Welcome to my blog, Jewels Abound! I’m Abby, and fine jewelry and gemstones have always fascinated me.
When my best friend and I were little, we’d buy wedding magazines to flip through, and I always picked my favorite rings first. The dresses were an afterthought. The Lester and Sue Smith Gem Vault at the Houston Museum of Natural Science is one of my favorite places in the world. In high school, I dreamed of studying to become a Graduate Gemologist at the Gemological Institute of America. Let’s just say I learned all about the 4 C’s long before I memorized the periodic table. (Actually, I don’t think I ever finished memorizing the periodic table).
Youth and the fear of doing something different caused me to chicken out and go to a traditional four-year college instead. Luckily, a series of fortuitous events took me around the world and eventually brought me back to what I’ve always loved. I started studying gemology online while living abroad and kept going after moving back to the U.S.
In 2015, I started working for Zadok Jewelers in Houston, one of the largest, most successful independent family-owned jewelers in the country. As of this writing, I’m approaching the end of my studies to become a GIA Graduate Gemologist. The retail industry is changing every day because of the internet, and as part of both the Zadok e-commerce and front-of-house sales teams, I’m on the front lines. It’s a really interesting time to be in the business.
That’s how I got the idea to start Jewels Abound. There isn’t anyone out there writing about workng in the current luxury retail industry from both an in-store and an online perspective. There isn’t anyone writing about the things I wish I had known when I first started at Zadok, either. And don’t get me started on a lot of the jewelry- and diamond-buying guides online.
Most of all? I need an internet hobby that doesn’t involve reading depressing news stories and then taking quizzes to find out what my favorite salad says about my personality. You know, to distract myself from the depressing news stories.
I have no idea what this blog will turn into, but that’s part of the fun I suppose.