ALL THAT GLITTERS: Win & Natalie Betteridge

Photos by Nick Leiter Mele

Departing from the longtime home base of Greenwich, Connecticut, for the coconut palms and sun-drenched avenues of Palm Beach, Win and Natalie Betteridge have given a generational family business a modern approach, as they define Greenleaf & Crosby by Betteridge for today’s jewelry connoisseurs and watch collectors.

Betteridge’s roots in the jewelry industry date back to 1700s  Birmingham England, where John Betteridge was a highly sought after silversmith. At that point, the Company was best known for its fastidiously hand-crafted snuff boxes, which were particularly popular with the English gentry. Nearly two centuries later, the Betteridge family set sail across the Atlantic to find its new foothold in America, fortuitously at the height of the Gilded Age.

 

 

A.E. Betteridge Sr., known to all as “the Colonel,” passed through Ellis Island in 1892, with his stated profession as goldsmith, en route to heading the International Silver Factory in Meriden, Connecticut. By 1919, the Betteridge name was incorporated in New York City, with A.E. Betteridge Jr. opening his first shop on the corner of Wall Street and Broadway in 1923. The following year saw a second location open at Fifth Avenue & 45th Street in the city’s fashionable shopping district, and a third locale opening in 1926 within the new Biltmore Hotel in Miami’s Coral Gables neighborhood. Capitalizing on the wave of wealth during this decadent decade, Betteridge established itself as one of the country’s preeminent jewelers, creating some of the finest Art Deco designs of the period.

In the post-World War II years, A.E. Jr.’s son Bert seized upon the growth of the suburbs outside New York City and invested in the rural future of retail, leaving New York City for the leafy green landscapes of Greenwich, Connecticut in 1952. Betteridge established its flagship on tony Greenwich Avenue, the town’s main thoroughfare.

In 1975, the family business began its next chapter, with Bert passing the mantle to his eldest son, Terry. Over the next several decades, Greenwich expanded rapidly as Wall Street’s titans of finance traded the chaotic concrete jungle for the town’s tranquil terrain just a short commute north of the city.

 

Fast forward to 2006 and an unexpected phone call would add yet another milestone to the family business. An old friend in Florida was planning to retire and wondered if Terry had any interest in buying his business, believing Betteridge to be the only worthy contender to take over his storied shop. After a gentleman’s agreement, the two hung up and Betteridge added Greenleaf & Crosby of Palm Beach to its growing business. Greenleaf & Crosby by Betteridge merged two of America’s most prominent, historic jewelers into a highly esteemed establishment on Worth Avenue.

Greenleaf & Crosby’s origin story is no less captivating. Established in Jacksonville in 1868 by Damon Greenleaf and J.H. Crosby Jr., the pair prospered from the numerous northerners spending winters in Florida. Merchandise was curated from the finest shops and purveyors in America as well as from Europe, tailored specifically to the region and tastes of its founders. The store offered exceptional jewelry, Florida-inspired fine china and even tropical birds native to the state, whose exotic feathers were prized by milliners and their fashionable clientele.

As a new vision for an American riviera began to stretch down the east coast of Florida, Henry Flagler built luxury resorts along the path of his railroad; among the veritable shops within these balmy winter retreats was a Greenleaf & Crosby boutique. The Company opened stores in The Alcazar, Saint Augustine, in 1887; in The Royal Poinciana Hotel and in 1895, the turn of the century brought the opening of stores in The Breakers, as well as The Royal Palm Hotel in downtown Miami.

 

By the 1920s, Greenleaf & Crosby had become the foremost jeweler both to Florida residents and to the entrepreneurs who were making these southern communities famous as resorts. At that point, the firm had established its reputation for introducing some of the most iconic European jewelry brands to its American clientele, most notably Van Cleef & Arpels and Patek Philippe. In 1933, Greenleaf & Crosby opened its current store on Worth Avenue, which has been the flagship location ever since. The store still features its original Deco Moderne granite facade trimmed with silvery-white Monel, a rare nickel alloy resistant to the corrosive salt air and patented by an early Palm Beach customer.

