How did this all start?

When I was 5 years old, I found a crystal in the dirt at a landfill near my house in Branford, Connecticut. It was magical. It captured my heart and shaped my future. Ever since my greatest passions have been to find, hold, polish and mold gems, silver, and gold.

I grew up a nature boy. Fish and squirrels, rocks and turtles and frogs were my childhood companions. At age 15 I read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, and later in college The Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion. I feel like I am part Dwarf and part Elf; the Dwarf for the lusty thrill I get in the mining and crafting of gems and gold. And the Elf for the reverential artistry and fine workmanship in themes that reflect a love for growing things and all of nature. I'm also part scientist, part engineer, part philosopher, and part spiritualist.

In college I majored in Zoology and Botany, with lots of Geology and Art classes thrown in for fun. I opened my first jewelry store in Ogden, Utah in 1975 where I sold my hand made jewelry. A few stores later, I took 9 years off from the full time jewelry business to teach Biology and Earth Science at Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah. I returned to jewelry in 1988, and went through a few more retail incarnations including one shop in the 90's that sold gold mining and metal detecting supplies right along side hand crafted jewelry and watch repairs. Several more business models followed until I finally founded Badali Jewelry Specialties, inc. in 2002. I'm the president. We started with 3 people in 2002, and there are 8 of us now in 2017. It's still growing.

Running Badali Jewelry is my "Day" job. But what I sell here on Etsy is me doing "My Own Thing" with silver, gold, and gems. Everything I sell on Etsy I make by myself with my own gems. After 66 years, I have a dragon hoard of gemstones; and I keep digging, cutting, and buying more. I plan on another 50 years of this; at the very least.

Paul Badali