Puerto Rican sisters Jennifer Gandia’s and Christina Gandia-Gambale’s earliest memories are of adorning themselves with baubles. Gandia recalls sneaking into her parents’ bedroom and playing with her mother’s jewelry. Gandia-Gambale is fond of the jewelry their father, who is a master jeweler, made for them. A gold baby bracelet he made her is now worn by his granddaughter.
“Jewelry is a part of the Latina culture from a very young age. Our ears were pierced as babies, we wore Azabaches to ward off the evil eye, and we got gold crosses for baptism or communion,” Gandia says.
Their parents, Milly and Carl Gandia, opened Greenwich St. Jewelers (G.St) in 1976 with a focus on custom work, antique restoration, restyling, and repair. As kids, the sister duo would play in the shop and watch their father create jewelry. Eventually, they were given some responsibilities as they got older, such as helping with repairs and putting creative touches on custom pieces.
“Jewelry is sacred to me. It comes from the earth and through the hands of humans to create something that holds meaning,” Gandia says. Her sister echoes a similar sentiment adding that she loves how nature and design come together to create jewelry.
The sisters became co-owners of the brand in 2011, but they didn’t grow up with an expectation to take over the family business. “Our parents wanted us to find our own paths in life. We were all surprised when those paths led us to the family business,” Gandia-Gambale says.
Gandia worked for NARS, before leaving to contribute her marketing skills to the shop, which was struggling in the post-9/11 downtown retail industry after being closed for ten months. “My parents were very open to trying new marketing tactics and modernizing the business, such as transitioning to a computer-based inventory and [point-of-sale] system,” Gandia says.
Soon Gandia-Gambale also wanted to join the family business. “I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak,” she explains. “I sold handmade scrunchies in grade school. I left my job in finance and went to GIA to get my Graduate Gemologist degree, then worked in a couple of other jewelry businesses before joining my family. My experience with numbers and data is the perfect complement to Jennifer’s creative strengths. Together we make a great right-brain-left-brain team.”
The sisters say it’s a blessing to carry on the business started by their immigrant parents. “We love what we do, and it’s rewarding knowing that we’re carrying on a legacy started by our parents,” Gandia says.
Running a family business does come with a unique set of challenges. “When our parents hired us, they made us call them Carl and Milly in the store, not Mom and Dad. Being family at times felt like a disadvantage. When we took over the business, we began working with an industrial psychologist to help us identify and heal habitual and dysfunctional dynamics,” Gandia says. “It’s helped us as sisters, business partners, and leaders to improve communication, relationships, and our business overall.”
The 1,550-square-foot flagship location in TriBeCa opened in 2022. Around a quarter of the collection is the in-house brand of three jewelry collections and two engagement/wedding collections. The other 75 percent of pieces are curated from more than forty independent brands that are inclusive of Latinx, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ vendors, and from on-site master jewelers that create custom pieces. Latinx brands sold at G.St include emerging designers Rosario Navia, Angely Martinez, and Jam + Rico.
In January 2022, G.St became the first retail store to carry the Emerging Designers Diamond Initiative Collections.
All of the jewelry at G.St is made with recycled metals and conflict-free diamonds. “We get to work with rare diamonds and gemstones and the amazing display of nature’s brilliance is something that never gets old,” Gandia-Gambale says.
They were the first Latinas to win the prestigious GEM Award and to become part of the Retail Hall of Fame. “Being a GEM Award winner is our industry’s version of the Oscars so it’s an incredible honor,” Gandia says.
Giving back is a key component of the business. “There aren’t many Latines in our industry, so we feel a responsibility to continue to strive and succeed to give a hand up to others,” Gandia says.
The sisters support several organizations that work with marginalized groups and promote inclusion and representation within the industry. Both are members of the Women’s Jewelry Association, Gandia sits on the Board of Advisors for Black in Jewelry Coalition, and Gandia-Gambale sits on the Board of Diamonds Do Good.
“Systemic barriers are preventing marginalized groups from succeeding in this industry. When we began working with independent designers in 2009, we struggled to find artists like us or from the communities of the global majority,” Gandia says. “It’s part of our mission to continue to support lasting DEI change in our industry.”