Today, Greenleaf & Crosby by Betteridge is a staple of Palm Beach. Step inside the Art Deco doors and you’ll find the Flagler–era mahogany cases filled with everything from exceptional estate pieces to classic gemstones and contemporary designer jewels. Only a few short blocks from the Atlantic Ocean and nestled at the center of Worth, Greenleaf & Crosby is a destination for those seeking the extraordinary.  

 

 Just as it has for well over a hundred and fifty years, Greenleaf & Crosby remains family-owned. Today, Win and Natalie Betteridge are proud to continue the Greenleaf & Crosby legacy of customer service in Palm Beach. As the age of millennial affluence hits the market, Win and Natalie are making their own inimitable mark on Worth Avenue, bringing an established reputation for fine goods to the next generation of tastemakers.

What trends are you seeing in jewelry now that millennials have entered the luxury market?

 Down here in Palm Beach, we have noticed that millennials are increasingly stepping into our stores looking for something unique, whether it is an elegant Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso or a hand-crafted Buccellati gold bangle bracelet. They are wearing much of the same jewelry their parents loved, but styling it in new ways.

Our customers prefer pieces beyond those that their peers already have. For ladies, expressing their lifestyle and loved ones in their jewelry is paramount, such as layering yellow gold necklaces with their children’s initials with petite diamond accented pieces. Earring purchases are expanding beyond the basics: bold yellow gold earrings for luncheons, delicate diamond chandelier earrings for galas and colorful Verdura earclips for day-to-day. Cocktail rings, wide yellow gold gypsy rings, and stackable gem-set bands are also in high demand with our younger customers.

 

With watches, both men and women appear to have tired of the Covid-spurred fervor for watches with waitlists into the next millennia. Instead, we have seen a remarkable demand for more discreet watch brands that confer a maturing of taste and style. Our Jaeger-LeCoultre boutique has enjoyed incredible success since it opened in November 2022. The sophistication of the Palm Beach clientele aligns perfectly with the brand, its own motto being “the watchmaker of watchmakers,” denoting its inimitable reputation for creating the utmost quality of timepieces, both in unparalleled technicality as well as timeless design.

Our Panerai and IWC watch boutiques each offer a selection of more pronounced timepieces for the male customer looking to make a statement without being too flashy. Panerai’s unique case shape and size are easily recognizable for those familiar with the brand. IWC, with its iconic slogan “Engineered for Men,” has really expanded upon its core Big Pilot collection by pushing the boundaries of alchemy. For instance, the brand has recently produced a series of watches with cases made of a proprietary ceramic material in colors exclusively in collaboration with PANTONE.

 

 

What changes are family owned jewelers making to adapt to younger markets?

 Family-run businesses have adapted by embracing digital platforms like 1stdibs and directly from our website as well as social media apps Instagram and TikTok to engage with a wider, younger audience – a majority of whom have already made purchases directly from social media posts – particularly when promoted by popular influencers, celebrities or other notable figures.

This younger target audience prioritizes online shopping, brand consciousness and unique designs. Millennials are more inclined toward brand reputation and quality. Thus, we have invested greatly in the development of our website and the ease of purchasing with the utmost safety and security. Keeping in line with our belief in assuring quality and value, we offer a highly curated mix of jewelry from brands ranging from those with a storied history and established collectability (i.e. Verdura, Buccellati, Vhernier) to more modern designers embracing contemporary forms and materials (i.e. Mark Davis, Serafino Consoli, Fernando Jorge) – in addition to an extensive array of estate jewelry from nearly every significant design period from the past two centuries. Specifically, we place a large focus on offering signed estate jewelry from the most prized brands, including Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Verdura, David Webb, Tiffany & Co. and JAR, to name but a few.

How are millennial shoppers approaching “estate” jewelry?

