A new luxury retail experiment is taking shape in Marlton, New Jersey, where two brands with different histories have joined forces under one roof. The 4,505-square-foot showroom at The Promenade at Sagemore marks the first time Watches of Switzerland and Mayors Jewelers will operate as a single, cohesive destination. The opening on September 25 signals a shift in strategy for the group, blending a national watch brand with a regional jewelry retailer known primarily in the Southeast.
The concept breaks from tradition by merging two distinct identities without forcing customers to handle separate spaces. While the exterior features separate entrances for each brand, the interior is designed as one continuous retail environment. Sales teams collaborate across watches and jewelry, and the layout encourages movement between categories—whether a customer is browsing Rolex, Omega, or Tudor timepieces or exploring Roberto Coin, Messika, or Mayors’ bridal collections. The goal is to create a seamless experience where luxury watches and fine jewelry feel like natural extensions of each other.
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This is not just an expansion for Mayors, which has operated for over a century but previously limited itself to Florida and Georgia. The Marlton location is its first store outside the Southeast, testing whether its reputation for personalized service can translate to new markets. For Watches of Switzerland, the move is part of a broader push to establish itself as a national watch retailer, even as it preserves the local trust built by acquired jewelers like Mayors, Betteridge, and Deutsch & Deutsch.
The store’s design reflects that dual strategy. Watches of Switzerland brings high-end watchmaking names, including a VIP Rolex lounge and Certified Pre-Owned selections, while Mayors maintains its focus on relationship-driven sales. The jewelry side includes dedicated shop-in-shop spaces for brands like Roberto Coin, which the group acquired in 2024, further strengthening its luxury portfolio. The layout ensures that customers don’t feel they’ve stepped from one boutique into another—the transition between watches and jewelry is intentional, not forced.
The Marlton showroom is more than a test of real estate; it’s an attempt to reconcile two opposing forces in luxury retail. National brands like Watches of Switzerland rely on scale and brand recognition, while regional jewelers like Mayors thrive on deep local connections. The challenge is whether customers will adopt the combined experience—or if the experiment will feel like two businesses forced into proximity. Success here could redefine how the group expands in the future, potentially pairing Watches of Switzerland with other regional jewelers in a flexible, adaptable model.
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For now, the focus is on execution. The store’s design, staff training, and merchandise flow will determine whether the dual-brand approach works in practice. If customers move freely between watches and jewelry without friction, the concept could become a template for future locations. But if the separation feels too rigid, or if the regional-local balance tips the wrong way, the experiment may remain a one-off.
A Test of Trust and Scale
The Marlton showroom’s design is a deliberate attempt to merge two retail philosophies, one rooted in national brand recognition, the other in deeply personal customer relationships. While Watches of Switzerland brings the prestige of Swiss watchmaking names like Rolex, Omega, and Tudor, Mayors relies on the kind of trust built over generations in the Southeast. The challenge lies in ensuring that neither identity is diluted in the process. Jack Gaffaney, president of North America for Watches of Switzerland Group U.S., has framed the Marlton location as a way to prove that Mayors’ reputation for personalized service can extend beyond its traditional markets. The store’s layout, with its seamless transitions between watch and jewelry displays, is meant to reinforce that trust rather than undermine it. The experiment also reflects Watches of Switzerland Group’s broader strategy of balancing growth with heritage. The company has acquired regional jewelers like Betteridge in Connecticut and Deutsch & Deutsch in Texas, each with its own client base and community ties. In some cases, such as the Avalon location in Alpharetta, Georgia, Watches of Switzerland and Mayors operate as separate stores rather than a combined showroom. This flexibility suggests that the Marlton model is not a one-size-fits-all solution but a test of how different markets might respond. The group’s approach is pragmatic: rather than forcing every location into the same format, it is evaluating whether a dual-brand concept can work in certain settings while allowing others to maintain their independence.
Jewelry as the Anchor
Luxury jewelry plays a critical role in the group’s expansion plans, serving as both a complement to watches and a driver of long-term customer loyalty. While high-end timepieces like Rolex and Grand Seiko attract immediate attention, fine jewelry, particularly brands like Roberto Coin, Messika, and FOPE, often requires a slower, more relationship-driven sales process. The Marlton showroom’s dedicated Roberto Coin shop-in-shop, accessible through the Mayors entrance, shows this priority. The brand’s acquisition in 2024 was not just about adding another luxury name but about integrating a company with a strong reputation for craftsmanship and storytelling.
