Living & Style DESIGN
Carlsbad’s Gemological Institute of America headquarters serves as the beating heart of the county’s small-but-mighty jewelry industry Shine Bright
Jeweler Robert M. Shipley launched the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in 1931 in a bid to introduce more rigorous standards to the Wild West–esque state of the gem industry. The institute created its diamond grading system 22 years later. Headquartered in Carlsbad, GIA now produces reports evaluating diamonds and other stones, develops new gem-identification technology, and trains budding jewelers and gemologists— including now-major players like Cartier’s deputy chief commercial officer, Mercedes Abramo, and Tacori CEO Paul Tacorian. Graduates have access to industry contacts, career fairs, and a deeply supportive alumni network, many of whom have set up shop nearby their alma mater. Meet the GIA alums putting their shine on San Diego’s growing jewelry industry. KASÍA JEWELRY “I was pretty much giving my jewelry away,” Kasia Zygnerska Rosales recalls of her early days in the industry. Nowadays, with diamond expertise from GIA and nearly a decade of business experience, she’s got the entrepreneurial acumen to price her pieces at their worth—while still making her brand approachable. Determined to shake off fine jewelry’s stuffy reputation from the platinum- and princess-cut days of the ’80s, Rosales embraces interesting textures and colored stones, offering thoughtful custom designs and ready-made pieces at price points ranging from the low hundreds to five figures.
BY AMELIA RODRIGUEZ
alk into any high-end jewelry store in the US and you can emerge with a diamond as pedigreed as a Westminster winner. With grades in color, cut, clarity, and carat weight, your gem’s report card proves it’s worth the paycheck or five you dropped on it. But before the 1950s, there was no reliable way to guarantee you weren’t walking away with a pricy piece of glass. W
54 MAY 2023
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