most important elements, and they can creep a budget up if you address all of those [at once].”

Making changes in stages can help. Eileen Eichhorn, owner of Eichhorn Jewelry in Decatur, IN, painted her entire store in January 2024. She’ll add new carpeting in 2025. “Can’t afford it all in the same year!” she says.

Keeping a store looking fresh is a necessity, not a luxury, in the luxury retail business. “It’s important to maintain a brand image that will allow customers to always leave with the feeling of wanting to return,” Marzarella says. “It could be something as simple as being well-lit, with fresh paint and fixtures that are not damaged and marked up. These can be easy fixes, especially when painting the interior.”

Varseen Massoyan simply painted the walls and showcases at Massoyan Jewelers in Old Tappan, NJ, and replaced showcase moldings and scratched showcase glass to give the store a new lease on life.

Although some changes are difficult for customers to pinpoint, they will notice an elevated ambience. It’s the difference between walking into a space that feels like the proprietors care about the shopping environment and walking into a space that feels neglected and apathetic, Marzarella says.

Leslie McGwire, owner of Leslie McGwire & Associates interior design company, says first impressions are everything. “In the first 10 to 15 seconds, a customer’s eyes should go to something beautiful, like a gorgeous chandelier over the jewelry cases,” she says.

Shaftel Diamonds’ Houston store, designed by Jesse Balaity, features rotating art exhibits and a selfie wall with the word “Yes!”

Simple Changes

James Doggett, owner of Doggett Jewelry in Kingston, NH, refreshes his 10-by-15-foot showroom every few years with a new coat of paint, new drapes, and, sometimes, new displays. “A few hundred dollars does wonders,” he says.

During COVID shutdowns, Doggett embarked on a DIY makeover, which began with changing the color scheme from gray to a lighter slate color. He built a bookcase with vintage art glass and made four wall-mounted display cases from old picture frames. Doggett spruced up showcases with fresh paint on their kickboards and added metal for a more finished look. He made new risers for the display cases using materials that match his display furniture and packaging. He even created a new unit to hold his antique cash register, packaging, and watch battery drawer.

“Ninety percent of my returning clients noted the changes and approved of them,” Doggett says. “I work alone, and it had an impact on my enjoyment of coming in each day. And it has helped to stimulate sales.”

Jo Goralski of The Jewelry Mechanic in Oconomowoc, WI, regularly changes the color of a focal wall in the gallery. Most recently, she chose a vivid teal as an accent, which pops against the coconut cream color of the rest of the gallery and main studio. She also buys rugs every five years to complement the color scheme. “If you shop at Home Depot, there are a dozen rugs to choose from, but homedepot.com has thousands! At incredible prices, all shapes, and styles.”

Jo Goralski, owner of The Jewelry Mechanic, renovated an eyesore of a restroom into a well-designed space suitable for clients.

Goralski also undertook a badly needed restroom remodel. The studio had been part of a duplex and the bathroom still had a plastic, jetted bathtub, which had become an eyesore.

“If we hired a company to do it all at once, it would have been quite expensive, so we pieced it out over a few months and saved thousands,” she says. “To do the whole job by one company was over $10,000, a big hit in a leased space. Being the town jeweler for a quarter century really paid off, and we jobbed it out, one job at a time and came in under $4,000.” They moved the sink to the inside wall where the tub used to be, replaced the linoleum floor that had been curling up for years, took the tub to the dump, gutted the wall around the tub, and re-drywalled. They even found tile to match the original tile under the old sink, which allowed them to patch the wall instead of re-tiling the whole thing. “It is really nice for customers to have a safe and clean restroom, but it did even more for company morale,” she says.

Adding On

Marzarella suggests changing a store’s layout to give it an updated look and facilitate side-by-side selling. Getting rid of barriers between the sales team and customers is a good way to improve the customer experience.

McCoy Jeweler’s owners, Jonathan and Jennifer McCoy, and manager Samantha Swift, envisioned such a non-traditional selling setup when they planned to expand their showroom space in Dubuque, IA, to add a bridal salon with a DIY design. They’re continually looking for ways to enhance their 133-year-old building and showroom while using existing features and fixtures.

To prepare for the bridal salon project, they attended design seminars, round tables, America’s Coolest Stores discussions and other events, and read INSTORE’s advice columns.

Local tradesmen helped to expand an existing entry and remove walls and a bathroom.

