OUR STORY

Samara Joseph Ghougassian has lived a unique life experience, an experience which has shaped her appreciation and philosophy of jewelry design.  Samara was born into a family with a very broad international life.  Her father, a diplomat in the service of the United States, would often return from abroad with raw gemstones, received as gifts in a wide range of foreign locations.  By age 12 Samara was analyzing and appreciating the specific beauty of both exotic and common gemstones in her growing collection.  As an artistic soul, Samara found her fascination with the beauty and the science of these natural wonders.

The allure of natural mineral beauty only grew as Samara’s father advanced in his field, as the entire family began living abroad in Yemen.  Samara recalls, “I was fascinated with the variety of materials, the beauty and the artistry of the jewelry worn by the wives.  The ladies were very nice to me, a young girl who always wanted to talk about the metals, the gemstones and the designs!”  This exposure intensified with her father’s appointment as US Ambassador to the rich energy state of Qatar,  where Samara found herself in the company of royalty … and their jewelry.

With this background, it was only natural for Samara to pursue her fascination by attending the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the acknowledged world leader in gem science and jewelry design.   With her primary degree completed, Samara stayed on at GIA to complete the advanced Graduate Gemologist program.  She would soon begin putting these degrees to good use.

In 1998, Samara set herself in the perfect place:  With a personal life that had advanced alongside her education to marriage and her own family, Samara was able to locate in Beirut, Lebanon, a city that not only witnessed her parents’ courtship but is home to the renowned Armenian-Lebanese jewelry manufacturing community.  Not only was this the perfect place for Samara to access the finest workmanship available anywhere, but the short distance to the rich economies of Qatar and Dubai made for easy re-acquaintances.  Soon Samara was commissioned to design unique works for the very same royal families whose jewelry she admired as a girl, and Samara Joseph Jewelry was born.



Working with very wealthy clients and royalty presented some unique challenges and opportunities for Samara.  “On one hand, it’s obviously a high-end market with very demanding clientele.  But there’s another side to working one-on-one with customers who have such resources:  When someone can have whatever they want, and they look to you for ideas and inspiration, well it really makes you feel like the artist.  The look of joy and wonder when a client first sees a finished work is the most gratifying part of my job.”

That design philosophy is what drives Samara and Samara Joseph Jewelry today.  Upon return to the United States in 2006, the business of designing private clients expanded from the Gulf States and Lebanon to Southern California.  By bringing designs executed by the finest quality ateliers in Beirut, Samara has been able provide one-of-a-kind creations to all of her clients.  In fact, opportunities to expand her knowledge and understanding of fine gems increased, and Samara found herself engaged as a consultant “in the field” to gauge the quality of raw gemstones at the mines themselves.

Samara’s dedication has gone as far as one could go, even to the recently war-torn country of Sierra Leone, evaluating rough diamonds.  These experiences have only enriched Samara’s understanding of the real value and human substance in the story behind fine gemstones.  (Note:  Samara Joseph Jewelry is 100% dedicated to ending the trade in “conflict diamonds” or “blood diamonds” and only uses gemstones certified through the Kimberly Process as conflict-free.)

Engaging in all this activity may seem like a lot, but managing clients thousands of miles apart, creating new designs, scouring the Earth for quality materials and overseeing the quality of manufacturing back in Beirut have yielded unique insights for Samara.  “I became increasingly interested in using technology to make my work more efficient,” she explains.  “Using computer design, I’ve been able to show clients very realistic renderings of what finished designs will look like.  The Internet allows teleconferencing with clients.  Designs can be transmitted to my ateliers in Beirut with precision, for complete quality control.”  A Brave New World … for one of the oldest human fascinations:  Jewelry.

As this latest advance of Samara’s abilities unfolds, she remains grounded in her fundamental fascination with natural beauty, with an artist’s eye for design and a gemologist’s understanding of scientific properties and craftsmanship.  The result is a unique portfolio of designs, limited-production jewelry lines that are inspired by basic artistic insights and executed with the finest quality and craftsmanship in the world.