The Season To Sparkle

Like a new fallen snow or lights all aglow, there is no better gift that sparkles than beautiful jewelry. Brad Gross is fifth generation at HL Gross, his family’s jewelry business, located at 840 Franklin Ave., Garden City and he is gearing up for the holidays.

“Although bridal is a significant aspect of our business, we also carry a big assortment of fashion jewelry,” said Gross, noting that Roberto Coin, KC designs and Shy Creations are some of the designers that the store carries. “For fashion jewelry, we do a lot of unbranded items and curate our own to give you a unique look for less price. A lot of designers you pay a premium for so in the fashion jewelry world we like to buy our own inventory and sell it under our name.”

Of those special pieces, Gross stated that there are many trends this season, namely stacked bangles and rings, classic stud earrings and going back to the basics with tennis bracelets and necklaces.

“Mixing different colors and diamonds with colored stones and stacking jewelry has become really popular,” said Gross, adding that personalized gifts are also huge for mothers and grandmothers. “A lot of younger moms today are wanting something with their kids’ initial. So bracelets and necklaces with diamond initials, where you can add letters along the way…a style that is coming back from the ’80s, which has always been a popular thing, is a little more modern now.”

At the moment, Gross personally likes jewelry from Shy Creations, a brand the store has been carrying for about two years. The brand features trendy, funky pieces that are well priced. For those looking to buy something special for their significant other, Gross and other associates are more than happy to help.

“We look for a woman’s taste if they have a history with us, we’ll look and see what we can use. If the client is taking a shot in the dark, we won’t go too fashion forward or too trendy just because people have a particular taste,” he said, making note of the fact that H.L. Gross has a two week return policy after Christmas so people can come in and make exchanges.

With a majority of the inventory on the store’s website, Gross also highlighted the preowned watch department. His brother, Matt, has a vast knowledge of all watch brands including an expansive collection of high end Swiss brands that come through the store.

“Our customers will trade in watches, upgrade them or sell them,” said Gross, adding that it’s all about building a rapport with the customer. “We offer a luxury experience at a fair competitive price point. We build a relationship with people and when we sell an engagement ring, we hope they come back for wedding bands, anniversary bands and push gifts.”