They made the most of their budget by preserving exposed brick in the salon and on a feature wall in the hallway leading to the salon.

Another money saver was choosing hexagonal acoustic tiles to reduce noise rather than soundproofing the whole room.

Swift says she extensively researched colors before choosing the deep emerald used on feature walls in the salon; the color has since become an integral component of all branding and marketing efforts. “I researched colors that evoke a feeling of calmness,” Swift says.

McCoy Jeweler’s bridal room addition was a DIY design project that incorporated a hammered textured wall, a signature color and an IKEA desk topped with granite.

“I also wanted it to feel luxurious.” The emerald contrasts with exposed brick and with white as an accent color to brighten the windowless space. Every element, from desks to lighting, is accented with white marble, gold, and black, creating a sophisticated ambiance.

Jonathan McCoy likes to use texture in his jewelry, particularly a satin hammered finish. So the team found a hammered texture plaster wall concept that they asked a local painter to implement.

To control spending on furnishings, they used an IKEA desk, topped with a granite kitchen countertop, rather than having a custom desk made. They bought light fixtures on wayfair.com.

The team did the painting, and Jonathan, a qualified electrician, did the electrical work. “All of those things together saved us thousands of dollars,” Swift says. “It amazes me to see the price difference between things we were first looking at and things we were able to find.”

The upshot is that McCoy’s bridal business, already healthy before the expansion, has grown dramatically since. The comfort of the room has been a significant draw in a relatively small town where everyone knows everyone else, Swift says, and prefers privacy when shopping for an engagement ring.

Change of Location

When it’s time to pack up and move shop, there are ways to save money there, too, says Mary Jo Duffy, co-owner of Kent Island Jewelry Store in Stevensville, MD, with Patricia Knell.

Their previous store not only looked dated but had recently been robbed. They wanted a better, safer location but didn’t want to break the bank. They consulted McGwire about the move. “I wanted the store to feel luxurious and still be affordable,” Duffy says.

But they knew they couldn’t skimp on showcases. McGwire says the average price of a 5-foot showcase that cost $3,500 a few years ago is now about $5,000. Retailers can sometimes save some money by having a general contractor and an electrician do the installation, rather than the showcase manufacturer.

McGwire says when she’s working with clients, she usually offers a high, medium and lower priced option on features like lighting fixtures. “I always say, what do you want to spend? Give me a budget for the chandelier. You can get a look for less and still be beautiful.”

Every decision can have an impact. Although a laminate countertop on the check-out counter is one way to save money, McGwire doesn’t recommend it. “That’s the check-writing counter,” McGwire says. “So that’s what the client feels and sees.” Duffy chose a solid-surface counter.

Kent Island Jewelry Store in Stevensville, MD, stuck to a budget for a new location but didn’t skimp on showcases.

Money-saving decisions for Kent Island Jewelry Store included:

• Choosing blue paint for a feature wall rather than a pricier wallpaper.
• Using a decal or cling to place the store logo on a mirror instead of creating an elaborate logo wall behind the point of sale.
• Using the word “Jewelry” on the exterior sign and placing the store name on the door with a window cling, instead of a more elaborate exterior sign.
• Choosing an affordable luxury vinyl plank floor.
• Incorporating natural light into the lighting scheme.
• Designing back rooms with a minimalist, no-frills approach.
• Finding ready-made display elements rather than having them custom-made.

The new store opened on Dec. 16, 2024, and Kent Island Jewelry Store did more business between Dec. 16 and Dec. 31 than it had the whole month of December 2023 in its old space.

A DIY Relocation

David Blitt, owner of Troy Shoppe Jewellers in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was forced into a move by a landlord issue. He was told by professionals he consulted that even with repurposing his showcases from the old location, his $200,000 budget was impossibly small. “I finally decided that this was my seventh kick at a new buildout, and I felt I could do a lot myself,” he says.

“It’s very time consuming to work on color palettes, finishes and engineering (electrical and mechanical) while searching for a new location as well as running a store,” he says. “In some regards, paying a professional has to be weighed against the lost time from the retail counter.”

After a difficult search, Blitt chose a former cannabis store that had the open ceiling style he wanted as well as some useful infrastructure, including a restroom that needed some remodeling and plumbing work. Even so, its mere existence saved him almost $15,000.

