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Store sells Hollywood bling

by Suzanne Hurt, published on December 25, 2009 at 3:15 PM

Storyline: New Business RSS Feed
Community Tags business old sacramento

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Does your girlfriend drool over Jennifer Lopez' pink diamond engagement ring? Has your mom sighed over Vivien Leigh's emerald earrings from "Gone With the Wind?" Have you secretly wanted to get your hands on Humphrey Bogart's ring from "Casablanca?"

Florida transplants Kevin and Debra Martin recently opened a celebrity-inspired fashion jewelry store called Filthy Rich in Old Sacramento. The store is the first new business to open in Pioneer Square since remodeling finished in June.

The tiny Pioneer Square is a collection of retail spaces surrounding a brick courtyard still set at the city's original level, at the corner of I and 2nd streets. The square contains a fountain and old gas lamps. Signs advertise vacancies at the rest of the spaces.

Sitting behind arched doors, Filthy Rich offers replicas of jewelry worn by Jackie Kennedy and stars from Hollywood's golden era, as well as bling inspired by today's actors and museum collections.

"This is the first Filthy Rich store in California," said Kevin Martin, who plans to take up residence in Old Sacramento with his wife next summer.

A marketing professional, Mike Shurtleff, came up with the idea for the franchise while he was taking the crown jewels on tour in the United States, Martin said.

Shurtleff then recruited jewelry makers to create molds of jewelry worn by Kennedy and classic stars in movies and publicity photos or from their personal collections. Those pieces, which use cubic zirconica and other synthetic stones, are certified as authentic replicas.

The couple ran three of the stores in St. Augustine, Fla., before Debra Martin got a job at the Raley's headquarters in West Sacramento and they relocated to California.

They now own the right to establish Filthy Rich stores in Sacramento, Eldorado and Placer counties.

Proceeds from sales of some of the jewelry go to charities, such as a fund to help older actors who didn't make much money from their movies and organizations that were supported by Jackie Kennedy, Kevin Martin said.

The store also carries items the Martins picked up at a "dirt market" when they lived in China. Silk purses, ornate metal and ceramic teapots and a hand-carved chess set are among the items they brought back from Asia.

The store, at 900 Second St., Suite A, is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.

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