Louis Martin Jewelers

Designers of the new Louis Martin Jewelers store in New York's Rockefeller Center took the prevailing art deco style to heart, creating a space that reflects the visual references of the landmark building.

The designers'challenges were many: pipes running through the ceiling, broken plaster and, perhaps the most difficult, two facades with large windows, both landmarked. The locations of doors and windows couldn't be changed. Because the space is a square with its entrance in one corner, GRID/3 International (New York) outfitted it with a large, round island of showcases bisected by a walkway down the middle. Mahogany and cherry cases are trimmed in stainless steel, and brown and other neutral colors fill out the palette.

But the focal point of the space is a 4-foot-high, 45-foot-long mural that stretches across a curving back wall. Rendered in sepia tones and in a style reminiscent of the 1930s, it depicts the diamond's journey from mining to processing, cutting and sorting, and finally to its use in jewelry. Painted by Modeworks (New York) from GRID/3's design, the mural fits in nicely with the Rockefeller Center ambience, and is a landmark in its own right.

Client Team: Louis Martin Jewelers, New York — Louis Shamie and Martin Mizrahi, owners Design Team: GRID/3 International, New York — Keith Kovar, principal; Mike Schneider, designer. Suppliers: Foremost Contracting, Brooklyn, N.Y. (general contractor); NJS Carpentry Inc., Union, N.J. (fixturing); Monterey, Santa Ana, Calif. (carpeting); Halo Lighting, Elk Grove Village, Ill., and Winona Lighting, Winona, Minn. (lighting); Blumenthal, New York (wallcoverings); Sherwin-Williams, Cleveland (paint); Modeworks, New York (mural)

Photographer: Amanda Yates-Hagan, Virden, Manitoba