Welcome, my name is Simon Ghanimian. Growing up, my parents handed down the values of honest, hard work to all their children. We were taught that if you could build something with your hands, you'd never go hungry.
That led to my start in making jewelry. And before long, what started as a hobby became a passion.
After a few years. I had made the journey from Beirut to Los Angeles, where I decided to open my own business. But when I went to register at City Hall, the clerk told me my name was too long.
And that's the day Simon Ghanimian became Simon G.
My how things have changed since then. In the beginning, it was just my wife, Silvia, and me. Now, there are 60 people working here. We have designers from all around the world. And our work is sold in over 900 locations.
But, as proud as I am of what we've accomplished, I still get my biggest thrill from creating a new piece. Sitting down and sketching out an idea is as magical to me now as it was the very first time I did it. Whether it's a traditional wedding ring or a bracelet with multi-colored stones.
On behalf of everyone at Simon G., I hope you find something that brings you as much joy and pleasure in wearing it as it brought to us in designing it.
The Process
When it comes to making beautiful jewelry, no detail is too small to be ignored. So we don't.
It all starts with the first sketch. That's followed by dozens of others until a design is approved. From there, we make a CAD model to see the piece in 3D. In this phase, endless hours are spent reviewing every aspect, from the stones to the settings, until everyone agrees it's right.
And that's just the beginning. As the piece goes from drawing to reality, we maintain ten quality control stations, one after each phase of manufacturing. Simon alloys his own metals, working in 18k platinum and palladium or platinum and iridium. This gives pieces greater durability and longevity, and is ideal for the complicated beadwork, filigree and engraving that acheives our signature look. If he's working in white gold, Simon also alloys it with palladium, which minimizes the allergy to white gold and helps it to stay white longer.
All micro-set diamonds are hand set, and then inspected by an experienced artisan using a microscope. This ensures that they reflect light brilliantly, and that no one has to worry about losing a single stone. We even have specialists, as some diamond-setters only work on the pavé settings, others on the channel-settings, and still others on the prongs.
After all this is done, a piece still makes one more trip through quality control and hand-machine polishing before it can be worn. This may seem a little lengthy, but as we see it, making an heirloom takes a little bit longer than just making jewelry.