Meet Sheryl Jones, she is a former VP of Communication at MTV who left her title to pursue a career in jewelry. Jones said she has always had a passion for diamonds and that following her passion was just a matter of time.
“I always love gemstones’, I have always had a passion for diamonds. So I decided to take a course at GIAA and it was an introductory course in diamonds and I fell in love,” she told FOX 5.
“Most of the people in this industry especially in the diamond sector are third and fourth-generation families but I really felt it was a great opportunity to learn and that maybe I have a place in this business,” she added.
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Her career in jewelry began in 1999 after 10 years of working in the entertainment industry as a film and television publicist. She first started as an apprentice on 47th Street – the heart of Manhattan’s Diamond District with one of Belgium’s leading diamond manufacturers.
“One of the reasons why I’m so happy to be on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 47th street is because I don’t believe that my clients would necessarily want to walk through that either,” she told Refinery29.
She would later become a supervisor for one of the leading diamond manufacturers in the United States, which gave her the opportunity to build her gemological knowledge, hone her skills, and build her capacity.
She launched her business, Sheryl Jones Designs, in 2002 and has since grown to be a household name, making a name for its craftsmanship, quality and detail. Her jewelry is also the favorite of celebrities like Andra Day, Susan Austin, Sedale Ziegler, Roland Johnson, Darren Anderson and Pamela Chadick.
At the 2018 Oscars, Andra Day wore a diamond necklace Jones created to the Grammys during her performance. She also partnered with jewelry designer Christine Vasan on a collection of engagement and wedding rings called C&S.
According to Jones, selling diamonds is one of the most difficult businesses to venture into. According to her, the industry is particularly parochial, filled with people who are third and fourth-generation diamond dealers. In addition, she noted that “you have to have the inventory and ability to create and sell and stock goods.”
She said she had to create relationships with diamond dealers and convince them to trust her.
Indeed, Jones is living proof that blacks who may have no connections at all can still have a career in the luxury gemstone business.
