Charles Krypell Fine Jewelry opens flagship store in Greenvale

Rose Weldon
Father and son Charles and Evan Krypell stand in their flagship jewelry store in Greenvale. (Photo courtesy of Charles Krypell)

Charles Krypell had already gone big, so it was about time to go – well, not home, but close to home.

After spending 45 years as an esteemed designer of jewelry who made his career creating pieces sold in over 150 stores across the country, the Brookville-area resident decided to open a store of his own in nearby Greenvale, said his son Evan Krypell, the director of retail development.

“My dad has spent the last 45 years traveling the nation and doing business with the finest independent jewelry stores around the country,” Evan Krypell says. “He’s now decided, ‘you know what, for my next chapter in my career, I really want to be able to finally have a store of my own where I can sell my designs to the final customer.'”

The flagship space for Charles Krypell Fine Jewelry opened just before Christmas, and resembles more of an art gallery than a jewelry store, with pieces from $75 up to $1 million kept behind glass, illuminated so that each piece sparkles. But for the Krypells, it was imperative that the store come across as accessible to all possible patrons.

“There are other stores where there is such a pretentiousness about jewelry,” Evan Krypell said. “We wanted to bring that down and make it more comfortable and attainable. So, that’s what we did. We built a store where the primary focus is meeting with clients one on one, pandemic notwithstanding, and giving them a feasible experience, because especially with something like jewelry that could be intimidating to a certain extent. We want every single person that comes in to feel 100 percent comfortable.”

As such, the store boasts no large moldings or expensive marble, with the main focus kept on the products, with contributions from 17 different brands including Charles’ own.

“We have a very varied product mix from classic jewelry like diamonds and studs and tennis bracelets to really unique men’s watches and men’s belts,” Evan Krypell said. “We have a handmade pocket knife company. There’s everything.”

As for his father’s designs, the younger Krypell estimates that about 80 percent of the merchandise is made in-store.

“We’re not a merchant that’s buying from a vendor and selling it to the customer, we’re not the middleman, we’re the designer,” Krypell said. “Since we make it in house and now we sell it to the consumer, we know how to service it. We know that you can’t find items that are like what’s in here or anywhere else.”

Services like remounting gems are also offered, as well as redesigns of heirloom jewelry.

“There’s a lot of heirloom jewelry that’s been passed down and that has significance and meaning, and you may be already invested in something but it may not be your style,” Krypell said. “If people bring it in here, Charles and the rest of our design team will take a look at it, and we’ll utilize the value that you’re already invested in and we’ll reinvent it into something spectacular that fits you.”

Reinvention is something of a theme for Charles, a Pratt Institute-trained sculptor who found a job advertisement for an assistant jewelry designer in the Village Voice in the mid-1970s and sought an interview for the position.

“My father went to work and he quickly found out that jewelry is wearable sculpture,” Evan Krypell said. “And he fell in love with jewelry.”

Decades later and with the Krypell Collection known in top department stores and boutiques alike, Evan got involved in the best way he knew how.

“We’ve had a major presence as a wholesale company around the country, but that wasn’t my passion,” Evan Krypell said. “I love dealing with the final customer, and there’s not so much personal interaction wholesale. So I told my dad I really want to open up a retail store,’ which is also what he’s always wanted to do.”

He acknowledges that the store’s initial opening late last year was not the easiest.

“Opening up during a pandemic is not easy,” Krypell said. “December was busy, but January was dead. I’ll be honest, it was very difficult to get people in the door based on the politics in the world and the virus raging.”

Nevertheless, he said, their goal is to continue to flourish in Greenvale.

“In such a dark time, we’ve invested locally,” Krypell said. “We spent millions of dollars to build the store, and we’re here for the long run. That’s really our mission.”

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