RED BANK: HAMILTON CLOSING STORE

hamilton 050414The Princeton-based jeweler has had its store at 19 Broad Street since 2003.  (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Rcsm2_010508Hamilton Jewelers is closing its Red Bank store, the company told select customers in a letter last week.

One of a handful of retailers that add high-end sparkle to Broad Street, Hamilton is moving out of 19 Broad Street after failing to come to terms on a new lease, the company said in the letter, signed by President Hank Siegel and Chairman Martin Siegel.

Downtown shoppers found the store closed without explanation Sunday, with a note on the door saying the business would reopen Monday at 10 a.m.

The letter to “valued clients” said Hamilton was losing its lease after negotiations failed to produce a new agreement. The building is owned by 19 Broad LLC.

Hamilton said in the letter that it would hold a closed-door sale on Wednesday and Thursday for preferred customers, and would announce an inventory clearout to the general public on Thursday.

The company also hinted that it would reopen in the vicinity. “We look forward to continuing to serve you in our new location, to be announced soon,” it read.

Hamilton officials could not be reached for immediate comment on speculation that the store would take the vacant space just next store, at 21 Broad, former home of Agostino antiques.

The 102-year-old family-owned company has stores in Princeton and in Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

The move comes as Goldtinker, a big-ticket jeweler that recently closed stores in Rumson and Deal, prepares to open directly across Broad Street.