Once upon a time,
a long long time ago, an 11-year old girl went to her first gem show.
This was the girl who dug in the creeks looking for beautiful rocks, who grew up climbing trees, swimming in the ocean, happiest with muddy feet, on an adventure. That gem show opened up a world of infinite beauty & discovery, of crystal caverns, fossilized shark teeth & ammonites. But what to do with all those magical rocks? There wasn't really an answer until that little girl got a lot bigger (sort of an inside joke - she grew up to be 6' 2") and went to an amazing high school with a master jeweler professor - who eventually, after much promising of exceptional behavior, let the freshman into her intro fabrication class. Learning to solder and fabricate jewelry was incredible enough - but when the master jeweler showed her the beauty of lapidary work and how to incorporate those cabochons & rough facets into jewelry - it was all over. A jewelry obsessive was born - filing bracelets in the back of algebra class, sneaking into open studio time instead of volleyball study hall...
Over time, after many more classes - dual honors degrees in art history & anthropology from UC Santa Barbara - and many adventures overseas - buying gems in India, exploring the wadis of Jordan & working an archaeological dig along the Mediterranean coast of Israel - that little girl grew up and started her own jewelry line in 2006. It wasn't easy, and she was super shy, but she worked hard and learned & learned. Her line debuted at JCK Las Vegas in 2007, and just one year later she was honored as one of the Top Ten New Designers of 2008 at JA New York.
And then she took a ten year break from jewelry because sometimes there's other things you need to learn in order to do what you love better. During those ten years, amazing things happened. She met her person and got married, acquired two awesome stepsons and a crazy puppy. She went into the world of tech & data analytics, and learned critical key aspects of business mentality and effectiveness. And late one night, after lots of wine and an incredible conversation with a great friend, a handshake deal went down, and the jewelry line was reborn with a fantastic new team, and a whole new knowledge base.
The Team is everything.
Together, we’re a blend of artistry, adventure, and a lot of irreverence—united by a love of beautiful design, extraordinary stones and the stories they tell. Our jewels are a vibrant celebration infused with joyful glamour, embodying a sense of intrinsic happiness—our distinctive signature.
We're incredibly grateful to be here, and to share our love of beautiful gems & jewels with you.
THE TEAM
Alexandra, CCO
I'm Alexandra, and this whole thing is because I fell in love with the magical beauty of stones. I'm in charge of the collections, designs, fabrication & stone sourcing - what we call the Design Lab.
Monica, COO, GIA GG
Monica is our COO & GIA Graduate Gemologist, a petite badass-smartass. She handles our production, pricing, manages our retail accounts, tracks inventory and makes sure I haven't bought anything radioactive. She's irreverent & awesome and is from the OG team.
Alice, Fashion Guru
Alice is our artistic sophisticate, an edgy brilliant fashionista & merchandising genius who styles us, our clients and our blog. She’s also from the OG team, equally at home riding bareback in a ballgown or popping champagne.
Ian, Digital Director
Ian is our Digital Director & photographer, part sorcerer, translating terrible sketches & hand waving into tangible CAD form for our production team in Los Angeles.
Ginny, CRO
Ginny is my petite 2am handshake partner in crime, our badass Chief Revenue Officer. She keeps us all in line and executing, and has the most extraordinary 5-year plan in mind for us.
How this works
People ask me where my stones come from. The honest answer is: lots of places.
By the time a stone gets to me, it’s passed through several hands — cutter, dealer, broker, sometimes more. I can tell you the country of origin. If I'm buying from the miner, I can tell you the mine. I can often tell you the cutter.
Most brands skip this conversation entirely and just say “ethically sourced” — which, sadly, has come to mean very little.
I’d rather just tell you what I do.
My stones come from three places.
Trade shows — mostly Tucson in February and JCK Las Vegas in June. I look at tens of thousands of stones across a week. I buy from cutters and dealers I trust.
Overseas buying trips — mostly India. Long-term relationships — there are dealers I’ll buy a piece from the moment they mention it, because I trust them and they know my eye. One of my favorite dealers is literally the first person I ever bought from, at eleven, at my first gem show.
One more thing worth saying out loud.
When I use North American stones — Montana sapphires, Canadian diamonds, California tourmaline — those come with the clearest documented chains of custody in the industry. Montana sapphires can be traced to the patch of land they came out of. Canadian diamonds carry laser-inscribed serial numbers.
The product page for each piece will give you all the info I have for that stone.
My metals come from Stuller and Rio Grande.
Both are American. Both are certified members of the Responsible Jewellery Council — one of the only certifications in the industry that means something.
Stuller’s manufactured metals are certified 100% recycled. Rio Grande’s gold is over 85% recycled, the rest from American mines, and their entire facility runs on solar — they actually generate more electricity than they use and send the surplus back to the grid. The gold used in production through my LA partner is mostly recycled too. I’m getting their documentation.
On treatments.
Colored stones are often treated before they reach a designer. I don’t buy stones disclosed as treated, with one occasional exception — heat. Heat treatment is routine for many stones - but I still rarely buy them as I don't like the manipulation. If a stone has been heated, the product page will say so.
I don’t use lab-grown.
Not as judgment — lab stones can be beautiful, and the technology is impressive. But the whole point of this brand is rare and natural. Every stone is what it looks like.
Made where.
In the US, specifically California. Designed in Montecito. Made in Los Angeles. The one of a kind pieces and most limited pieces I make myself by hand.
No overseas production, no third-party assembly, no anonymous factory floor.
What I won’t claim.
“Conflict-free.” “Ethically sourced.” “Fair-trade certified.” Any of the language the industry has spent decades draining of meaning.
I’d rather you trust me with what I know to be real and true than pretend I'll impress you with what I don’t.
— Alexandra