About Us

At Columbia Gem House, we're more than just gem enthusiasts – we are gem cutters, miners, and passionate advocates for responsible sourcing.

 

Family-owned and operated since 1976, we’ve dedicated ourselves to advancing the gemstone and jewelry industry with integrity and purpose. As pioneers of the world’s first Fair Trade Gems® Principles & Protocols, we provide mine-to-market traceability for every gemstone we sell, ensuring transparency and accountability at every step.

 

Our mission goes beyond fair trade. We are committed to making a positive impact at every step, benefiting both people and the environment involved.

 

Our vision is to create a world where responsibly sourced gems are the rule, not the exception.

Our Story

It all started with a boy tying flies. As a child, Founder Eric Braunwart, tied flies for the local fly-fishing shop. He fell in love with creating these little wonders because of the brilliant colors of thread, yarn and feathers used to do so. Years later, when he took his first jewelry making class in college, those same brilliant colors came back to him in a form that became a lifelong passion. At just 25 years old, Eric founded Columbia Gem House in 1976.

A turning point. In 2000, Eric took time away to assist on a World Bank project in Madagascar to find ways gemstone production could improve throughout the supply chain. One day as Eric left his hotel, he stepped in an open sewer, ruining one of his Italian leather shoes. He was quite upset until realizing his shoe cost more than the average annual income of the country. At that point, the importance of finding ways to steer the business to better benefit all those along the supply chain became imperative. Following his ruined shoe, Eric went to a US Embassy meeting where someone asked if we traced our stones and if we could prove that we operated ethically. After 25 years in the business, Eric admitted that while we had always conducted business ethically, we could not prove it. He promised the next time they met, he would be able to.

Fair Trade Gems® was born. Upon his return, Eric began researching and writing the world’s first Fair Trade Gems® Principles and Protocols, which Columbia Gem House still operates by today. We are a proud family run business, committed to operating in a way that creates a positive impact at every touch point, both with the people and environments involved, from mine-to-market. We mine and cut on three continents and manufacture our jewelry right here in the United States. We work with governments, non-profits, and other gem miners and cutters around the world to ensure safe workplaces, fair wages, ethical sourcing, and environmentally responsible gem mining.

Join the movement. Our vision is to create a world where responsibly sourced gems are the rule, not the exception. Whether you buy from us or not, we hope you’ll join the fair trade gem movement and demand safe cutting factories, safe and environmentally responsible mines, fair wages for the people and sustainable support for the communities who mine and cut these natural treasures. 

Together we can make fair trade gems the rule, not the exception.

Meet the Owners

Meet Eric and Kathe, the dynamic duo behind our business. With over 80 combined years of industry experience, they first crossed paths through their shared passion for gemstones and jewelry design. While they each have become experts in both areas, Eric brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in gemstones, while Kathe shines with exceptional skill in designing and creating jewelry. Together, they make quite the power couple, combining their talents to create an unforgettable experience for those they work with. Always eager to explore new ideas and share their knowledge, Eric and Kathe are committed to making responsible sourcing and design accessible to anyone who is interested to learn.

Our Values

Our core values are ethics, transparency, and fairness.

Fair Trade means so much more to us than just do-no-harm or simply following the law. It means going above and beyond to ensure a positive impact touches every person and environment we work with. From community projects to environmental rebuilds, or even fundraisers, we are always looking for ways to do more and offer opportunities for our customers to be involved. We believe there is no such thing as an ‘ethical gemstone,’ but rather a supportive supply chain full of people who act responsibly and ethically.

Following the journey of a gem from Mine to Market®, we can guarantee full and complete information about each stone is shared. Our process eliminates any chance of undisclosed treatments or added synthetics because we aim to solely source untreated materials and then cut, heat, or leave natural in-house ourselves. We are always improving and happy to share with you what point we are in the process. Our promise is to always disclose any and all treatments, how we purchase, and what the impact is to those involved in the process.

After more than four decades in the industry, we have found a number of ways to better support our sourcing partners along the supply chain. This could be access to education, honest valuations, or even mine-run purchasing. Not only does this mean we offer a widely accessible range of gem qualities and the most creative cutting, but it also creates a supportive supply chain where fairness and equity exist. We work diligently to ensure safe workplaces, fair wages, and environmentally responsible gem mining occur throughout our process.