Los Gatos resident Jeanette Blacy, a third-generation jeweler and certified gemologist, is celebrating 20 years of doing business in Old Town.
Blacy’s Vault of Los Gatos, a full-service jewelry shop specializing in custom jewelry styling by in-house designers and goldsmiths, will be holding a special showing of one of their favorite designers, Christopher Designs, on Nov. 4-5, to celebrate this milestone. Appointments for this event are by reservation only.
Of course, you can always reserve another time to meet with Jeanette and her team and see all of their branded collections, which include Memoire, Lika Behar, A Link, Afarin, Roman+Jules and more.
Blacy got started in the jewelry business 47 years ago, courtesy of her mother.
“My mom’s family came to California from Boliver, MO,” says Blacy, who has a gemologist degree from the Gemological Institute of America. “Her uncle was a watchmaker during WWI. She helped them as a bookkeeper, and then worked for jewelers in San Diego. My parents moved to Los Gatos in 1960, and my mom managed a jewelry store in Cupertino. One day, everybody was sick with the flu and I got recruited to work the counter. I’ve been in the biz ever since; I suppose you could say it’s in my DNA.”
Growing up in Los Gatos, Blacy and her twin sister Janet had relatives in Placerville who they loved to visit.
“We would dig in the foothills and find beads,” says Blacy. “It was an Indian treasure trove. We would make jewelry and sell it to the hippie jeweler in Old Town. We would sell the pieces for $5 or $10 and then go to the Wine Cellar to drink coke and eat French bread. No, my mom didn’t know!”
Blacy’s aesthetic guides her in designing jewelry for clients. “Before we begin the design process, I ask them to bring the piece they wear the most, so I can figure out how to make something that will work together with what they already have. It’s important to consider size and style, and whether they tend toward modern or vintage.”
Asked about trends, Blacy says pearls have definitely seen an increase in popularity because of all the attention paid to the royals of late. “Pearls are classic; everyone should have a strand of pearls. It’s a basic.”
She notes that rose gold is very strong, but yellow gold is on trend, especially in current bridal. Also, she says, “Oval diamonds are very popular.”
Blacy spends a good deal of her time appraising individual pieces as well as collections, making suggestions on how to add value by replacing or updating pieces, or by adding something new.
“How things go together is very important,” she says. “It has to flow and fit someone’s lifestyle. There is no sense in having jewelry that you don’t wear. I try to get into their mind and brain and figure out what they want and need.”
Blacy is herself a big fan of Christopher Designs, and in fact wears a patented L’Amour Crisscut diamond. “All his cuts are really spectacular,” she says.
Blacy’s Vault is located at 51 University Ave. Appointments preferred to 408-354-9500.
Source: www.mercurynews.com