Welcome to Ouros Gems

May 05, 2019

So, I'm doing a thing. I've had this site on the back burner since 2017 and chose not to post anything until I was ready to launch. But like many endeavors, there never seems to be a good time, you are never really ready, and the best course of action is often to dive into the deep end and hope you can kick hard enough to make it back to the surface. That is the intent of this business - I am making a small dive into a very large pool, hoping to expand my skills and passion for jewelry design into a true career.

I'm a geologist by background and for the past ten years have work in the oil & gas industry, based out of Houston. I have a PhD in the geosciences and know a lot about rocks. I also worked in the jewelry industry on the sales side for four years while studying for my undergraduate and masters degrees. Today, I work in an environment filled with similarly minded scientists and business people. The women I work with love to wear stylish and eclectic jewelry. One day, while I lived overseas, I was making my annual pilgrimage to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, when a colleague asked me to find something interesting for her. I found a diamond gemstrand, and every year since, I returned with something new and interesting for her and her friends.

Since returning to Houston, I realized that I very much enjoyed the hunt for cool stones and started to think up ideas for designs I wanted to see in jewelry. Engaging in a business environment, I caught onto the idea of the "power suit" - that outfit you wear when you want to get noticed, makes you feel confident and memorable. A conversation starter. I understood then that I wanted to do something similar with design and make statement pieces for women working in all manners of business. Ouros Gems was born!

I hope you find my pieces interesting. I like pairing unusual stones and colors together. I'm fond of opal, spinel, garnet, and sapphires. I love diamond beads! My early inventory features a lot of gem strands, but soon there will be a plethora of earrings and pendants in gold and silver. 

This blog is meant to do two things: 1) highlight my journey as a budding entrepreneur; and 2) educate people on the awesomeness that is the earth. So often, I see jewelers sing the song of historical allure that surrounds gems, which is interesting, but it's only half the story. The really cool element of gemstones is where they come from and how they formed. The diamond in your wedding band has taken millions of years to form and undergone an incredible journey to make it to the surface of the earth, where it is then mined, polished, and expertly crafted into a ring you will love forever.

I want to tell that story - stories about why sapphires come in an array of colors; why Colombian emeralds are bluish while Brazilian emeralds are so green; and did you know that there is a quartz deposit in Pakistan that has gas and oil inclusions in perfectly clear crystal? This planet is fascinating and the stones you wear have an actual history. Let's explore it together!

Also in History of Gems

Hunting for Topaz

June 09, 2019

Ever wonder how and where topaz forms? Well search no further! I had the opportunity to hunt for some in the hill country of Texas. Fun times were had by all.

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