Kara Ross (née Gaffney; born 1966/1967) is an American jewelry designer.
Early life
Kara Gaffney grew up in the
Main Line
Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to:
Transportation
Railway
* Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system
* Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
town of
Malvern, Pennsylvania
Malvern is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is west of Philadelphia. The population was 3,419 at the 2020 census. The borough is bordered by Paoli Pike on the south, Sugartown Road on the west, Willistown Township on the east, and ...
, one of the five children of a surgeon, Edmund Gaffney and his wife, Barbara.
She designed her first piece of jewelry when she was thirteen from a tourmaline gemstone she acquired during a family safari in Africa.
[Kara Ross website: Biography]
retrieved March 23, 2013 She attended the exclusive
Agnes Irwin School
The Agnes Irwin School is a non-sectarian college preparatory day school for girls from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. It was founded in 1869 by Agnes Irwin in Philadelphia. Irwin, a great-great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin, later beca ...
in
Rosemont, Pennsylvania
Rosemont is a neighborhood in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States, on the Philadelphia Main Line. It is located in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County. It is best known as the home of Rosemont College.
Ros ...
with fashion designer
Tory Burch
Tory Burch (née Robinson; born June 17, 1966) is an American fashion designer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is the Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of her own brand, Tory Burch LLC. She was listed as the 88th most powerfu ...
(they remain friends today) and her first job was at
Ann Taylor Ann or Anne Taylor may refer to:
*Ann Taylor (writer, born 1757) (1757–1830), English writer
*Ann Taylor (poet) (1782–1866), English poet and children's writer, daughter of the above
*Ann Taylor (actress) (born 1936), British actress, hostess a ...
in the
King of Prussia
The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...
mall.
She graduated from
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
with a major in English and a minor in art history
and interned at several local public relations agencies as well as
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
. She then moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
where she accepted a position in advertising sales with
Harper’s Bazaar
''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...
in Manhattan.
Career
After three years selling magazine advertisements, she enrolled in a six-month intensive program at the
Gemological Institute of America
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a nonprofit institute based in Carlsbad, California. It is dedicated to research and education in the field of gemology and the jewelry arts. Founded in 1931, GIA's mission is to protect buyers and se ...
and became certified
gemologist
Gemology or gemmology is the science dealing with natural and artificial gemstone materials. It is a geoscience and a branch of mineralogy. Some jewelers (and many non-jewelers) are academically trained gemologists and are qualified to identif ...
. She then started designing her own jewelry focusing on fine jewelry, making one-of-a-kind pieces for private clients.
In 2003, she founded Kara Ross New York
and her jewelry line made its debut at
Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son, Andrew Goodman.
To ...
. She is known for melding traditional gold, platinum and diamond elements with organic materials like ebony and maple.
In 2005, she launched a luxury handbag collection featuring exotic skins and gemstone clasps.
Her clientele includes
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...
,
Kate Hudson
Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American actress and businesswoman. She has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award and a Satellite Award, as well as nominations f ...
,
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...
,
Demi Moore
Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Bra ...
,
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
,
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...
. The
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
engaged Ross to create an exclusive line of jewelry, crafted from a magnolia tree that is on the White House lawn,
for the first lady to gift to visiting heads of state and departing female staffers.
Her jewelry is sold at
Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son, Andrew Goodman.
To ...
,
Harrods
Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
,
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street and ...
,
Bloomingdales
Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the business. It became a div ...
,
Henri Bendel
Henri Bendel, Inc. (pronounced BEN-del), established in 1895, was a women's department store based in New York City which in its later history sold women's handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts. Its New York Ci ...
, Scoop, and Intermix. She also has a distributor in Canada and showrooms in both New York City and London.
In 2008, Ross won the Fashion Group International Rising Star Accessories Award.
[Charm and Chain: Kara Ross]
retrieved March 23, 2013 In 2012, she was pronounced the Design Award Winner by the Women’s Jewelry Association.
Personal life
In 2003, she married billionaire real estate developer
Stephen M. Ross.
["Stephen M. Ross" BY ALIZA DAVIDOVIT]
retrieved October 25, 2012[University of Michigan – Stephen M. Ross](_blank)
. They live in New York with her two daughters from a previous marriage to Jonathan McCann.
Stephen Ross also has two children from his first marriage.
In April 2021, it was made public that the couple was divorcing after 18 years of marriage.
Ross currently serves on the 2012-2013 Board of Directors of
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
.
Palm beach Illustrated: "Kara Ross: Palm Beach Beauty" By Paige Bowers
retrieved March 23, 2013
References
External links
Kara Ross New York website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Kara
1960s births
Living people
Agnes Irwin School alumni
American jewelry designers
American marketing businesspeople
Place of birth missing (living people)
American women in business
Businesspeople from Florida
Businesspeople from New York City
Businesspeople from Pennsylvania
CNN people
Gemologists
Georgetown University alumni
Georgetown University people
Marketing women
People from Chester County, Pennsylvania
People from Palm Beach, Florida
21st-century American women
Women jewellers