A Jewel on the Mile

JAE’S IS NOW THE LONGEST CONTINUALLY OPERATING RETAILER IN THE DOWNTOWN

If longevity is the marker of a merchant’s success, then Jae’s Jewelers on Miracle Mile is the epitome of success, having outlasted all other retailers with a multi-generational business that shows no sign of slowing down. On the contrary, says Jill Hornik, granddaughter of founder George Hornick (whose nickname was “Jae”), business is booming. “We are so busy now we hardly have time for lunch,” says Jill.

Jae’s was founded after WWII on Ponce de Leon Boulevard, moving to its Miracle Mile location in the mid-1950s. Jill’s father Bruce took over the business, which he now runs with her. What’s been key, says Bruce, is long-term relationships with customers, something only possible with a local, proprietor-run business (vs. a chain store). “They are more than customers, they are friends,” he says. “We are in our third generation, so I have my father’s original customers, and their children, and now their grandchildren.” And, he says, what it takes to retain those customers is trust. “I think that a jeweler is kind of like a doctor or a lawyer, where you have to have some degree of trust. Those people and their children and grandchildren, they trust us with their valuables.”

While most of the business for Jae’s comes from regulars, their location on Miracle Mile ensures a steady stream of newcomers. “I would say that while a majority of our business comes from repeat clients, we see new ones every day,” says Jill. “Traditionally, it was Gables residents. Now we have a lot of international tourists as well, and there are a lot of new people moving to the area from the Northeast. A lot of people waiting for a table at a restaurant nearby are just walking by and they find us.”

Being one of the last jewelry shops still standing on the Mile has also helped create an influx of new buyers. “Since Carroll’s closed, we got their customers, and since Balogh’s closed, we got their customers,” says Bruce. “Now, Snow’s is closing and we’re going to get their customers. We just get busier and busier.”

As for what’s hot these days, Jill says it’s all about diamonds. “The best sellers are always diamond studs [earrings]. Then tennis bracelets and tennis necklaces.” Tennis bracelets, explains Jill, became popular thanks to local tennis superstar Chris Evert, who dominated women’s tennis in the 1970s and ’80s. “In one game, she realized her bracelet was gone, and said, ‘My tennis bracelet is missing!’So now it’s called that.”Then,about five years ago,the tennis necklace came into popularity, for the “everyday luxury look.”

Next on the popularity list are sapphires, which come in a rainbow of colors well beyond the traditional blue associated with it, followed by vintage jewelry. “One of the biggest draws for our clientele is our wide collection of vintage and antique jewelry,” says Jill, which Jae’s typically buys from estate sales or customers unloading family pieces. “We have clients that work in the area, and on their lunch break once a week or once a month, they stop by and try to catch something special…. It’s like the thrill of the hunt.”