b'SPECIAL FEATUREThe mens gold President retailed for $2,750 in 1973. had in our stores before Richemont purchased all of them. We actually Mark showed his father and told him they had to buy this nearlybuilt these brands in our marketplace and on Long Island. Having a rela-$3,000 watch as part of the package. tionship with all these brands was very important to London Jewelers He said, How are you ever going to sell a watch for $2,750? Youreand it really escalated the brands in our marketplace.crazy. I said, But we have no choice. Its in the package, you have toIt was really a win-win situation.buy it. He said OK, Im leaving it up to you. FROM ONE TO TWO HOW MUCH IS THAT ROLEX IN THE WINDOW? As any business owner knows, where there are peaks, there are London Jewelers first-ever Rolex order came in and they stocked it on abound to be valleys. Its the natural flow of a business, and of life.Thursday, Mark recalls. They put half the watches inThere were a couple times the showcases and the other half in the front window.[that were hard], Candy says At about 5 p.m. that same day, one of Londonwhen asked to name a low point.Jewelers customers, a local doctor, was picking upBut nothing crazy, Mark takeout from the Chinese restaurant next door.interjects.While he was waiting on his food, he strolledNothing crazy, Candy agrees.by the jewelry stores windows to see what wasThere was the Veterans Day new, then called Mark out of the store, asking toweekend in 1990 when the see the gold Rolex President. manager of the retailers Glen Mark recounts what happened next. Cove store was kidnapped while He came in, I took it out of the window, I putclosing the store, a terrifying it on his wrist, and he said, How much is it? I said,ordeal for all involved.$2,750. And he said, You know what, Ive alwaysThere were also, of course, wanted this, todays your first day [selling Rolex],Gems ofWisdom the larger historical events that Im gonna buy it. affected everyone, like 9/11Can-After making the sale, Mark says he walked toHere are more insights from Mark and dy remembers a customer who the back of the store to size it. Mayer was backCandy on merchandising, crime, and whatpurchased a baby shoe charm for there, and Mark mouthed first watch to hismakes their familys work dynamic sustainable. his expectant wife but never came father, letting him know the stores gamble wasback to pick it upthe Bernie looking like a good bet. ON A DOWNSIDE OF THE INDUSTRY Madoff Ponzi scheme scandal, the Looking back, Mark says landing Rolex was[Crime is] definitely one of the down- Great Recession, and COVID-19.100 percent what put London Jewelers on thesides to our business. Its hard to lay lowFor Candy, though, one period course to becoming the retailer it is today. when youre in a community and with socialof time that sticks out as partic-Candy notes that at that time, the store didntmedia today, its really hard. But its some- ularly fraught came early on in really have any major watch companies, with thething were always watching out for. their career, when they decided exceptions of Bulova and Accutron.Candy Udell to expand London Jewelers from Once Rolex approved us, we started advertis- one store to two. ing on a wider basis across Long Island and theON YOUR OPEN-TO-BUYWhen London opened his tri-state area, she says. It really helped to bringThe salesmen would come in and say,jewelry store in 1926, he choose in all the other companies, like Cartier, and weYou know Mr. Udell, this jeweler and thata spot on School Street, one of had Audemars Piguet, we went to Patek. jeweler, theyre buying three times as muchthe main streets in Glen Coves The store got in on the brand game early, andas you are. Youre not buying enough. Myquaint downtown.it was a prescient move indeed considering howfather would say, I dont care what anybodyHe later moved it across the heavily major brands can factor into the successelse is buying. Im buying because I knowstreet, to 24 School St., which is (or failure) of independent jewelers today. what I need and thats what I do. where the store still was in 1973 Next year will mark 50 years since London Mark Udell when Mark and Candy joined Jewelers began stocking Patek Philippe.the business.The store also started carrying six nowON CANDY BEING A BORN MERCHANDISERThe following year, they moved Richemont-owned brands before they were ownedIf I show you a case before and after shethe store down a few doors to 28 by the luxury conglomerate: Panerai (acquiredredoes it, theres nobody in America whoSchool St., where it is today. by Richemont in 1997), Piaget (acquired in 1988),could do what she does. It was after this move, in 1975, Cartier (acquired in 1993), Van Cleef & Arpels (ac-Mark Udell that the business started taking quired in stages between 1999 and 2003), Buccellatioff, positioning the store to (acquired in 2019), and Vhernier (acquired in 2024). ON HOW THEY ALL GET ALONG begin expanding.I think one of our high points is the vision thatEverybody has their own strengths. They allIn 1980, London Jewelers both of us had, Candy says. do what they do best and what they like toopened what Candy described asdo and they dont really step on each otherstheir second baby, the store in All six of those brands were something that we toes. Continued on page 5048 RETAILER HALL OF FAME 2025Candy Udell'