Chanel to Open Jewelry Flagship

New York—Chanel couture creations have always been known for their accessory adornments, but now those jewels will take center stage at a new flagship store on Madison Avenue, located here.

The fashion house signed a lease for a 3,000-square-foot space on the corner of 64th Street on the famous shopping avenue.

In the fine jewelry and watch business for just eight years, the company was actively searching for Manhattan real estate that fit its ideals for the megastore. The company finally decided to merge five existing stores to obtain the square footage desired.

In the process, Chanel will be moving two other jewelry stores, Manfredi Jewels and Lalaounis Jewelers, from their previous retail spaces. While Manfredi has not yet secured a new location, Lalaounis will be relocating to 739 Madison Ave.

Although Chanel was looking to create the flagship in a store adjacent to its fashion flagship on 15 E. 57th St., real estate was not available there at the time.

"In most of the other cities where we had launched fine jewelry, we were able to find real estate at street level that was adjacent to our fashion stores," Chanel Executive Vice President Barbara Cirkva told Women's Wear Daily. "In New York, we weren't able to do that."

Architect Peter Marino, who has previously worked with Chanel on other projects, will be designing the new store. There is still no time line for construction or for the opening space.

This flagship is the ninth such U.S. jewelry retail store for Chanel, whose other locations are in Beverly Hills, Calif.; Palm Beach, Calif.; Chicago; Ala Moana, Hawaii; South Coast Plaza, Calif.; Las Vegas; Waikiki, Hawaii; and Bal Harbor, Fla.

Fine jewelry is descending en masse to this stretch of Madison, which already houses David Yurman and Chopard one block to the south and Bulgari a block to the north.

According to Cirkva, the store will be used primarily for jewelry and watches, although the grand size of the space leaves room for other opportunities in the future.

Other accessories at Chanel are also getting their due, as the corporation recently began testing boutiques that specifically featuring shoes and handbags at the Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey.