in 2016, a new marquee was lit. The glowing diamond logo beckoned passing cars. Bright lights illuminated sparkling diamonds and jewels. After sixteen years, Gallery of Diamonds Jewelers has moved to Newport Beach.
The legend of Gallery of Diamonds began many years ago.
Not knowing his birth origins, Diamond Mike Watson was adopted into a family of loving parents in New Albany, Indiana. At the age of 17, he was hired at the small town’s jewelry store. His duties were simply to sweep the wooden floors and deliver repairs to the goldsmith. He would be handed a small bag, told not to open it, and deliver it across the town. He never knew the precious jewels it contained.
Years passed and Watson was recruited to a diamond importer in Louisville, Kentucky, and later to Overland Park, Kansas. He attained a love affair with rare and beautiful diamonds that would arrive by armed security from Belgium and Tel Aviv. Watson would sort each gem according to color and clarity.
In 1989, he was lured by California’s climate and worked as a diamond consultant in Orange County. The confidence to open a jewelry company commenced when Watson earned the title of gemologist from GIA.
“All things are possible,” the words of his adoptive mother inspired him.
Unfortunately, the economy had become sluggish and jewelry sales dwindled. His employer threatened an undesirable merge and, just before the company dissolved, Watson escaped unemployment by working for a jewelry rival. The founding parents had bestowed that business to their sons, who never had enthusiasm for the trade. Thenthat store filed bankruptcy!
In 1990 the jewelry market hit bottom. The nation’s largest jewelry retailer closed four hundred of its 1,600 stores.
Gallery of Diamonds established in 1991
Watson sold much of his personal belongings to raise capital. He was convinced it was sincere passion that was the secret to any business. With meager funds, the first Gallery of Diamonds was born in 1991 with an assortment of gold chains, a few ring mountings, and a small parcel of loose diamonds. The new venture had settled in a hard-to-find business complex in Costa Mesa. The store was cozy, the rent was modest.
Gallery of Diamonds gradually attracted more and more customers. Watson attributed the success of the fledgling firm from the caring words and assurance of his adoptive mother.
In 1991, Diamond Mike and Carmen Watson turned their passion for fine jewelry into a lifetime career. The small boutique focused on offering loose diamonds and hard-to-find quality jewelry. Today, it has continued to design one-of-a-kind masterpieces while searching for unique treasures. The store has since amassed a large estate collection that contains the most imaginative pieces passed down through generations.
New Location
On October 10, 2006, Gallery of Diamonds was asked to move in thirty days. The landlord cautioned that a larger business wanted its current location, and would not renew another lease. After sixteen years and over 13,000 customers in its database, Gallery of Diamonds was faced being without a home for the holidays. A two-week extension was granted, and the firm found a location one mile away. In six weeks, the store designed the suite, installed the showcases, and made sure tight security was in place. For the first time, the Orange County store would have a visible identity in Plaza Newport Shopping Center in Newport Beach.
At Gallery of Diamonds, you know exactly what you are getting and receive two copies of a professional gemological appraisal which shows the quality and value of your jewelry.
About Diamond Mike Watson
Diamond Mike was born and adopted in Indianapolis in 1958. He spent his early life in New Albany, Indiana, and entered the jewelry industry as an errand boy for a small jewelry store. He became a diamond merchant for a retail chain that purchased diamonds in Antwerp, Belgium. In 1989 he moved to California.
Watson was always curious about the woman who gave birth to him. In 1993 he began a writing contest for schoolchildren called, Why Mom Deserves a Diamond. Over the years, the contest has brought thousands of families to Gallery of Diamonds Jewelers each year for an unforgettable mother and child experience.
Watson earned a BA in Business Administration from Indiana University Southeast and is a gemologist from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA.) He was a former co-president of GIA Orange County Alumni Chapter. He is the author of several books, including Moon Over Mountains, The Legend of Why Mom Deserves a Diamond, Tales of Imagination, In Search of Mom, and Adopted Like Me. The Orange County Register named him the winner of the “Holiday Spirit Award” in 1995, awarded to business owners who display the holiday spirit throughout the year.
Thousands of people throughout the nation continue to wear and enjoy jewelry designed by Diamond Mike.
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| Carmen and Diamond Mike Watson. |
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| Gallery of Diamonds today. |