The 1916 Company is both new and old. Its founders created it in late 2023 by merging four businesses — Govberg Jewelers, WatchBox, Radcliffe Jewelers and Hyde Park Jewelers, the oldest of which traces its heritage to 1916; hence the name. Today, chief executive officer John Shmerler describes The 1916 Company as a “109-year-old start-up,” blending the best of pre-owned watches and a community of global collectors with a flourishing focus on branded fine jewelry.
Its success in pre-owned timepieces is attributable to WatchBox. Danny Govberg, Justin Reis and Tay Liam Wee founded the online dealer network in 2017, offering collectors a digital buying platform, educational resources in the form of a blog and video content, and a worldwide suite of lounges for private events.
A catalyst for change emerged in 2022, when the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned initiative began rolling out for approved retail partners. For Shmerler, the opportunity was there to pioneer a new kind of business by blending WatchBox — a successful “pre-owned advocate” that had great expertise in the space — with “regional brands like Radcliffe, Hyde Park and Govberg,” he recalls.
“WatchBox customers only had a window into pre-owned, whereas Hyde Park customers only had their window into certain jewelry designers, manufacturers and watch brands,” he elaborates. “By bringing it all together and sharing a common website and app, our customers can see the full breadth of what we do.”
Relationships first
The strategy behind The 1916 Company comes from the WatchBox model, which Shmerler describes as a “92% click-to-relationship business,” as opposed to click-to-buy.
“We put a high value on making relationships with clients through old-fashioned, regular communication,” he explains, highlighting the business lounges in New York, Miami, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Zurich, among other destinations. The company also engages customers through content — specifically two YouTube channels with nearly 400,000 subscribers and close to 12,000 videos, and an online journal of more than 1,000 articles. Watch specialist Tim Mosso and editorial director Jack Forster spearhead these content projects, respectively.
In addition to watch-market knowledge, The 1916 Company has a wealth of jewelry input from its Govberg, Hyde Park and Radcliffe businesses, with locations including Philadelphia and Denver as well as Scottsdale, Arizona, and Newport Beach, California. In the coming months, all of these stores will rebrand to The 1916 Company.
“We’ve supported the watch category all along; if the whole industry is doing well, all the boats rise together,” Shmerler says. “Our hope is that when we really start raising the bar on jewelry content and education, that will help the whole industry, and we’ll benefit from that also.”
Tapping the network
To that end, the business has tapped Eleonor Picciotto of online platform The Eye of Jewelry as its new jewelry editor-at-large. It is also leaning into the expertise of its constituent jewelers. Radcliffe founder Paul Winicki is an Antiques Roadshow appraiser, for instance.
“Estate jewelry and a focus on signed [jewelry] is a core strength that we think is applicable across all our locations, and we are building the inventory now,” Shmerler reports.
Elsewhere, The 1916 Company is applying its experience in private events to the jewelry consumer. In December 2024, the company’s New York lounge played host to Rahaminov Diamonds, giving watch collectors the opportunity to step into the world of diamonds. After that, it held a networking event for female executives, giving them the chance to view pieces, try them on and ask questions.
“In the diamond world today, there is an enormous body of questions coming out,” says Shmerler. “Everybody wants to know about laboratory-grown, and they want to understand what’s disrupting the market. By providing forums and opportunities to talk to people, it gives us the chance to establish ourselves as trusted people.”
Market growth
What are The 1916 Company’s customers buying? There’s been strong demand for elongated gemstones and diamond shapes, according to Heather Ingraham, merchandise director for jewelry, bridal and diamonds.
“Personal expression is very much at the forefront,” she says, adding that vintage-inspired bold gold jewelry is also “making a notable comeback.”
Looking ahead, the company plans to open a store in suburban Philadelphia in April and another in Manhattan Beach, California, around November. It will also continue to open mono-brand watch stores — including IWC, Panerai and Omega — in Denver and Newport Beach ahead of the summer. This will all take place alongside “the continued integration and smoothing out” of The 1916 Company’s brand across its portfolio of stores, says Shmerler.
“For us, there’s an enormous growth opportunity in the Philadelphia market,” he relates. “There will be a very significant relaunch of our jewelry platform, and we’re hoping that the new store in suburban Philadelphia has a mix closer to 65% watches and 35% jewelry, which we think is healthy.”
With the combined customer bases of four successful businesses, The 1916 Company is banking on some enduring truths for its business model.
“Working with clients today in some respects is the same as it has always been,” Shmerler says. “You build a relationship and try and do the best [you] can to realize a piece of their dreams.”
Main image: John Shmerler, CEO of The 1916 Company. (The 1916 Company)