David Blitt of Troy Shoppe Jewellers designed his own store in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, reusing and recycling everything he could.

Blitt refinished an existing service counter and added a marble countertop, saving an estimated $20,000. Existing flooring was commercial vinyl in a color he had on his palette board. He was able to find a match from the same manufacturer and only needed about 400 square feet of extra flooring, saving another $14,000. Reusing lighting tracks and fitting them with jewelry lighting saved about $10,000. A triple reinforced storage area became a vault, saving $15,000. He used cupboards left behind by the cannabis store in his goldsmith shop, adding countertops where appropriate. He also had metal legs made for a heavy glass showcase left behind, converting it into a pearl display.

Another huge score was the existing electrical system and security system components, bringing down expenses in that area from $70,000 to $30,000.

All told, including new showcase displays, he spent a total of $220,000. Removing and taking the time to sell materials and structures he did not need netted him $10,000.

“Adapting to the infrastructure already present and being able to do much of the actual demolition and buildout work myself saved a lot of labor costs,” he says. “If I did not do some of the items myself, I estimated the costs would have gone up by about $25,000.”

Where to Begin

Before embarking on any changes, big or small, look at your store with fresh eyes. Notice everything.

Says McGwire: “I tell my clients to go outside the front door, close their eyes, and then pretend they’re walking into their store for the first time. They will have a laundry list of what they want to change.”

A couple of McGwire’s pet peeves are worn-out logo doormats and stained ceiling tiles.

If replacing ceiling tiles, shop for 2-by-2-foot non-textured tiles that look like drywall for an updated look. And a logo doormat is outdated and unnecessary. A logo can be displayed far more attractively than underfoot.

Start by addressing deferred maintenance on anything that doesn’t look new, suggests store designer Jesse Balaity, owner of Balaity Property Enhancement. That includes mismatched lighting, worn carpets, scuffed paint, visible wires, yellowed switch plates, chipped glass, damaged ceiling tiles, faded duratrans, dusty HVAC vents, or worn displays.

It may help to enlist an outsider to view the store objectively. “We tend to adapt to our bubbles and stop noticing imperfections over time,” Balaity says. “Conduct an inspection with that outsider and document everything that needs to be fixed. Then, determine what you can do in-house and what requires professional help. Set realistic milestones for the impending list of chores so as not to become overwhelmed.”

Display consultant Larry Johnson suggests looking at case interiors with a critical eye and then setting aside money each month in reserve for new displays. “Once you get a few thousand or more, redo your bridal cases first,” he suggests, because it will yield the highest return on investment. Use the extra profits from boosted bridal sales to fund new displays for the rest of your cases. Look for display companies that offer 12-month terms and pay it off while your store sells more.

Be ruthless when it comes to decluttering.

Ramsey’s Diamond Jewelers in Metairie, LA, designed by RetailWorks, features accent walls in a brand color and eye-catching pendant light fixtures.

“Pretend that you’re one of those regional merchandising types for a national jeweler, showing up to ruthlessly bring the store back in line with corporate standards,” Balaity suggests. The store doesn’t have to be sterile, but everything the customer sees should be intentional. So get rid of extra signs, mismatched furniture, dated displays and random décor items.

“Even for a purposefully eclectic store, where a bit of sentimentality is part of the charm, there are opportunities to be purposeful and curate that clutter,” Balaity says. “My personal peeve is with repurposed displays, especially worn-out Pandora showcases. These elements all looked great at one time but tend to give flea market vibes when repurposed for other brands and products.”

Floors are a significant visual element and will make a big difference in the overall look of a store, says Lyn Falk, president and founder of RetailWorks, a retail branding and design company. Falk recommends updating them, especially in main traffic aisles. Consider adding carpet tiles or area rugs if the store is loud and has hard floors. If the store has worn or dated carpet, replace it with carpet tiles or luxury vinyl tiles. The most popular LVTs continue to be faux wood planks. Cork backing can be added to both absorb sound and make it feel more comfortable.

Update your lighting, Falk says. Assuming the lighting (ceiling and in cases) is already good from a lumen output and Kelvin temp standpoint, then updating smaller decorative pieces can add visual interest. Or, add some fun pendants over a seating area or service counter. If you have focal points that need extra illumination, add track lighting above them.

If you don’t have the correct type of lighting (lumens/Kelvin temp), then make that fix the first item to update. Lighting makes or breaks a selling environment and is key to creating the right shopping atmosphere and illuminating diamonds and jewelry in a way that increases the perception and value of the merchandise.

