Q & A with Designer Kara Ross

While Kara Ross has been formally designing jewelry since 2003, her passion for gemstones and minerals started when she was just a little girl. A huge reason I am such a fan is the fact that she has a graduate gemologist degree from GIA and continues to give back and support the GIA.  I also love following her rock hunting adventures during Tucson, where her rock hound tendencies come to life.  With the opening of her very own boutique on Madison Avenue late last year and her new collections launching soon, I knew I had to catch up with the busy designer (who also designs some cool handbags) and see what she is up to:

We are working on many exciting projects right now: we have created a brand new fine jewelry collection that includes more than 50 pieces – all completely new styles! We will present these to the press at a private dinner in New York next month; afterwards they will travel to the Couture Show in Las Vegas, and then to Los Angeles for the celebrity stylists to see. Finally, we will present the collection to the international press in Paris for the first time, during the Couture shows in July. To coincide with the collection, we are launching a new brand campaign that I’m very proud of – it features my daughter Avery as the face of the brand, because she conveys the quintessential Kara Ross customer! I hope the campaign will remind people that I am, first and foremost, a fine jeweler.

When I was a teenager, my parents took me on a trip to Africa where I bought some loose gemstones. When I returned to Philadelphia I designed my first ring around them – ever since I’ve been in love with jewelry. I attended the Gemological Institute of America over 20 years ago, and became a certified gemologist just prior to opening my business.

(below are two photos I took while studying at GIA of the pieces of jewelry by Kara Ross that were on display)

I am lucky to have many proud moments! One of the most recent was when I opened the first Kara Ross store on Madison Avenue last fall. I have also had the tremendous opportunity to collaborate with the White House, creating official gifts of state.

I think this is a fabulous moment for fine jewelry – it seems that the sky is the limit, with strengthening sales and all the new social media opportunities! I want to make the most of it while remaining true to my vision along the way.

I confess that my opinion changes from time to time. At the moment I am in love with my new Pangea ring, which pays tribute to the earth. Without getting too technical. . . Pangaea was the name of the enormous landmass formed by the world’s continents hundreds of years ago, before they were broken up into the seven separate masses.

The bezel of the Pangea ring is set with an enormous cabochon stone that represents the world. A diamond (positioned like the North Star) on the very top is drilled to allow the “earth” to spin inside its setting, mimicking the rotation of the solid Earth around its own axis. Jagged rows of pavé diamonds reflect the shifting continents fusing together, and I like to think that despite the drift all the pieces remain enveloped in one mass, continuing to come together and forming a harmonious whole. The gemstone mosaic shapes on the sides of the ring represent the cultures and ethnicities of the world all living peacefully together.