Active Blogs | Popular Blogs | Recent Blogs A young couple who needed wedding bands in a hurry went to Linardi¡¯s Jewelers in Plantation.
Partners Frank jimmy choo Salinardi and Vinnie Montesarchio Jr., were on vacation but decided some things were more important.
¡°They got their rings and were able to get married the next day,¡± said Salinardi, who started the business in 1994. ¡°How many places would interrupt their vacation for a customer? But this way, they¡¯ll recommend us to their friends.¡±
He¡¯s banking on it, in fact. The store tiffany does not advertise but relies on word of mouth to bring in customers.
Words like these: ¡°They always know you. It¡¯s very personalized service,¡± said Jamie Roomy of Plantation. ¡°They¡¯re always willing to find something that¡¯s just right.¡±
Tucked into The Fountains Shoppes of Distinction, 801 S. University Drive, the little jewelry store has become known for its friendliness.
Roomy said that whenever she can¡¯t find what she¡¯s looking for ¡ª like the time she wanted a charm bracelet for her daughter ¡ª Montesarchio gets out the catalogs and makes a special order.
The jewelers specialize in gold and diamonds and will also design pieces. A woman recently wanted a diamond set into a different ring.
Montesarchio came up with a design she liked. They can replicate styles, such as a Tiffany bracelet, which would be more expensive at designer shops.
Montesarchio also designs Christian jewelry for the store: gold rings emblazoned with the word ¡°pray,¡± or figures of doves, a crown, or a fish.
The fish, he said, was the figure that persecuted Christians would scratch on the sand to identify themselves in ancient Rome.
Salinardi, a native of North Miami Beach, has worked in the jewelry business since he was 15. He worked for a jewelry import/ export company he helped start for 15 years before deciding to go it alone in 1994.
¡°I always wanted to have a store like this,¡± Salinardi said. ¡°I always liked dealing with people, seeing their faces when we craft a piece of jewelry for them. There¡¯s something magical about it.¡±
Susie Phelps of Plantation said she won¡¯t buy tiffany jewellery jewelry anyplace else.
¡°We came to feel like we were always family,¡± she said. ¡°They¡¯re very caring, good people.¡±
Montesarchio is a third-generation jeweler. His grandfather worked at tiffany & co jewellery in New York in the 1930s . His father started a jewelry business, Monte-Trevi, in New York on 47th Street just after World War II.
The family moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1977. Growing up, Montesarchio worked in his family¡¯s business, doing everything from stocking merchandise to crafting jewelry, until 1998, when the company was sold.
Both believe their personal touch keeps customers coming back. Of the about 2,000 customers in the store¡¯s database, about 200 are regulars. ¡°We don¡¯t get in their face and intimidate them like we have to make a sale so we can eat tomorrow,¡± Montesarchio said.
Their prices, they say, fall between retail and wholesale. A small shop with so much competition has to be flexible, Salinardi said.
Most of its customers are looking for meaningful mementos of Tiffany co events like graduations, birthdays, or christenings. Customers seem to want something that will make a statement, something they can pass on to the next generation.
¡°We try to build relationships. It¡¯s different from going to a mall,¡± Montesarchio said. ¡°We¡¯re long-term. Our customers are family, friends, and neighbors.¡±
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