History

The History of Berges Jewelry Design Located Colorado Springs, Colorado

The Berges family has been serving Colorado Springs since 1973. We are the oldest independently owned and operated full-service fine jewelry store in Colorado Springs.

Originally we operated under the name 'Southgate Diamond Jewelers' which opened its doors in 1963.

In 1973 the Berges family bought Southgate Diamond Jewelers.

Gail Berges got his start in the jewelry industry after World War II, he used a GI Bill to become a certified horologist (watchmaker/watch repairman). After working in the trade for several years, he started his own store in Denver, Colorado and after several years he moved to Rawlins, Wyoming and opened a retail full-service jewelry store that was operated by himself and wife, Lillian. In 1973, they moved to Colorado Springs and bought Southgate Diamond Jewelers, which was located in the Southgate Shopping Center.

On January 1, 1974, Brad and Carol Berges moved to Colorado Springs and began working for Brad's parents. Brad was trained to be a goldsmith and Carol started in jewelry sales. It didn't take long before Brad and Carol started working with custom designs and became skilled in 'lost wax' techniques. Carol still creates designs from hand carving each custom piece of jewelry whether it is a ring, pendant, or bracelet.

Brad and Carol bought the jewelry store from his parents on April 1, 1985. In the early 1990's they changed the name of the business to Berges Jewelry Design and in 2001, the business was moved into the Southern Cross Shopping Center.

On August 6, 1992, Carol Berges became a graduate gemologist through the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). All the Berges children have spent time working in the family business throughout the years. Vanessa became Colorado Springs youngest Graduate Gemologist (GIA). She got married worked several years for her husband's family owned jewelry store in Louisville Ky.

August 2019 Mark Gross and Vanessa Berges-Gross moved back to Colorado and bought the business from Brad and Carol making them the third generation owners. Mark and Vanessa meet in 2003 while they were both attending the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to further their educations in the jewelry industry. They spent 12 years in Louisville Ky working at Marks family jewelry store that specialized in custom designing, bridal and fashion Jewelry. A two year move to Raleigh NC to work in a good friends multi store operation helped Mark get more experience. 2019 brought a great opportunity to move back to Colorado and become the oldest family owned jewelry store in Colorado springs as the third generation took ownership. Bringing along his state of the art equipment and technology Mark hopes to continue serving the people of Colorado Springs area with state of the art custom design capabilities and service and repairs.