I’ve visited jewelry stores in New York, San Francisco, Paris, and everywhere in between – famous, glamorous stores all over this country and in other countries, too. But the latest store to completely blow me away is somewhere you might not necessarily expect to find world-class jewels: Joden, tucked away in rural Pennsylvania.
Joden has been the crown jewel of downtown Grove City, PA, since owner Joe Murawski established it there in 1970.
Joden’s online FAQ says “our inventory is vast” and even that feels like an understatement. I don’t know if I’ve ever been to another store with such a volume of inventory spanning different eras and styles. I saw cutting edge contemporary diamond rings, Faberge lorgnettes, intricate webs of Georgian era pearls, lifelike Victorian micromosaics, museum quality Renaissance revival masterpieces, and everything in between. The pure quantity of inventory – and the quality of that quantity – is remarkable.
I could tell you all day that I saw a lot of good jewelry at Joden and it wouldn’t come close to communicating the depth of what I mean…so I’m going to show it to you. Hold on to your hats, darlings.
The first thing you’ll notice when you walk into Joden is that their store feels like a cross between a shop and a museum. The long room is lined with brightly lit display cases of jewelry, as one would expect, but some of the finest pieces are mounted on the walls in individual vitrines. Each of these showpieces is displayed solo, in front of an enlarged photograph of itself.
Obviously, I went straight for these superstar pieces. Look at this brooch!! Art Deco era, with a killer 17+ carat galaxy of a black opal. No wonder it gets its own case.
As we take this visual tour, please do remember that every piece I’m showing you is currently for sale by Joden. If you fall in love, reach out to Joe and he’ll sell you whatever tickles your fancy. There’s contact info on Joden’s website, or you can call Joe at (724) 458-1111. Joe is friendly and he loves the phone – tell him I say hello!
Objectively speaking, a necklace made of 100+ year old dead bugs should be gross…but I fell head over heels for this antique French scarab necklace. I love the texture of the beetle shells, their unique iridescence. This piece didn’t come home with me that day, but I can’t get it out of my mind.
Which brings me to another important point: Grove City is charming, but don’t worry if you don’t have time for a road trip. Joden offers eCommerce on their website, as well constant appearances from their massive inventory on both their Instagram and the Joden Girl blog.
From delicate and whimsical to hooooooooly moly! How about these diamonds?
Both rings are objectively simple, but the scale and cut of both stones makes them MAJOR showstoppers. The top is a long, lovely 6.58 carat emerald cut diamond flanked by trap and baguette cut side stones. The lower is a voluptuous and 5.95 carat East-West set marquise cut diamond.
One sleek and geometric, the other curvaceous and seductive – both utterly glamorous. I couldn’t decide which one I loved the most, but luckily they both fit me.
HCJ itself is a beautiful, open-hearted sanctuary of a place. Big, bright windows, elegant displays, and the nicest people you will ever meet.
Loudoun County, VA, is known for its wineries today, but it has historically been a center of the region’s fox hunting tradition. 
What is a dress clip?
Chelsea, the design genius behind Jubilee Jones, collected vintage dress clips from flea markets around LA for years before deciding to start making them herself. A longtime jewelry lover with a fashion background, Chelsea’s favorite part of dress clips are their versatility.
Jubilee Jones was kind enough to lend me some dress clips to play with and let me tell you, it was hard to give them back. I loved them.