Update the checkout area with a new counter, Falk says. Design one that accommodates operational changes and better serves the customer.

Or reface the front of your service counter(s) by painting, re-laminating, or placing a durable vinyl wall covering over it. The visual options for custom wall covering are endless: It can look like quartz, brick, wood, glossy solid surface, etc. Consider replacing your countertop with a more durable and beautiful solid surface.

Leslie McGwire designed Pearce Jewelers in Lebanon, NH, in warm tones, including Pantone’s color of the year, Mocha Mousse.

Lately, McGwire has also been incorporating very large, 4-by-7-foot lightboxes in her store designs for visual interest and branding.

Holly McHone of Holly McHone Jewelers in Astoria, OR, suggests personalizing any images on the walls. “I see images of jewelry store interiors online and in magazines, and I see the same suppliers’ photos,” she says. “Personalize it to your own story, place and space!”

McGwire suggests a few other places to make a significant impact: Paint an accent wall, paint a ceiling to define a sitting area or bar, or use budget-friendly textural wallpaper.

When choosing colors, consider that warm tones, including Pantone’s color of the year, Mocha Mousse, have become increasingly popular.

“Everything is becoming more warm and cozy,” McGwire says. “I would incorporate more beige tones, browns, tans, and creams instead of going to the cooler tones, like gray.”

Redo the waiting area and drinks space. A new piece of furniture, a beautiful tray for water bottles, new chairs, an ottoman and a coordinating area rug can create a whole new look while defining a space. “I like to use lamps on a credenza or an end table in a waiting area for a soft, residential touch,” McGwire says. Sherrie Schilling-Devaney of Sherrie’s Jewelry Box in Tigard, OR, rearranges the lobby décor every month and finds new chairs almost every year to keep it fresh.

There’s never a dull moment at Be on Park in Winter Park, FL, decorated with art and colorful accessories.

At Be On Park in Winter Park, FL, Emily Williams displays wall-to-wall art from local artists. She also uses color to make a lasting impression: pink awnings, a bright orange door and a gold butterfly chandelier. Clients point out their favorite touches regularly, including custom, whimsical swivel chairs.

Consider making a statement at the entrance. Julez Ward, owner of Julz Bryant in Solana Beach, CA, worked with a local metalsmith to create custom door handles that feature her brand’s logo. “The handles make our storefront really pop!” she says. “We love that they are a gorgeous shade of gold that references our signature shade of gold in our jewelry.”

Have a full-length mirror, says McGwire; maybe two, if it’s a big store. “Everyone wants to look at their complete self. It’s a great selling tool for the staff. They can say, come on over and see how it looks in the mirror.”

Change the interior of your showcases, wall cases, and towers, Falk says. This includes the floors, display elements, signage, and props. Developing an entirely new look inside these cases will bring new life to your brand and merchandise.

A local metalsmith crafted custom door handles for Julz Bryant Fine Jewelry Gallery in Solana Beach, CA. Furnishings are eclectic, while a Moroccan-style tile floor adds drama.

How to Refresh Showcase Displays

Larry Johnson, author of The Complete Guide To Effective Jewelry Display, recommends the following ideas to refresh showcase displays.

1. Clean your old displays with Simple Green to remove accumulated grime. Don’t scrub the fabric too hard. Let the cleaner do its job for about 30 seconds and then wipe it off with a damp cloth.
2. Recover your floorboards with new fabric, preferably all in the same shade. Avoid fabric with patterns to keep customer focus on the jewelry. Non-tarnishing fabric is available from most reputable display companies for about $35 a yard. A yard will usually cover a 6-foot showcase.
3. For estate cases, find old leather photo albums and antique items on eBay or at a local thrift store. Albums make great risers and underscore the heritage of the pieces.
4. For organization, use program trays for products such as diamond stud trays, diamond pendants, bracelets, solitaires, diamond crosses, etc.
5. Simply removing old merchandise from your case will give showcases a new look and makes space for something more likely to sell.
6. Use intention when setting up your showcase. Emphasize what you want most to sell. Present the merchandise, don’t just cram it all in the case and then tell a customer how special it is. Put higher priced goods on individual displays to set them off as special. Put lower priced merchandise in trays of five or seven and talk about your “big selection.”