Meet Elias Acevedo of The Diamond Gallery
There’s a new jewelry store in Greenville. Welcome to The Diamond Gallery! Bringing a unique approach to the Upstate: Jewelry with a Purpose. Now let’s go ahead and meet the owner, Elias Acevedo of The Diamond Gallery.
360: How did the idea for The Diamond Gallery come to life?
Elias: The Diamond Gallery is truly the concept of an answered prayer. I’ve been around jewelry my entire life and began my first management position at a local jewelry store when I was 15. To me it’s always been about the rush and satisfaction I get from making that sale and being a part of someone’s special collection of memories in life. Over the years I knew that someday I would be able to take this abundance of experience in management, sales, design, and repairs and be able to bring it to fruition under one roof with no outside influence on how I set everything up.
The Diamond Gallery comes to life continued…
Elias: Over the last two years I have slowly, little by little been putting in place what I thought were long term steps to this dream; little did I know that God had other plans and the stars literally aligned themselves to make this happen. One amazing location, great lease terms, incredible supplier connections, and supportive community later here we are. Welcome to The Diamond Gallery.
360: Can you explain to us what “Jewelry with a Purpose” means to you.
Elias: Jewelry with a purpose encompasses my mission for The Diamond Gallery; both in the day to day as well as the long-term community impact of what we do. My goal and desires are to be able to impact the lives of every customer that comes in as well as our local community. Over the years I’ve come to realize customers are coming in to commemorate all of life’s special and difficult moments. Whether it’s an engagement ring, wedding band, birthday pendant, an ash holder pendant for a lost loved one, graduation watch, etc. Becoming a part of my client’s lives’ through beautiful pieces of art made specifically for them is so rewarding, yet the impact that we can make from the proceeds of these pieces is even greater.
“Jewelry with a Purpose” continued…
Elias: Our goal is to give scholarships to children so they can be exposed to Jesus at a younger age, to pay for family’s mortgages and utility bills when they’ve fallen on hard times, and to help provide therapy to individuals on the autism spectrum that leads them to living a life nobody thought they could lead.
360: Tell us what to your day-to-day tasks look like.
Elias: I love what I do, and I think there is no limit to perfecting your craft and continuing to learn every day. My days are structured around learning more about design, in the past and of the future, craftsmanship, watchmaking and repairing, stone cutting, gemology, etc. Which involves plenty of reading, watching videos, hands on training, conversations and the best part of it all is I get to put it into practice whenever I have a customer come in. To me every customer that walks in is a chance to demonstrate what I’ve been learning and to make another connection.
360: What do you love most about your job?
Elias: I have to say to me it’s all about the people. While I love displaying my skills, talents, and family heritage with every piece we make or repair, there is nothing like meeting a retired grandma who’s coming in to treat herself, grabbing a beautiful pair of diamond studs in remembrance of all the bright moments she had with her recently deceased husband, sitting there listening to these memories, offering a tissue for the tears, and a prayer for some peace. (True story by the way) those human connections are more valuable than diamonds.
360: If could give us any jewelry advice, what would it be?
Elias: So, I have a million and one tips I could give you from fashion to maintenance and purchasing jewelry that are and will continue to be shared through our social media. But the most important piece of jewelry advice I could give you is find a jeweler you can trust and build a connection with them. Jewelry is an extremely personal reflection of who you are and finding the skilled artist that can bring your personality to life through gold, silver, diamonds, and gemstones is a unique beautiful experience. That’s why we’re a completely custom store, I believe every person has a unique personality with extremely unique jewelry to accompany that personality.
360: What else can we expect from The Diamond Gallery in the coming months?
Elias: CONTENT and LOTS of it. We want to show Greenville and the rest of the upstate the complete circle of life of jewelry. From the making, designing, repairing of jewelry to the stories behind designs, the amazing engagements, weddings, and birthdays. But also, how these purchases have helped hire more therapists for children with autism and helped pay a family’s mortgage, who’s only financial provider has fallen ill and out of work. I want to be known as the people’s jeweler, the community’s jeweler, with designs that reflect what an amazing place Greenville is and is continuing to become.
360: That’s awesome! We truly love your passion and “Jewelry with a Purpose.” It will know doubt be a huge impact in our Upstate community and beyond. Congrats again!
If you would like to know more about The Diamond Gallery, you can visit their website at greenvillediamondgallery.com or visit them at 1411 Laurens Road in Greenville every Monday-Friday from 10am-5pm. You can also stay in the know on the gallery’s happenings, special events and jewelry tips by following them on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to their brand new YouTube channel here.
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