WEST OCEAN CITY – A local jewelry store now has a new home in West Ocean City.
Last week, Park Place Jewelers moved from its storefront within the White Marlin Mall to a larger location within the Park Place Plaza, a new multi-use development across Route 50.
Todd Ferrante, who owns Park Place Jewelers with his wife, Jill, said the relocation was years in the making.
“I always wanted to have my own place and be my own landlord,” he said. “So in 2011, I started looking for a place to buy that would be a permanent home for us.”
Ferrante opened his first jewelry store – Michael’s Fine Jewelers – on the Boardwalk in 1996. And in 1999, he opened Park Place Jewelers at its current Boardwalk location between 2nd and 3rd streets.
“In 1999, we had two stores side by side, Michael’s and Park Place,” he said, “so we closed Michael’s and moved it over to the outlet mall and called it Park Place Jewelers as well. We were there for 10 years and then we moved to the White Marlin Mall.”
Ferrante said he settled on the piece of property now home to the Park Place Plaza in 2013. In 2016, site work began for the new facility, which features several units for restaurant and retail space.
“It’s a nice, unique looking building,” he said, “and I think the end result was really positive.”
The store’s new location is situated at the center of Park Place Plaza and features a showroom twice the size of its previous location, the owners noted. With the additional space, Ferrante said Park Place Jewelers has expanded its collection.
“We have an extensive line of jewelry, and then we have unique, one-of-a-kind pieces that you would never see at another store,” he said. “We also have a lot of brands like Pandora, Alex and Ani and several watch lines.”
Ferrante also noted a new service that would allow clients to redesign family heirlooms or create their own piece of jewelry, including rings.
“Within 24 to 48 hours, we can have a design and see if you like it,” he said. “Then we can have it cast and set the stones right here for you. It’s a reasonably quick turnaround for a custom piece.”
The owners said the mission of Park Place Jewelers is to create a “unique shopping experience.” For example, customers can find a full-service, in-house repair department and individual “shops” within the store.
“We actually have areas that are called ‘shop-in-shop,’” Jill Ferrante said. “So we have a Pandora ‘shop-in-shop,’ and an Alex and Ani ‘shop-in-shop’ within the store. That helped us to expand the collection of items we carry.”
Jill Ferrante said the store’s new location features larger, rounded showcases stocked with necklaces, tennis bracelets, diamond earrings and sterling silver jewelry from various designers, as well as Ocean City charms and bracelets from Pandora and Alex and Ani, to name a few.
“Anyone can come in and shop the store, whatever the price point,” she said. “Everyone is welcome.”
While its location has changed, Jill Ferrante said Park Place Jewelers remained unwavering in its commitment to customer service, quality and variety.
“We want everyone to be wowed and treated like family and friends, not just a client who comes in the store,” she said. “We also often hear that we have an unbelievable selection of items that are unique and different. It’s not just your traditional, classic styles. We are always working hard to make sure that we are on top of jewelry trends and keeping the items and lines fresh and new.”
Park Place Jewelers co-owner Jill Ferrante and associates are pictured inside the new store in the Park Place Plaza in West Ocean City. Photos by Chris Parypa
Todd Ferrante agreed.
“What I wanted to create here was a unique shopping experience,” he said. “Just because we live on the Eastern Shore doesn’t mean we can’t have some neat and unique shopping experiences.”
The owners said Park Place Jewelers will host several events at its new location throughout the months of November and December, including a Henderson Collection trunk show, and loose diamond and bridal remount event on Saturday, Nov. 17, a Le Vian trunk show on Sunday, Nov. 18, and an estate jewelry show on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
“We will be having an estate jewelry show for the first time in this area,” Jill Ferrante said. “We’ve been asked by several of our clients about carrying estate jewelry, so we will be having a two-day jewelry show. We’ll bring in beautiful estate pieces and it should be a lot of fun.”
For more information on Park Place Jewelers, visit the store’s Facebook page or www.parkplacejewelers.com, or call 410-213-9220.
The new West Ocean City location is open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday. Extended hours will be offered throughout the holiday season.
“We’re here, we’re open and we are ready to greet all of our clients, friends and family to our new showroom in time for the holidays,” Jill Ferrante said. “This is our home, and this is going to be our home for a long time.”