For Release: Immediately Upon Receipt
Contact: Suzanne Trevellyan 518.392.4367

R.H. Van Alstyne Celebrates Grand Opening
of Warren Street, Hudson Location

HUDSON, NY-- R. H. Van Alstyne Fine Jewelry has brought its unique selection of quality jewelry to Warren Street in Hudson after fourteen successful years in Chatham, NY. The week-long grand opening celebration runs March 17th to the 21st and features a ribbon cutting, give aways, a free drawing and a super sale.

“We’ve been gearing up for this event for months,” owner Rita Van Alstyne said. “Our carpenters have completed building the new showcases and my staff has painstakingly displayed our wonderful inventory. I’ve been looking to expand our business onto Warren Street for years. It’s such a great opportunity for us.”

R.H. Van Alstyne features fine quality hand-crafted jewelry as well as stunning pieces of their own design. Diamonds, precious stones, gold, platinum and silver jewelry are the focus of the merchandising mix yet an interesting collection of gift items are also available including picture frames, jewelry boxes, sterling baby gifts, grandfather clocks and more.

The grand opening celebration will kick off Thursday, March 17. The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon cutting at noon. For the full week, Van Alstyne’s Hudson store will have 20% off their entire inventory, give a free gift with purchase (while supplies last) and hold a free drawing for a $500 gift certificate (no purchase necessary). There will be an opening reception Friday, March 18 from 5-7pm.

R.H. Van Alstyne complements her fine retail line by offering expert jewelry and watch repair, expert pearl and bead restringing, appraisals, silver repair, expert engraving and jewelry cleaning. Owner Rita Van Alstyne is a graduate gemologist (G.I.A.) and she trained as a bench jeweler.

Van Alstyne’s path to jewelry store owner is an interesting one, and started more than fifteen years ago. “I’ve always had an intense curiosity about fine jewelry,” she explained. “And after a friend invited me to tag along with her to a New York City jewelry show, I was hooked.”

Van Alstyne returned to Chatham with $500 in jewelry and sold it to friends and neighbors from her dining room table. “We knew it was time to expand when I needed to use the table to eat,” she joked. After converting a barn on the property into a small store, Van Alstyne quickly outgrew that space too.

“I grew up in Chatham and opening a store in the village seemed like the next logical step. When I decided to make the move, I felt confident that it would be successful,” Van Alstyne said. She rented 32 Main Street in Chatham, quickly outgrowing that space. In 2000 she purchased 42 Main Street, where her business remains today.

From the very beginning Van Alstyne had a clear idea of what she wanted to offer - of who she wanted to be. “We’re striving to return to a time when the local jewelry store is where you go for all the milestones: engagements, bridal, anniversaries, even birthdays, bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs, christenings and first communions.”
Van Alstyne’s business philosophy is a simple one: “treat my customers and employees the way I’d want to be treated and to be scrupulously honest,” she said.

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