“We’re still going strong after thirty years,” Carole says as we sit
down in the company’s upstairs office overlooking the ocean. She pegs
the month of June 1985 as opening day.
“We started in a smaller little boutique space just underneath where
we are sitting now,” Carole recounts. “At the time,” she explains, “we
didn’t concern ourselves with street frontage. It seemed like a beautiful
courtyard, a small space, and a good way to start out. There was a
wonderful collection of little shops at the time,” and she names John
Peterfield’s Food Shop, Ports O’Call, Pasadena, even Espresso Roma at
the far end. “It was a hive of activity,” she recalls.
When dress designer Luis Estevez closed his two-story couturier-
inspired shop above Silverhorn, the Riddings took over the
lease, redesigned the interior allowing for the full display of their
unique creations, and put their workshop upstairs.
Silverhorn also has a presence on the ground floor of the
Four Seasons Biltmore, just off the main lobby, which they’ve also
recently expanded.
Although the Riddings make their own jewelry and are
generally not a store that sells other people’s products, they did
want to have at least one watch to offer their clients, so when
Rolex contacted them they formed a relationship with the Swiss
manufacturer and have been selling Rolex for the past seven years.
Changes Over Time
T
he world of gems and jewels has changed considerably over
the past 30 years.
Up until the last few years, the Riddings had always gone
throughout the world in search of gems, but “It has become more
difficult,” Carole admits, “to find the rare and precious things we
used to get.” She cites the increasing demand and competition
from places such as Russia and China. Fortunately, she and
Mike assembled a large and varied collection of gems,
jewels, and stones over the years. “We have such
a big inventory from the past,” she notes, that in
spite of the increased competition and dearth of
new finds, “we can still create
something of beauty.”
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ewels
&
G
ems
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