 Millennials value sustainability, and estate jewelry is inherently just that. This generation has played a large role in furthering the pre-owned watch and vintage, or “estate” jewelry markets. Again, value is most important as well as authenticity. Our customers come to us especially because they know they can trust the pieces in our cases are genuine – meaning they are as advertised. We meticulously vet every piece of jewelry that comes through the door before placing them in our cases. Signed estate jewelry is authenticated using current best practices, and all estate pieces are evaluated for metal content and gemstone integrity.

 

The other allure of estate jewelry for the maturing millennial shopper is the distinct style of a vintage design. Layering retro gold link bracelets, each possessing disparate link designs, proves far more captivating than the usual stacks of bangles and bracelets adhered to by many. The draw of estate jewelry, at least for us and our customers, is not simply its idiosyncrasy but the stories each piece tells – from the time period it was created, which denotes the influence of both the piece’s design and materials, to its potentially storied provenance.

 

What Brands are you seeing the millennial and Gen Z demographic trending toward as they collect for their ownheirs?

We are a mecca for historic collectors of the iconic jewelry brand Verdura, whose fabulous history and classic yet playful designs have appealed to smartly dressed society doyennes for generations.

Buccellati is yet another favorite brand we carry. A storied family-run Italian brand, its signature craftsmanship remains a literal gold standard in jewelry circles. Co-creative director, Lucrezia Buccellati is the fourth generation of the family to lead the firm; and, she is now a fellow Palm Beacher.

Serafino Consoli has defined its place in the market as a fashion-legacy brand with an innovative, proprietary mechanism that will adapt from a size 1 to a size 12 as well as signature rings that convert into bracelets are, which are easily passed on from generation to generation.

Other notable brands gracing our cases include Vhernier, Marina B and Aletto Brothers, as well as modern maestros Fernando Jorge, Silvia Furmanovich and the Bakelite bangles of Mark Davis, which embody Palm Beach-style.

Historic brands are often favored when buying estate jewelry. Customers typically lean toward signed pieces by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, David Webb and Tiffany & Co. in addition to pieces with a celebrity or storied provenance.

On the watch front, we’re finding millennials are increasingly moving away from some of the most prominent brands favored by their parents, such as Rolex and Patek Philippe. Panerai and IWC are surging in popularity particularly with our customers in their 20s, 30s and 40s.  We’re also finding many customers who in years past would have considered Patek for a fine dress wristwatch are now gravitating towards Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron-Constantin.

How do you feel about the lab diamonds hitting the bridal and fashion markets?

We have no plans to offer lab-grown diamonds for a variety of reasons.

Most importantly, lab-grown diamonds do not hold their value. Unlike natural diamonds, the price of lab-grown diamonds is a small fraction of what it was when they were first introduced.  The pricing of lab-grown diamonds has fallen steadily over the past few years, and we expect this trend to continue.

What’s a fake Monet painting worth?  Even if it’s a tremendous copy, the answer is… not much!  The same is true in the diamond market.

 What advice can you give other millennials entering their family business?

 A lot of businesses spend time thinking about how they can quickly sell something to customers, get them out the door and move on to the next customer.

 

We do the opposite. We want customers to feel so comfortable in our stores they don’t want to leave. Most importantly, from the salespeople to the jewelers, our employees genuinely love to spend time with our customers. They want to help them.

We have built lounges and bars into our stores. We serve coffee and champagne. For us, operating the stores is just as much about the customer experience as making the sale.

What legacy will you leave on Palm Beach, the jewelry industry and your family name?

 We view ourselves as stewards of two historic jewelry brands: Greenleaf & Crosby and Betteridge. We hope our two sons will take over the business one day. We want to leave them a thriving endeavor, built to last another hundred years.

Although we are from Greenwich, the truth is most of our best friends and customers have relocated to Palm Beach. Taking care of all of those long-term relationships and forming new ones in Palm Beach is what drives us to excel every day.