Burdeen's Jewelry of Buffalo Grove to expand 50 percent

Burdeen's Jewelry in Buffalo Grove is undergoing an expansion which will result in a 50 percent increase in space by November, just four years after becoming a free-standing store. Burdeen's is adding 3,000 square feet to make room for its growing pre-owned jewelry and watch collections.

"We have a very large footprint for our pre-owned watches, and we have a lot of estate jewelry," Director of Marketing Dan Patrick said.

"We buy a lot of jewelry over-the-counter from people, we find old estates … from all sorts of situations, so we want to give it the proper space to display it in a more luxurious setting," General Manager Josh Nigut said.

Nigut said the store's owner, Matthew Burdeen, had a vision of being on the forefront of the jewelry business with its pre-owned watch department.

"It's now the biggest in the United States. We have 400 watches on display at any given time, and we're shooting for 800 to 900 watches," he said.

The store is also adding an additional watch brand to its collection, currently featuring seven high-quality brands. And the store plans to expand its bridal department to give it a more intimate and spacious setting.

Original owners Dennis and Sandy Burdeen founded the business in 1980, crafting pins and necklaces from their home, Nigut said. After their pieces were picked up by Nieman Marcus, the couple decided to open a 600-square-foot store in a strip mall.

When they retired in 2009, their son Matthew took ownership with plans for a free-standing luxury store. Four years ago, he opened the store at 1161 W. Lake-Cook Road across the street from where the business was founded. When the expansion opens, the 9,100-square-foot store will be 15 times the size of the mall store.

Nigut said the business aims "to provide a unique product at fantastic price points, and more importantly than anything else, provide our customers with flawless customer service and relationships they can't find elsewhere," he said. "People come to us because of those proprietary unique things, not because we're a mall jewelry store that carries the same thing everyone else does."