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He goes on to rhapsodize over the yellow-
pink-red pearls produced by the queen conch (Strombus
Gigas), the unique purple pearls of quahog clams, black
pearls from Central and South America, and others. He
says he recently acquired a natural gem-quality fresh water
pearl that came from Mississippi or Tennessee. “It’s a forty-
carat gem [in the shape of ] a perfect teardrop,”
he marvels, observing that, “something like that
represents millions of fresh water mussels to
produce.”
Jeremy grew up in Santa Barbara and is a second-
generation jeweler; his mother
Vicki Norris
, owned Norris Design, a jewelry
store, in Montecito some years ago. He says he has been going to gem shows “since the age of seven,”
has a degree in gemology from the Gemological Institute of America, and works with “a number of
extremely talented jewelers in Santa Barbara.” He and his wife live in Santa Barbara and have five-
year-old twin boys.
The name of his company is Monili (jewelry in Italian) and examples of
his creative output are for sale and on display at 33 Jewels, 814 State Street
in Santa Barbara (805-957-9100), (805-895-2575), or online at: (www.
monili.com).
Some of Jeremy Norris’s Pearls
of the New World creations
include (clockwise from top
left) a strand of conch pearls,
conch shell with conch pearls,
18k yellow gold orchid bracelet
with diamonds and conch
pearls, a variety of quahog
(purple clam) pearls from the
East Coast of the United States,
and platinum and diamond
ring set with red conch pearls