We are honored to be celebrating our founder, Omi Nagpal, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jewelers 24 Karat Club of Southern California this past October 1st, 2022.
Omi along with Susan Jacques, President and CEO of the Gemological Institute of America and Tanya Parikh, owner of Janvier were the Club’s 2022 honorees, and were recognized during its 78th Annual Dinner Dance and Gala, which took place at the famed Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
The glamourous evening was filled with “gold” cocktails, live music and jewelry industry friends from around the world. Many of Omi’s past and present team members as well as his family joined the celebration.
Omi began his journey in gemstones with his wife Preeti, and son Niveet when they arrived to New York in 1975. An engineer by profession but entrepreneurial by nature, Omi made some pragmatic decisions that turned out to be fortuitous.
He soon moved his family to Los Angeles and for a number of years Omi managed US sales for Preeti’s family gem business located overseas. His growing clientele felt comfortable and trusted Omi. When he opened his own business, Omi Gems in 1985, those same customers naturally showed support by giving him a head start. He had zero inventory at first, yet Omi credits his success in part to the customers who trusted him to find anything they were looking for.
“He’s 100% honest with you. If he doesn’t have something he’ll say it; and then he’ll get it for you,” says Clayton Bromberg, President and CEO at Underwood’s, in Jacksonville, FL a retail jewelry store partner of Omi Gems. “We’re known as a high end jeweler. You don’t become that just by saying it. You have to demonstrate it everyday. Omi Gems has helped us create that consistent standard.”
During his career Omi has been a long-time member of the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) serving from 1997-2003 as Director and from 2005-2008 as Vice President. He’s also been a long-time member of International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) and American Gem Society (AGS). Omi is a proponent of maintaining strong industry ties and knows the importance of an ethical business and staying abreast of changes.
The Jewelers 24 Karat Club was formed in 1944 to promote ethical business practices among jewelers and the Lifetime Achievement Award was established to recognize the contributions of jewelry industry leaders.