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STAFF, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND SPECIAL JEWELS MAKE TINY JEWEL BOX A BIG SUCCESS | February 27, 2013 (0 comments)
Washington, DC—It's not hard to see why Tiny Jewel Box is a big success story, and has been since 1930. Jim Rosenheim, chairman, and his son Matthew Rosenheim, president, work as partners on a daily basis, offering their customers exceptional service and much more.
The staff. The not-so-tiny six story building where Tiny Jewel Box is housed boasts a staff of over 30 people, and four of the six floors dedicated to jewelry. The Centurion spoke with Jim Rosenheim about the business and how it grew so successful.
"Our salespeople average over 10 years of service each with virtually no turnover," he says. "No one has every left to go to work for another jeweler. I've come to believe that the success is the staff we have. We hire superior people that are intelligent and communicative. Every morning we have a 15 minute meeting, six days a week." The meetings reinforce the mission of each associate, which is to make sure everyone that walks through the door has a great experience. "Their job is not to sell jewelry," says Rosenheim. "Giving each customer a great experience leads to lots of new customers, lot of return visits and lots of referrals." Rosenheim pays his associates on salary, not commissions, reinforcing this ideal.
The Tiny Jewel Box staff has more than 300 years' of experience collectively. Below, Jim, left, and Matthew, right, are the chairman and president. Both also appear center in the staff photo.
Social responsibility. Rosenheim sits on the Ethical Initiatives Committee of the Jewelers of America. That fact is prominently displayed on the Tiny Jewel Box website. When asked, Rosenheim said, "Ethical responsibility: it's exactly the way we've always believed in conducting business. It's the way I was raised. The [JA] committee really spoke to me when they asked me to serve on it. I very much believe in what it stands for, seeing that our industry in conducted in an ethical manner."
For Rosenheim, ethical responsibility means answering questions from customers about sourcing gold, the ethical removal of minerals and about non-destructive ways to remove minerals from the earth. Specifically, the Tiny Jewel Box website lists conflict diamonds, coral and ivory under social responsibility.
"I'm trying to advocate for things we believe in," says Rosenheim. "I believe in no hypocrisy. I believe in charitable purpose. We support tons of local charities. We don't publicize most of what we do; we do it because we believe in it."
Rosenheim recently spoke on a panel at the Centurion show dealing with "Dealing with The New Hair-Raising Diamond & Gem Fakes Coming Into Your Market." His ethical methods of dealing with this issue were of interest to the jewelers present.
The jewels. The motto of the Tiny Jewel Box is "If it's not special, it's not here." The best selling category at the Tiny Jewel Box is fine jewelry (not bridal, not estate, not diamonds). Within that, Alex Sepkus is the number one designer. "We have a number of strong vendors that we do business with," says Rosenheim. "People come to us because we have a boutique-y type of approach, something less than classic designer inventory. We try to find talented designers at the beginning of their careers. That's my passion for new jewelry."
Rosenheim's parents only offered estate and antique jewelry until about forty years ago, according to Rosenheim. "When I decide to expand, I looked for a different approach. One was the American Craft business, where I met some brilliant people at the beginning of their careers. Yurman, Morelli, etc. The other direction was the European market. There was strong, powerful jewelry 18K jewelry in Italy. We developed that part of the market when other jewelers were still selling 14K commercial jewelry."
In fact, Rosenheim has only carried bridal jewelry for 18 years and watches for the last 13 years. "We developed business with a different model. We are strong in vintage jewelry with tons of customers and foot traffic. Then we decided to expose them to other things. New designs, new products. Some we design and manufacture ourselves, in-house."
The outreach. "We use multiple channels to reach our customers," said Rosenheim. "My son Matthew is a leader in developing our communications package. We're on our 4th generation of websites. A new one has gone up recently. We use Facebook, email, lots of direct mail and lots of our business is through word of mouth."
The Tiny Jewel Box also holds lots of events, often offering a drawing or incentive to entice customers to attend. They host events instore, from networking events for organizations to charity shows.
Rosenheim shares one memorable event, the book signing for former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, who he calls a client and an old friend. "We've worked with her for decades and I am proud to say we had a dozen pieces in her book and on exhibit. The 'state pin' was the one that she wore when she was sworn in; it was an estate piece that we sold to her." Rosenheim says they don't speak of clients and their business. Unless the client publicly acknowledges the facts or dies, they won't mention it.
On the future. Rosenheim loves his business and enjoys it, like his parents before him. "My mother knew Franklin Roosevelt," he said. "We have a view of Washington; we've been here 82 years in business with 60,000 people on client list. (Rosenheim doesn't buy lists.) We do transactions with lots of famous people coming here. We're in a luxury business; you never know how your day will unfold."
Indeed, the famed Washington Post just did a profile article about the store.
Rosenheim has had his 58th Christmas in a row behind the sales counter. He's excited to go to work every day, in part because he doesn't have to. "I haven't had to do it for 30 years. I work because I want to work. When people mention retirement to me, I get chest pains," he confesses. He enjoys working with his son every day, talking their way through future strategies. "I have a lot of fun!"
History from the Tiny Jewel Box website: Opened in 1930 during the Great Depression, Tiny Jewel Box began its illustrious history as an antique jewelry store owned by Monte and Roz Rosenheim, in a 100 square foot storefront on G Street. The store has passed through three generations of Rosenheims and is currently owned by Jim Rosenheim and his son, Matthew, who have overseen its rich heritage as Washington's premier jeweler for over 80 years.
Tiny Jewel Box is now located in a historic building on Connecticut Avenue (below) which was once a flagship Elizabeth Arden salon. Built in 1926, the building is on the National Register of Historic Places, and became the home to Tiny Jewel Box in 1992.
