Sami & Morgan Nicki Saatchi · July 13, 2007 · Westhampton Beach, NY

Chapter One

How It Began

Sami V. Saatchi and Morgan Nicki Saatchi — Nicki to family and friends — were high school sweethearts on the South Shore of Long Island. They went on to undergraduate school together, where Sami worked in a beautiful jewelry store in upstate New York and first caught what he calls the sparkle bug.

In the summer of 2002 — while Nicki worked on her Master's — Sami took what was meant to be a brief detour from a path toward medicine, and enrolled at the Gemological Institute of America to see whether jewelry could be a life. He fell in love with it almost immediately.

In 2003, fresh out of graduate school, they opened a small jewelry-and-clothing booth at Island Vendors in Oceanside. The jewelry side took off. They knew they needed more room.

Chapter Two

Growing in Oceanside

A local jeweler down the road was retiring, and the Saatchis rented his 1,000 square foot showroom. They built it out themselves. Sami worked the floor every day while Nicki began her teaching career in Oceanside — joining him after school and on weekends. Her teaching career would last ten years before she came to the business full-time.

In 2005, Sami and Nicki read an article in INSTORE Magazine about an elite buying group called the Independent Jewelers Organization — a hand-selected community of jewelers held to the highest ethical and professional standards. They applied together. They were accepted. That summer they attended their first IJO show in Boston — where they not only gained access to designers they could never have reached on their own, but met industry mentors and friends who, more than twenty years later, are still part of their lives. IJO would change the trajectory of the store, and open doors very few jewelers ever walk through. (More on that below.)

SVS became one of the earliest Long Island retailers to bring in PANDORA — at a time when the brand was a small 12×24 box of beads no one had heard of. It exploded. SVS built a dedicated shop-in-shop inside the store that lasted fifteen years.

Then, in October 2012, Hurricane Sandy tore across Long Island. Like their neighbors, the Saatchis lost cars, their home flooded, and the showroom sat without power for weeks. They rebuilt and reopened — more determined than ever to stay in their community.

The Day We Said Yes · Early 2013

Stripped to the Studs · 2013

Open Since Late 2013

Starting in 2016 · Long-Time Supporter

The Long Beach International Film Festival

SVS Fine Jewelry has supported the Long Beach International Film Festival since 2016. As host sponsor in the early years, we produced fundraising events like the Diamond Dig, Bling & Bubbly, Casino Night, and the Champagne Fundraiser — every dollar raised going to Cohen Children's Medical Center. Today we attend as VIP guests of one of Long Island's signature cultural events.

March 4, 2020 · The Carltun, East Meadow

Recognized as a Long Island Family Business

SVS Fine Jewelry was named an honoree of the inaugural Long Island Family Business Awards, hosted by RichnerLIVE and Herald Community Newspapers. The evening recognized the family businesses that build Long Island — from one-person shops to multigenerational firms. SVS was honored in the 1–20 employees category, alongside Long Island institutions like Stew Leonard's.

Inaugural Honoree · 1–20 Employees · RichnerLIVE × Herald Community Newspapers

2020 · NY On Pause

We Couldn't Be Open. So We Made Something.

Ten days after the Carltun gala, New York went on Pause. SVS closed its doors for the first time in seventeen years. While the showroom sat dark, Nicki climbed a ladder and painted two messages across the storefront windows: Apart but United and #LoveIsntCancelled.

Weeks later, the SVS family designed and produced the SVS Em[Brace]let — a limited-edition genuine gemstone bracelet whose entire profit went to Mount Sinai South Nassau's COVID-19 Relief Fund, the hospital one mile from our showroom. In October, we delivered the check at the hospital entrance.

Awards & Honors

Recognized by Long Island. Year After Year.

Sami was honored with the Kings of New York award by Long Island Press. Nicki was honored with the Long Island Premier Business Women award by the Long Island Herald. SVS has been voted Best of Long Island in both Jewelry Store and Wedding Jeweler categories, and was named Oceanside Chamber Business of the Year.

In the Press

From Long Island to Las Vegas.

Whether on Long Island television with Donna Drake on The Live It Up Show, or walking the Le Vian red carpet in Las Vegas with Mario Lopez, the Saatchis have represented SVS — and Long Island — on every stage we've been invited to.

Giving · Year Over Year

Where Long Island Gives Back.

Annual toy drives for Cohen Children's Medical Center. Support for the Ronald McDonald House. Surf for All, which brings adaptive surfing to children and adults with disabilities. Local school productions, Little League teams, and community events across Oceanside, Long Beach, Rockville Centre, and Nassau County. Year after year. Every year.