Candace Calvo:

Female Jeweler joins Jim Bartlett Fine Jewelry

Candace Calvo

Photograph by Joycelyne Fadojutimi

Candace Calvo knows what hard work is. She grew up loading trucks and not looking so nice. That is the nature of warehouse jobs. One fateful day, she decided to go shopping in a jewelry store. “I have never had a diamond before,” said Ms. Calvo. “The jeweler asked me if I have ever thought of working in a jewelry store. I was 17 years old the time.”

When Ms. Calvo turned 18, she returned to the jewelry store. She looked so good and was immediately offered a job. She started in sales and moved up to management.

Furthermore, she attended Houston School of Jewelry where she learned jewelry fabrication and stone setting. From there, she started repairing jewelry. “It is what I love to do,” Calvo said. “And that is where my passion is and that is why I love what I do.”

. According to Calvo, she came to Jim Bartlett because he is the best. “I enjoy sales, speaking with customers,” she said. “I love the metal work; it is very precise. I just love it all.”

Calvo gets excited about her work because she learns news things every day. “It is like putting puzzles together, it keeps you sharp,” she stated. “When it comes to combining family and heirloom pieces to into something the family loves."

Ruby: July Birthstone

Symbolic of passion, protection, and prosperity, ruby gemstones have been revered since ancient times. Rubies have been particularly prized in Asian countries. Records suggest that rubies were traded along China’s North Silk Road as early as 200 BC. Chinese noblemen adorned their armor with rubies because they believed the gem would grant protection.

Burma has been a significant ruby source since at least 600 AD. Burmese rubies are still some of the most prized of all ruby gems.

After classical Burmese mines were depleted, the Mong Hsu region of Myanmar started producing rubies in the 1990s. Though these lacked the rich red hue of traditional Burmese rubies, they were treated with heat to improve saturation and transparency. Heat-treated rubies is a common practice nowadays.

Though ruby has a long history, it wasn’t recognized as a variety of corundum until 1800. Prior to that, red spinel, tourmaline, and garnet were also believed to be ruby. Even the Black Ruby, one of the famed crown jewels of England, was considered one of the largest cut rubies until determined to be spinel.

Imitation ruby dates back as far as Roman times, though it wasn’t synthesized until the early 1900s.

The red fluorescence power of ruby helped build the first working laser in 1960. Rubies— both natural and synthetic—are still used to make lasers, as well as watches and medical instruments.