Belk at Southpark Mall hosted an Effy Jewelry Trunk Show this week and invited me to come see the bling!

Effy Reps Ethan Hak and Sami Doganay brought the best of the best from their New York store to Charlotte.

They were a ton of fun and filled me in on the history of this accidental jewelry designer.

Effy Hematian was an electrical engineer by trade.

He founded Effy Jewelry in 1979 after emigrating from Iran to New York City in 1978.

He was used to drawing blueprints at work. After visiting a jewelry store with his wife he was intrigued by the designs.

He started sketching and eventually created a sapphire set for his wife.

Everyone admired her jewelry so much they started wanting pieces of their own.

Hematian started selling jewelry out of a suitcase and built a jewelry empire over 44 years. He was known for his bold, stylish designs that incorporated vivid gemstones and meticulous craftsmanship.

He eventually was granted a very small section of a display at Macy’s in Herald Square.

Eventually they gave him more and more space until he branched out into other department stores.

Effy jewelry headquarters is in New York City. You can visit and see that all of its jewelry is creatively designed and beautifully crafted right here in the U.S.

In the gem-sorting room, specially trained employees sort through bin after bin of colored gemstones.

Today, Effy operates over 2900 retail stores across North America including 125 Effy boutiques on board cruise ships.

My favorite piece was this pink and white diamond ring!!!

Thank you to the Effy Jewelry manger Jason Barker and his beautiful Effy Angels for a fun, sparkly event!!