Gem Quiz

Once an Outcast, I Have Found Acceptance in Recent Years

Long before hybrid cars become popular, there was me.

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2024

INSTORE Staff

Once an Outcast, I Have Found Acceptance in Recent Years

FIRST FOUND BY MINERS looking for rhodolite in East Africa in the 1960s, I was initially thought to be spessartite, but I am actually a combination of that stone and two other garnets: almandite and pyrope. That mix didn’t really excite anyone, however, and I picked up a name based on the Swahili term for “outcast” as I was discarded by the bucket load. The name has stuck though, even as collectors and jewelry designers started showing an appreciation for my navel orange beauty in the ’70s.

Who am I?

She Wanted to Spend More Time with Her Kids. She Called Wilkerson.

Your children are precious. More precious than gold? Absolutely! Just ask Lesley Ann Davis, owner of Lesley Ann Jewels, an independent jewelry store that — until the end of 2023 — had quite a following in Houston, Texas. To spend more time with her four sons, all in high school, she decided to close her store. Luckily, she was familiar with Wilkerson and called them as soon as she knew she wanted to move on to bigger, better and more family-focused things. Was she happy with her decision? Yes, she was. Says Davis, “Any owner looking to make that life change, looking to retire, looking to close, looking for a pause in their career, I would recommend Wilkerson. Hands down!”