Why so many jewelry shops are located together in Jewelers Row
“These are family businesses; they are closely held; they are focused on quality,” a Drexel professor said. “That’s a competitive advantage for them.”
Two centuries ago, a developer created a new street in Center City, named it after himself, and built the country’s first rowhouses. Years later, the 700 block of Sansom Street became Jewelers Row.
The oldest diamond district in the country has long been home to retailers, wholesalers, and craftsmen. But, why are so many jewelry shops located together in Jewelers Row? Wouldn’t it make more sense to be spread out? A reader asked Curious Philly, The Inquirer’s forum for questions about the city and region.
Why are all of the jewelry shops located in Jewelers Row together?
Due to a symbiotic relationship that traces back to the 1790s.
Founding Father Robert Morris owned a lot big enough to encompass Chestnut, Walnut, Seventh, and Eighth Streets.
His ambition was to build a mansion. Instead, he went bankrupt financing the American Revolution and making unfruitful investments.
The property was auctioned at sheriff’s sale and bought by developer William Sansom, who split the lot down the middle with a new street named after himself and built the set of town houses, designed by Thomas Carstairs, that would later be called Jewelers Row.
But Sansom couldn’t find “the type of permanent residents he envisioned,” according to a 2016 report from the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Historic Preservation.
By the 19th century, Philadelphians were moving west, leaving Sansom Street in what was quickly shaping up to be the commercial district. Still, jewelry businesses didn’t arrive overnight.
“You had printers publishing in there, that led to engraving. And, engraving expertise is transferable to the jewelry industry,” said Lawrence Duke, a Drexel clinical professor of marketing and international business. “The primary materials were already there making it easier for everybody to come together.”
This wasn’t the only reason.
As Philadelphia was changing, Center City became more attractive to wealthier people, said Duke. Soon, businesses that cater to this demographic followed.
The proximity of the block to what was then the State House and the Philadelphia Mint also granted jewelers more safety than other locations.
One by one, jewelry shops began to open throughout the 19th century, building what Duke calls “a pretty sophisticated cluster.”
This amalgamation of business and suppliers, concentrated in one area, generated synergy, competition, customer convenience — at a time when comparing prices wasn’t as simple as a Google search — and a sense of identity.
In 1971, the Jewelers Row Business Association pushed the latter with a modern spin on storefronts and streetlights, giving the district the aesthetic most Philadelphians relate to the area.
Today, stores have further emphasized their identity with navy blue stickers that identify stores as members of the Jewelers Row District.
Wouldn’t it make more sense for Jewelers Row to be spread out?
Not according to Duke. But, there are still ongoing projects that could add elements of Sansom’s original residential area plan.
In 2016, suburban developer Toll Brothers proposed demolishing four Jewelers Row buildings to accommodate a 16-story residential building, despite the dismay of jewelry store owners.
A petition to “Save Jewelers Row” was created by the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, amassing more than 7,000 signatures and spurring conversation about how to handle developments in the area.
Three years later, demolition began, but was halted amid the pandemic, leaving a vast vacant lot on Jewelers Row.
Pearl Properties now has ownership over the lot, where a 35-story building is set to be constructed.
From a business standpoint, if the shops at Jewelers Row were to spread out, the supply chain could become less efficient, infrastructure would be harder to share, and the area’s identity would weaken, Duke said.
“These are family businesses; they are closely held; they are focused on quality,” Duke said. “That’s a competitive advantage for them.”
The Penn study emphasized that the block and the businesses “are linked in a way that cannot be separated.”
“People know and appreciate this site for the history of industry and craftsmanship, and many are connected personally by memories of gazing through windows at glittering displays or purchasing an engagement ring with a loved one.”