Columbia Gem House Merges with Sapphires of Montana

Vancouver, Wash.--Columbia Gem House and Sapphires of Montana have merged, resulting in “Sapphires of Montana by Columbia Gem House.”

Columbia Gem House, started 40 years ago by Eric Braunwart, is a supplier of gemstones mined in the United States. As a vertically integrated company, it also provides heating, cutting and jewelry manufacturing to customers across the world.

Sapphires of Montana was founded by Lisa Brooks-Pike and Margo Bedman in 2012, and after a successful, sold-out show on QVC, the company expanded its focus to supporting young, up-and-coming millennial and established independent designers as its client base.

The company handles the branding, marketing and sales of Rock Creek Montana Sapphires.

The merger of these two companies aims to increase the production and availability of Montana sapphires.

CGH’s Braunwart told National Jeweler via email that Montana sapphires in all colors and sizes continue to grow in importance, especially to millennial consumers.

“By combining the distribution, marketing and sales efforts, we plan to more than double our current combined sales of Montana sapphires,” he said. “And with a couple of larger projects in the work, our goal is (to exceed that projection). Currently we have sufficient cut stones and rough to meet this expansion with access to significantly more material.”

He added that both companies saw non-stop traffic to their booths in Tucson.

CGH and Sapphires of Montana focus on responsibly sourced stones with mine-to-market traceability.

“The combination (of companies) merged into Columbia Gem House’s responsible sourcing initiative plus the augmentation of our American gemstone sourced collection will result in significant U.S. and worldwide exposure,” Braunwart said.

Columbia Gem House is based in Vancouver, Washington, a suburb located just north of Portland, Oregon, while Sapphires of Montana is in Mukilteo, Washington, a town approximately 55 miles north of Seattle.

The companies said no one will relocate, but Brooks-Pike, co-owner and vice president of sales and marketing for Sapphires of Montana, has joined the Columbia Gem House team as marketing director.

Bedman still will be involved in certain aspects relating to the business as well.