On June 2nd, 2018 aBlogtoWatch had the pleasure of being guests of Hamilton Jewelers in Princeton, New Jersey for their annual Watch Fair weekend (announced on aBlogtoWatch here). The long-time watch and jewelry store is part of a group of professional and family-owned retailers which I greatly admire for their service and friendliness. What makes the Hamilton Jewelers Princeton Watch Fair special (the company has Watch Fairs in other stores it owns in places such as Palm Beach, Florida) is that it occurs during the same time as the Princeton University Reunion weekend. This is when close to 70 years of graduating classes come back to Princeton for all types of (well-organized) merriment.
Princeton University watch lovers were plentiful and I was lucky enough to meet current students as well as mature alumni who visited the store – most of whom were fellow aBlogtoWatch community members. In addition to that, I want to thank aBlogtoWatch fans who traveled from up to two hours away to drive down and meet me while checking out the many watch brands Hamilton Jewelers carries. Note that some of the pictured watch brands are not always located at the Princeton store location – as they were specially brought up from other stores for the Watch Fair event. Hamilton Jewelers’ mainstay brands are popular big names such as Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, TAG Heuer, and Cartier. They also carry more affordable items from Casio G-Shock, Hamilton, Victorinox Swiss Army, Shinola, and Baume & Mercier. Hamilton Jewelers also carries the Princeton, New Jersey-based small enthusiast-created brand, Sablier.
What I’ve come to appreciate more and more over the years is that selling luxury watches is about service and relationships. Customers want products as much as they want appropriate attention and respect. While such a statement is common knowledge in the luxury watch industry, I would say that less than half of the watch stores I’ve visited in my life offer the right type of atmosphere and friendly yet knowledgeable staff. It’s the dedication an entire team has to keeping a long-term relationship with customers who are part of the community which in my opinion is the appropriate formula for having success as a brick and mortar (or remote for that matter) multi-brand watch retailer. Kudos to the Hamilton Jewelers staff for being so good with the aBlogtoWatch audience who visited their store, as well as the larger community that they serve in that part of New Jersey. If you are in the area, I recommend that you stop by.
Underground, outside of the view of customers, Hamilton Jewelers in Princeton has both a full watchmaker’s studio with five benches as well as a separate jewelry making studio. The repair and service capabilities they have is impressive, as is the knowledge and enthusiasm of their in-house full-time watchmakers. This isn’t just a place where timepieces can be sold as a point of sale. This is a true business dedicated to serving customers through the lifetime of their timepiece ownership experience – and there simply aren’t that many watch retail businesses like that out there.
Thanks again everyone for helping to make the 2018 Hamilton Jewelers Watch Fair Weekend with aBlogtoWatch a fruitful, busy, and really enjoyable experience for myself, the store, and all the people who came. hamiltonjewelers.com
