By Dave DeWitte
At Ginsberg Jewelers, the Corridor’s top-voted jewelry store, customer relationships have been built for 88 years by honoring the emotions of the moment.
Owner Steve Ginsberg says the Ginsberg Jewelers staff never forgets that most shoppers visit their store because they’ve reached a milestone in their life worth celebrating, whether it be an engagement, an anniversary, a birthday or something unique.
Keeping the shopping experience a joyful occasion is part of the store’s approach; another is advising the customer.
“We’re not treating it lightly, but also inserting some practicality in it,” Mr. Ginsberg said, so that the shopper can make a sound, informed decision.
Some of the most frequent purchases are engagement and wedding rings. The engagement ring is often the first big purchase of a relationship, Mr. Ginsberg said, and will long be remembered as a decision that reflected the special feelings one has for a partner.
After 88 years in business, it’s not uncommon to see engagement ring shoppers who are visiting because Ginsberg Jewelers was the store where their grandfather purchased engagement and wedding rings for their grandmother.
The new Ginsberg location is designed to feel like a family living room, with open-front cabinets that allow shoppers to examine certain pieces without asking for the cabinet to be unlocked.
Mr. Ginsberg is the fourth-generation owner of the family business. He said the staff works together with a “great chemistry” and the store’s family approach to doing business provides a level of accountability that customers won’t get from a big national retail chain.
In addition to a large selection of fine jewelry from established suppliers, Mr. Ginsberg said the store offers customers the option of developing their own creations with the assistance of computer-aided design software in the store. The designs are crafted into jewelry in the United States and available within two weeks, Mr. Ginsberg said.
Ginsberg Jewelers has operated in Cedar Rapids for more than 80 years after starting out in Sedalia, Mo., and is now run by Mr. Ginsberg and his father, Herman Ginsberg, 88.
First-time business has surged since Ginsberg Jewelers migrated to a new store in Market Place on 1st near Lindale Mall, after being flooded out of its longtime downtown location in 2008 and operating a transitional location at Collins Square.
Although leaving downtown behind was a difficult decision, Mr. Ginsberg said it was one of the best moves the store has made because Market Place is in a high-traffic, high-visibility area near several other jewelry stores. The combination has brought Ginsberg Jewelers many first-time customers and comparison shoppers.
Today, Mr. Ginsberg is building an online presence for the store so that customers can find and order just about everything that’s in the store online.
Being voted top jewelry store by CBJ readers “one of the nicest testimonials to what we are doing,” Mr. Ginsberg said, calling the process “very democratic.”
TIMES ON LIST:
1 Time Best Jewelry Store (new category)
