Hello!
As this is my first blog, I figured I’d start off by giving you a few more details about who I am other than the designer and maker of your new favorite jewelry collections. Whereas the rest of fromgemstojewelry.com addresses me in the 3rd person, the blog will be a space for me to act as myself. My name is Paul Vermylen III G.G., a.k.a. PV3 - you can call me Paul if you prefer.
Let’s see….well, professionally I refer to myself as a Graduate Gemologist Jewelry Artist. Within the industry, that first title and the “G.G.” at the end of my name is a well recognized and respected professional title that I earned after spending two years studying everything - ahem - From Gems to Jewelry at the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, CA. The G.G. is the crème de la crème of diplomas offered by the GIA, but I also earned every other diploma they offered - Graduate Jeweler, Applied Jewelry Arts, and Graduate Pearls. In the course of studying jewelry fabrication methods, I fell in love with the ancient art of wax carving for lost wax casting - a 6000 year old dying art form that I am proud to continue.
I feel it’s important to point out these educational achievements for a couple of reasons. For one, I want you to know that I am not just some random dude selling jewelry to make money without sound knowledge of the product. All too often I have witnessed gemstones and jewelry being sold to the consumer under false pretense of what they actually were. It’s not only education that these sellers lack, it’s a matter of integrity. As a Graduate Gemologist, I personally source and select the diamonds and colored gemstones that I use in my jewelry or acquire for my clients. You can trust me to find the finest gemstones for any budget, and that anything I sell or say regarding - ahem - From Gems to Jewelry will be honest and truthful.
The story of how I got to where I am now is a long one, but I will give a short summary. I have read many an “About Me” section that mention a “life long love for jewelry,” - yeah, I don’t have that. Some time in 2007, I was living a semi-successful life as a starving poet, and one afternoon found myself in a small shop that sold tumbled gemstones. At the time, I knew nothing about gemstones, and less than nothing about jewelry, but a tumbled blue gemstone with golden flakes (lapis lazuli) caught my attention, and if my memory serves me well, it was at the very moment I picked up that stone that the clouds in the sky parted, and a bright ray of sunlight shone down on my path, which quickly led to an obsession for gemstones, and by way of gemstones, a love for jewelry and a desire to create.
So here I am, over a decade later, launching a new website for my jewelry collections and a blog. I have a lot of great ideas for this blog, and look forward to sharing them with you. It helps that I began as a writer (mostly poetry, but I am working albeit slowly on my first novel). The From Gems to Jewelry Blog will obviously cover everything -ahem - From Gems to Jewelry. My goal is to post a new blog at least once per month and that my blogs will help to educate not only my clients and followers, but the general consumer population who are desperate for a blog as awesome as this one will be.
Thank you for stopping by at fromgemstojewelry.com and for reading my first blog. Here are some blog titles you can look forward to:
It’s Not The Diamond’s Fault, It’s Yours
White Gold Is Stupid
10 Gems You’ve Never Heard Of
Your Jeweler is Probably Lying to You
Gemstone Décor
Please Clean Your Jewelry, It’s Gross
The Truth About Gemstone Treatments
Metal Detecting for Treasure