Jewelry

How One Silicon Valley Jeweler Is Redefining Innovation - Forbes

To hear Stephen Silver tell the journey of the Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace and how it came to be in his possession is an epic travel saga through time to the beginning of the 1900’s where the story originates in a diamond mine in South Africa, to the British Monarch King Edward VII, crown jewels, a war, a knighthood, Apartheid, before landing in Silver’s vault, and finally resting in a permanent home at The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.

Another anecdote involves the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Joan Kroc, the wife of the founder of McDonald’s, Ray Kroc, a bad telephone connection, and a lost auction bid on a Cartier Panther Broach with a 34 carat Burmese Sapphire, a piece acquired by Silver in 2010.

Since establishing S.H. Silver Company in Menlo Park in 1980, Silver has become the preeminent gemologist and jeweler in Silicon Valley, his gem collection as prized as his stories and its value equally as treasured.

Built on the foundation of acquiring the highest quality stones and designing bespoke pieces that elevate the brilliance of each gem, his masterful talent to recut gems to maximum clarity, a nail-biting feat that sometimes requires years to complete with millions of dollars at risk with one misstep, can elevate the gemstone’s grade and appraisal value, an accomplishment that has garnered global recognition.

“We’re hoping to become one of the leading diamond and gemstone houses in the world to create exceptional jewelry in that old world style and quality,” says Jared Silver, President of his father’s namesake business.

Stephen Silver’s most recent work with the Pink Promise Diamond, a rare 16.21 carat intense pink diamond, which he purchased and recut to 14.93 carats with a VVS1 clarity, a grade just under flawless, sold for over $32 million dollars at the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels Hong Kong auction in 2017.

“The work we did on this particular diamond was the most challenging recut in which I have been involved, due to the technicality difficulty and large financial risk,” Silver said. “ It’s a privilege to work with a world class team and have my name associated with one of the world’s great gemstones.”

His authority on rare gemstones has also translated into an advisory role for his high net worth clients on investment grade gems as a strategy in building a wealth preservation portfolio, much like a financial advisor, for future generations.

“We look at your collection of jewelry and gemstones as an asset class and advise on pieces. For example, we monitor the loose gemstone market and collect data on every single auction,” says Jared Silver, “and we see that the value of wealth preservation can be stored in these tangible assets.”

Jared Silver joined the company as President of S.H. Silver Company in 2018 and helms the path of innovation and expansion of the core jewelry business with a collection of independent watch brands and the acceptance of crytocurrency as payment, one of the first luxury companies to embrace the technology.

Cutting edge watch brands like Ressence, an oil based watch company, HYT, another fluid based time piece, MB & F, and Greubel Forsey are a few of the haute horology brands that Jared curates according to his clients’ interests.

“ They tend to be the risk takers, the avant-garde thinkers, so they’re drawn to these inventive pieces; it’s the appreciation of the mechanics,” explains Silver.

Prior to joining his father, Silver consulted at Ernst & Young WaveSpace, a solution based think tank, to develop models that enabled clients to disrupt their own businesses. This afforded him insight into blockchain as a technology and how it affected business issues, which kept him close to the development of cryptocurrency.

“ I wanted to make sure that we, as a company, were on the very forefront of the adoption of this technology in a responsible way,” says Silver.

Both Stephen and Jared Silver, natives of California, credit the entrepreneurial spirit of the area that inspired them to open their first retail boutique at Rosewood, Sand Hill, the affluent Silicon Valley hotel considered to be the epicenter of influence. The airy boutique, housed in the lobby of the marble floored hotel faces the expansive views of the Santa Cruz Mountains foothills.

“ We’re located in this atmosphere because it’s the perfect breeding ground for great innovation and creation,” said Silver.

Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry Boutique

2825 Sand Hill Road

Menlo Park, CA 94025

P: (650) 292-0612