Q&A With Stones Employee Tamara Vaughan

Tamara Vaughan has been part of the Wheaton community since her freshman year at Wheaton College in 2009 after growing up in College Station, Texas. For the past year-and-a-half, she has been with the Stones Jewelry family. An art history major, Vaughan has learned to appreciate the aesthetic value of jewelry. We caught up with Tamara for a few questions.

How have you liked working at Stones?

Working at Stones has been fun. It’s had a real artistic aspect to it. I’m getting to help people design new pieces and have really enjoyed that aspect.

What’s the best part of the job?

My co-workers are great. It’s just a little family here. I also enjoy getting to work with customers on new items and trying to figure out what they like, what they want and making it perfect for them.
Do you have any favorite customer stories?

I have one in particular. A customer brought in two rings that were significant to her. One was her mother-in-law’s, the other her mother’s first engagement ring. However, the rings weren’t durable and the stones kept falling out. She wanted to form these two rings into one and make it more durable and wearable.

We spoke with our goldsmith to combine the rings and she ended up loving the end result. That was just a great experience. She was very open-minded during the process. Everything went smoothly and we made sure she got exactly what she wanted.

What’s your favorite piece in the store? Perhaps a dream piece of jewelry to own?

There’s so many. We have a rose gold and morganite necklace. It’s pink and I’m not a pink person, but I would wear it every day pink or no pink. It’s just a gorgeous piece. The stone complements the gold perfectly. I want someone to buy it so I’m not here staring at it.

What is it like to work at a store with such deep ties to people and the community?

It’s great being at church or somewhere else and telling people I work at Stones. The first thing they say is “Oh! I got my ears pierced there,” or “They just helped with my mother’s ring.” It’s just nice to work in a place in the community that is known and is so loved.