As the fifth generation takes the helm at King Jewelers, the family business embraces change with a veritable Midas touch – an instinct that has guided its successes since 1912.
King’s latest news: The flagship Aventura, Florida store, open since 2003, closed with a monthlong sentimental farewell sale in February; the Nashville, Tennessee store, opened in 2008, is the new flagship; and the Kings will maintain a South Florida presence via a business office and appointment-based concierge jewelry salon in Boca Raton. By the end of the year, the Kings expect to open an IWC Schaffhausen boutique in Nashville.
Although fourth-generation jewelers Scott and Maxine King announced their retirement recently, Maxine continues to travel between home and Nashville as the company’s head jewelry buyer while Scott has eased into a retired life. Son David manages and operates the Nashville store as well as leading the business development, and son Jono oversees the high-end watch division and South Florida’s clientele through the Boca Raton office.
“A couple of months ago,” Jono says, “we were all sitting down as a family talking, and the conversation turned to business, as it was time to decide whether to extend our lease in Aventura or for my father to retire.”
Jono recalls a friend telling him years ago about lifelong jewelers: “He made a funny yet apt remark that the old-school generation of jewelers die with a loupe in their hand. …
“Jewelers tend to love what they do and the profound relationships they build over the years with their clients who become friends; they’re reluctant to retire. And then a major life event happens. I didn’t want that to be the tale of my parents. I told my father that I wanted him to reap the rewards of his decades of hard work. After long consideration, he agreed he paid his dues, and it was time to sit back and let his boys take over the business.”
Jono says his dad is only “pseudo retired,” because he still mentions running into someone who wants a piece of jewelry or is looking for a watch.
The King family’s business history dates to 1898, when Louis King immigrated from across the Atlantic and settled in Philadelphia, doing watch repairs before moving West in 1902 to sell goods and supplies to miners during the Gold Rush.
By 1912, he’d accumulated a great deal of gold and opened his first jewelry store. In 1930, he moved to Atlantic City and worked with son Abe and grandson Martin, who later opened stores in Miami Beach. Abe’s was the first jewelry store in Miami Beach, which was such a fashionable place in the 1930s that the Kings closed their Atlantic City store and committed full time to South Florida.
Martin brought son Scott into the business, and they developed Florida Diamond Brokers, establishing an office in Antwerp, Belgium in the 1960s. In the 1980s, Scott relocated the Miami Beach store to Bay Harbor Islands, where David and Jono grew up; and as CEO, Scott established a luxury salon for the store’s burgeoning estate, fine jewelry, and watch collections.
Over the years, Maxine has witnessed changes in jewelry tastes corresponding with other fashions: “When I first started there were a lot of formal galas and charity events, and big diamond necklaces to go with formal gowns. Then as the years went on, there was less formal wear and people moved to a more daytime-to-nighttime attire. … I travel all over the world looking for incredible designers and collections that no one else offers.”
King has two custom design lines, the King Jewelers Private Label and KJ5, the “5” referring to five generations. Jono says the store was an early adopter of online sales, with customer response growing from tentative to fully confident in making purchases of tens of thousands of dollars.
“We’re starting to see incredible interest in lab-grown diamonds; as the processes have been perfected, there is greater efficiency and more competition in the marketplace; prices have come down and corrected, which now makes sense,” he says, adding that King has a large selection ready to serve customers whose diamond budget may not match the carat size and quality of diamonds from the earth.
“Each of the generations have been exposed to the industry from very early ages,” says Maxine. “Martin, Scott, then Jonathan and David. They all went on to get their college and post-graduate degrees and ultimately landed in the family business.”
David studied pre-medicine and then switched to finance and studied banking at UPenn Wharton, while Jono graduated from law school and became an entrepreneur.
Jono says all the young Kings share common experiences as little kids: “We all went to our fathers’ respective stores and started out cleaning jewelry, helping with the displays, putting jewelry into the vaults at night.”
For Maxine, getting to see her family on a daily basis, traveling the world together each year for trade shows, all while laughing and enjoying her best friends in the world has been the greatest part of her experience in the jewelry business.
“When I got out of college, Scott asked me to join the business,” she says. “I’ve been doing it for 48 years and have enjoyed every minute of it. It’s a pleasure to go to work with family every day. … I’m looking forward to a sixth generation of King Jewelers!”
Jono says both he and his brother have children, each a son and daughter.
“Having them come into the office, sit at your desk and inquire about each piece and how the business operates is truly a magical experience.”
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