On Monday, a well-known, Maine-based jewelry store chain celebrated the opening of a new Windham branch.

“We’ve wanted to come to Windham for a while now,” President and CEO Stan Pollack said of G.M. Pollack & Sons’ Nov. 20 grand opening of a store in Shaw’s Plaza. “It’s just exciting to be here.”

“We really want to be your jeweler,” Pollack added, quoting his company’s slogan with a smile.

Monday was a busy day for the jewelry chain. It also marked the opening of the family-run company’s new store in Biddeford, bringing the number of outlets up to 15.

G.M. Pollack was founded 51 years ago by Gerald M. Pollack, Stan’s father, according to Marcia Mathieu, manager of the Windham store. The first store opened in Portland and all but two of the 15 locations are located in Maine.

“‘Something for everyone’ is what we strive for,” said Mathieu.

Mathieu said she went around and introduced herself to a number of neighboring businesses, including competitor Windham Jewelers, where she said she was given a warm reception.

“We welcome them with open arms,” said Kathy Byrnes, owner of Windham Jewelers.

“Stan [Pollack] is a very nice man,” Byrnes said, adding that the two are friends. “We’re a family business, too. They’re just a bigger family.”

“Consumer choice is healthy for a community,” said Barbara Clark, executive director of the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce.

Located between CVS Pharmacy and Fashion Bug clothing store, the G.M. Pollack store carries jewelry, as well as watches and crystal ornaments.

What G.M. Pollack claims they do not carry is diamonds mined in warring nations for the purpose of financing warlords. Known as “conflict diamonds,” these gems are sold clandestinely across the globe.

“We have a very solid policy on conflict diamonds. In a word; No. We don’t carry them,” Larry Reynolds, diamond buyer for G.M. Pollack, said Monday.

Reynolds said his company uses the Kimberley Process, an international system established by the United Nations in 2002 that gives each diamond a paper trail that leads back to where it was mined. G.M. Pollack makes sure each diamond they purchase has the proper paperwork guaranteeing it is conflict-free, Reynolds said.

“We have been known to return product to vendors if they cannot come up with a guarantee,” said Reynolds.

G.M. Pollack is also involved with a number of children’s charities, such as the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center.

The new G.M. Pollack store is “A good trend for Windham,” said Keith Luke, WindhamA? ?s economic development director. Luke said the upscale nature of the store will raise the property value of the surrounding area, which is good news for the community in regard to the commercial-residential tax split. In recent years, the Windham Town Council has made it a priority to increase the proportion of commercial taxes, which the council has said would lessen the burden on residential taxpayers.

Pollack1 The Monday morning ribbon cutting outside the new G. M. Pollack & Sons jewelry store in the Shaw’s Plaza of North WiPollack2 President and CEO Stan Pollack of G. M. Pollack & Sons jewelers cuts the ribbon Monday morning with his wife Doris in the Shaw’s Plaza of North Windham. Pollack3 Barbara Clark of the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce and Stan Pollack of G. M. Pollack & Sons jewelers stand outside the new jewelry store in the Shaw’s Plaza of North Windham. Pollack4 Marcia Mathieu presents a diamond pendant valued at $2,500 by Spanish designer Pep