"I’ve always had an interest in beautiful things, thanks to my mother, a professional artist, and my father, a lifelong collector of gems, minerals, and other exotic treasures from around the world.
I received a Bachelors degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management at Northern Arizona University and worked for a time at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but I knew there was more out there for me. That’s why I jumped at the chance to travel to Nairobi and learn the tanzanite business there, learning everything I could about gems and laying the groundwork for my true life’s work.
I moved to San Francisco and formed Kindy African Gemstone Company in 1995, changing the name to Collins & Collins Fine Colored Gemstones when I went into partnership with my then-husband. But the best was yet to come.
After broadening my horizons still further with eye-opening trips to Bangkok and Sri Lanka, I decided to go independent."