Along with the actual jewelry product, the environment you shop in has a lot to do with the whole shopping experience.

After working in retail for many years, I'm very picky about where I shop. I'd rather get a root canal than go to Wal-Mart. I also don't like shopping in messy stores. I don't want to dig for bargains. I'd prefer a decent price, but I will pay a little more to get good service along with a quality jewelry piece.

The design of a jewelry store is almost as important as the design of the jewelry you purchase, and InStore Magazine has been doing a series on "America's Most Unique Jewelry Stores." One of their selections was Stafford Jewelers in Dayton, Ohio:

The showroom accounts for nearly the entire first floor. Stafford had Artco build "tunnel" cherrywood-veneer cabinets with no dividers, which means there are continuous flowing curves of jewelry on display around the store. [...]

On the second floor of the store are the corporate offices, a goldsmith's workshop, and manufacturing department with two 3D CAD-CAM/rapid prototyping machines [...]"




You can read more about this wonderful jewelry store and see some great photos of the layout at the InStore Magaines web site.