After 25 years in the New Orleans market, the time has come for Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry and Distinctive Gifts to expand its presence. The result is a brand new location now open on Causeway Boulevard at Lakeside Shopping Center. “We felt like we needed more space and we wanted to provide our customers a larger and more luxurious environment. Our new location is double the size of our previous New Orleans store,” said Chad Berg, president of Lee Michaels. “Prior to this, our New Orleans location was in a mall, but this was an opportunity to bring a freestanding store to this market. We have other freestanding locations, so it’s nice to share with our New Orleans customers what we have done elsewhere.” The Lakeside Shopping Center location houses a collection of the top-of-the-line jewelry that Lee Michaels is known for, including from internationally recognized brands such as Rolex, Tudor, David Yurman, Roberto Coin, Lagos, Gucci, Mikimoto and others.
Tudor is a Swiss watchmaker based in Geneva, Switzerland. Registered in 1926 by Hans Wilsdorf, founder of Rolex, the brand remains a sister company to Rolex. Tudor was initially known for watches produced for the military and professional divers. From the 1960s to 1980s, several navies issued Tudor Submariners to their divers, including the US Navy SEALs and the French Marine Nationale. In 2009, Tudor instigated a major brand relaunch with new product lines: first, the Tudor Grantour Chronograph and Tudor Glamour collection of classic watches, followed in 2010 by the Heritage Chrono, inspired by the Tudor “Montecarlo” from the 1970s. The Heritage Chrono was the first of the Tudor Heritage line of watches designed to echo Tudor's best-known vintage models and also the first to come with an additional fabric strap. In 2012, the focus was on diver watches, with the Heritage Black Bay, a reinterpretation of early Tudor Submariner models, and the Pelagos diver watch. The Pelagos has a 42 mm titanium case, the first titanium watch from the Rolex group, and is waterproof to 500 metres. In 2013, the Heritage Black Bay won the Revival prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève and the Pelagos won the “Sports Watch” prize in 2015. In 2014, Tudor expanded the Heritage collection with the Ranger, a military-style watch similar to a 1967 model. We're thrilled to offer a wide selection of this luxury watch brand at our Lakeside location, on Causeway Boulevard at Lakeside Shopping Center. Stop in to explore more styles, learn more about the brand, and try on a Tudor that best suits your style.
David Yurman grew up in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. At age 15 he met a Cuban welder and sculptor named Ernesto Gonzalez, who taught him welding techniques. At Lincoln Center, Yurman helped create the railings of the promenade in the David H. Koch Theater, designed by Phillip Johnson. He also worked on the eagle sculpture commissioned for the James L. Watson Court of International Trade in New York City. In the late 1960s, Yurman became the shop foreman of sculptor Hans Van de Bovenkamp. It was in this studio that Yurman met the painter Sybil Kleinrock, his future wife, and business partner. In the early 1970s, Yurman and Kleinrock moved to Carmel in upstate New York. Here, they formed a company called Putnam Art Works which specialized in sculptural jewelry. Throughout the next decade they exhibited their jewelry designs, sculptures and paintings at various galleries and craft fairs. They became key figures in the American craft movement. Through Putnam Art Works, the Yurmans learned the marketplace for fine crafts and artisanal jewelry. They married in 1979 and founded the David Yurman company a year later, with Sybil Yurman acting as a co-creator and collaborator in all facets of the business. In 1982, Yurman designed what became his signature piece, the cable bracelet: a twisted helix adorned with gemstones on its end caps. He called the bracelet and related designs "Renaissance," and it has become one of his most enduring collections. Created through an innovative process Yurman pioneered, the cable motif was awarded two rare design trademarks in the United States since his design was instantly recognizable. His cable design evolved to become the thread that connects all of his collections.
“At Lee Michaels, we celebrate life’s occasions,” he said. “When someone has a birthday, anniversary or special milestone, we want them to think of us. I think that post-COVID, people are more emotional and appreciate their families more. They are looking for statement pieces that celebrate one another.” “When people walk in here, their jaws drop because it is such a beautiful environment,” he said. “Everyone wants to shop in a place where you can tell there is a commitment to quality. From the fixtures we have to the amount of space, it’s a fresh environment where people feel comfortable and know they will be taken care of.”
Amid that environment is a highly trained team that is dedicated to meeting each customer’s unique needs with personal attention. Each consultant has an Accredited Jewelry Professional certification and has been educated through the Gemological Institute of America. Many have continued their education and are able to provide advice on new jewelry, custom jewelry design and the repair of pieces that are passed down through the generations.
“Our goal is to continue to raise the standard in everything we do,” Berg said. “We want our customers to walk in and know that they are experiencing a different level of luxury than anywhere else. We are always committed to doing whatever it takes to make their vision a reality.”
