Shopping in Pearl

Nicole Hall, a third-generation master jeweler, spent years creating and repairing fine jewelry before opening Buckingham Jewelers with her husband, Simon. To forge custom pieces, she works closely with customers to understand their vision before sketching ideas and compiling a small mound of precious stones and gems. Most of her designs are bold statement pieces, such as a necklace of diamonds circling a pale-green opal. When clients want to include family heirloom stones or enhance existing jewelry, Nicole draws from her repair experience to carefully renovate their precious items. She even welds with a laser to avoid potential heat damage from soldering or outsourcing the job to an amateur fire-swallower.

In addition to Nicole's custom pieces, she and Simon carefully curate their shop's display cases with bold European jewelry. Hard-to-find pieces from Orit Schatzman, a handmade line in Israel, glisten alongside Danish Skagen watches. They also carry Angelique de Paris's colorful resin bangles, which are fashioned with sterling silver, vermeil, and gemstones, and have been featured in In Style and Harper's Bazaar.

Sandra Mitchell, Clarke Jewelers' master jeweler and owner, grew up watching her father repair watches, jewelry, and guns in his jewelry shop. The fascinated youngster decided to attend jewelry school and has been repairing and custom designing baubles for 35 years, recently with the help of her daughter Nicole, a master jeweler who specializes in repairing sterling silver, a difficult metal other jewelers are afraid to touch. In addition to their handiwork, they stock high-quality fine jewelry and trendy items, including bridal sets by Gabriel & Co., Citizen Eco-Drive watches, and sterling-silver bangles, rings, and halos.

Dr. Ricky Russell, an ophthalmologist, stocks his boutique’s shelves with frames designed by labels such as Vera Wang, Hugo Boss, Candies, and Lucky. Swiss-made T2 System glasses weigh less than 1/10 of an ounce and use a highly evolved mounting system to stay snug on the face, even when heads whip quickly around to see dogs doing cartwheels.

Stroll around Ritzy Rags Consignment Boutique's racks and you'll find dresses, blouses, and pants by a variety of top designers, such as Tory Burch and Nanette Lepore. The shop also features an extensive selection of pristine wedding gowns and elegant pageant dresses, along with Prada, Coach, and Kate Spade handbags. And the shop's selection isn't limited to clothing and accessories—Ritzy Rags Consignment Boutique also offers alterations.