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A celebrity chef, a watch technician, and a new store opening were the ingredients of a great store opening event for Long’s Jewelers, who teamed up with a watch brand and a local restaurant to debut the new Long’s location in Natick, Massachusetts, in style on September 10, 2007. Long’s has three to five events in each of the seven Long’s stores every year. For this new store, Long’s is planning five more events before the end of the year, including a David Yurman event for fashionistas in partnership with a local clothing boutique and a local fashion editor.

HOST: Long’s Jewelers.

CONCEPT: “Masters of Taste and Time.” This event brings together experts in their fields: Breitling timepieces and local celebrity chef Ming Tsai of Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The event also included the ribbon cutting for the new Long’s store. Ribbon cutting speakers included Bob Rottenberg, Long’s CEO, State Senator Karen Spilka, and the president of the MetroWest chamber of commerce.

PROMOTIONAL PARTNERS: Chef Ming Tsai helped secure wine that was served at the evening event. Long’s opted not to have a media sponsor. “We wanted to really focus on the guests and treat them to something special that we were able to control more closely,” says Rebecca Garnick, Long’s marketing director.

CHARITY: None.

PLANNING: Long’s managed all the event logistics and major event planning projects. Long’s worked with caterer “East Meets West,” based in Boston, to create a menu based on Chef Tsai’s recipes. Long’s public relations agency, Kortenhaus Communications, helped with the event concepts and brought in some new faces to the event.

VENUE: Long’s newest 9,500 square foot location in Natick. The store sets new standards for shopping with an elegant, yet welcoming and relaxed atmosphere featuring a fireplace, plush seating, and coffee bar. “When we design each store the flow during an event is always in the back of our minds,” says Garnick. “During this event, we got to see how the store performed with more than 300 people present. You always find out that there are nooks where people gather. In this store we have the men’s jewelry near the watches, which we discovered is a really good thing: When the men put their glasses down, they are right there.”