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Jewels By the Sea celebrating 40 years in Rehoboth Beach

Since 1981, owners Pishu and Jaya Aildasani have been a diamond’s throw from the beach
May 24, 2021

Story Location:
Jewels By the Sea
13 Rehoboth Avenue
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971
United States

The list of changes to Rehoboth Beach over the past four decades is long and varied. One of the constants has been Jewels By The Sea, which is celebrating 40 years of business this year.

Owned and operated by Pishu and Jaya Aildasani, Jewels By The Sea opened on Rehoboth Avenue in 1981 and it’s been there ever since.

Standing in the mirror-lined, jewelry-cased showroom, Pishu said the store has changed location a few times over the years, but it’s always been on the north side of Rehoboth Avenue, close to the Boardwalk.

“We’ve been on the ocean block the whole time,” said Pishu, proudly.

Pishu, originally from Pune, India, has been making people look good for pretty much all his adult life. He came to America as a young man more than 50 years ago to work for an uncle as a tailor at the uncle’s custom-suit shop in northern Virginia. A few years after that, he went to work at a T-shirt shop his family owned in Ocean City, Md.

Pishu and Jaya have been married for 42 years. Their relationship began as an arranged marriage through family connections. The two were married after just a few days of knowing each other. Soon after the marriage, Pishu returned to America. Jaya made her trip across the Atlantic three months later.

More than 40 years later, Jaya, originally from Bombay (now called Mumbai), said she can still remember the anxiousness of the three-month-wait. There was concern she’d get to America and Pishu wouldn’t be there, because he could be using the marriage as a way to stay in his new country, she said. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

“It’s the type of thing that happened all the time,” she said.

The young couple hadn’t originally set out to open a shop in Rehoboth Beach. They had been working in Ocean City, but like many business owners in Rehoboth, they were inspired to make a go of it during a visit. Soon after, they decided to open a jewelry store and they’ve been making people look and feel good ever since.

The couple has two daughters - Dimple and Reena. Dimple, five years older than Reena, was on hand for the interview. She said she has fond memories of growing up in the store, running around the Bandstand and Boardwalk with the children of other store owners from 9 a.m. to midnight.

“We grew up in the store,” said Dimple, turning to point to the back room where there used to be a microwave and a couch.

Jaya remembers that time fondly.

“Those were the best days,” she said. “We were all together. It was a job, but it was fun.”

Through it all - raising a family, the introduction of online shopping, COVID-19 - the family credits the business’ longevity to customer service and the ability to adapt. There’s always going to be a collection of gold, silver and diamonds, said Pishu, but styles change and the store has carried those styles too.

There have been other changes too. The business used to be only seasonal - work as hard as possible for  six months and then have six months off. The hours have changed to reflect a growing year-round clientele and to keep up with online retail options.

The drive to work - specifically how long it takes - was the change that Pishu voiced the strongest opinion on. It used to take 10 minutes to get from their house in Lewes, he said.

“Now, it takes an hour,” he said, shaking his head.

Pishu and Jaya said they recognize they’re getting older, but they don’t have any plans on closing up shop soon. Dimple and her sister live in Virginia, but make the multi-hour trip east regularly to help in the store.

“I’ll probably keep working until I die,” said Pishu, matter of factly. “What else am I going to do, just sit at home?”

Jaya was a little less determined to work that long.

“I have my grandson,” she said, holding Dimple’s 2-and-a-half-year-old son Nikhil.

Jewels By the Sea, 13 Rehoboth Ave., is open seven days a week. For more information, call 302-227-5500.

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