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28
spr ing
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summer
What kind of call would cause you to drop everything and fly off to some,
as you call it, “God-forsaken place”?
Well, that there was a new discovery that they are mining and they
“found a pocket of so-and-so and we’d like you to get there within the
next two or three days.” It happened to me several times in Brazil, several
times in Africa. I’d have to race there to get it, otherwise someone else
would get there the day before. You have to get lucky, and usually, the only
way you get lucky is to keep moving. If you stay at home, it’s not going to
happen. It holds true today. The more you move around, the more likely
you are to get the deal.
When you traveled to Pakistan with Carole, weren’t you concerned for her
safety?
No. We had good people with us that I trust fully. I’d go back and travel
with these people to the most dangerous tribal areas today. If
they
said it was
safe, I’d do it. In fact, this summer I’m thinking of going to Pakistan to the
valley that leads up to K2 because it’s a very productive area for gemstones.
I’d have no hesitancy to make the trip as long as there was something at the
other end and I’d have my old Pakistani contacts with me.
Going back to the beginning, Carole, how did you decide to go into the
jewelry business full time?
When we decided to turn an interesting hobby that we made a little
side income from into our full-time careers, a couple of thoughts occurred
to us. One was, ‘We don’t want to be running a rock shop.’ We liked
to sell exotic minerals, but we were also interested in the more refined
aspect of the minerals, that is, the cut stones too – not just the tourmaline
crystals, but the cut tourmaline, or the ruby, or the aquamarine. If we were
going to get involved in the cut stones, then we couldn’t just sell loose
ones; we’d have to have jewelry. Therefore, we would also look for young
designers – goldsmiths – to work with us. Through Mike’s contacts, we
were able to hire some very talented young European goldsmiths.
Your first shop was in Banff; how was that decision made to move there?
We were in Ottawa, but always liked the idea of living in a resort area.
A staff of five European-
trained goldsmiths and
jewelry designers create
Silverhorn’s masterpieces on
the premises from drawings
to finished product