A Conversation with Kathleen Kimball, Owner of George Thompson Diamond Co.

Nestled in Camarillo, California, George Thompson Diamond Co. has been a cornerstone of fine jewelry in Ventura County since 1977. Known as America's most trusted name in diamonds, this family-owned institution has built nearly five decades of reputation on three pillars: exceptional quality, honest education, and deep community roots. Today, the store is led by Kathleen Kimball, daughter of its beloved founder, who took the reins in 2021 and has been quietly — and brilliantly — shaping the brand's next chapter ever since.

Can you take us back to 1977 and tell us the story of this brand?

Kathleen: My dad started with just an idea, really — that he could go down to LA, when gold was much cheaper, get a briefcase full of gold chains, and sell them door to door. Turned out he was pretty good at it. So we started with just one case in a jewelry store and built it from there. He really specialized in finding great value for his clients — having outstanding relationships with his vendors, always paying his bills on time, which meant he got top pricing in return. He went around the world looking for the best sources and brought all of that value back to his customers.

Then in 2001, he opened a manufacturing facility in Thailand. His wife was Thai and had experience in jewelry manufacturing, so they started it together, and that's really when the brand took off — when we could control the process from start to finish. About 90% of what's in our store, we manufacture ourselves. Design, manufacturing, setting — we are the only ones that touch the ring or the jewelry. We still have that process today, 25 years later. I actually just got back from Thailand a couple of days ago, making sure everything was running perfectly and working in the same room as our CAD designers on a few new pieces.

I took over the business in 2021, and it has been the honor of my life to carry it forward.

When someone walks in looking for an engagement ring, what do you want them to feel in the very first five minutes?

Kathleen: I want them to feel like they're in control of the process. I want them to feel like we have all the time, all the patience, and all the resources for them to make a truly educated decision. For a lot of people, an engagement ring is the most substantial purchase they'll ever make outside of a house or a car — both a time investment and a monetary one. I want them to lead when they come in. I want them to know that all of our knowledge and all of our education is at their fingertips. And when they leave, I want them to feel informed, confident, and genuinely proud of what they chose.

You are known for your deep commitment to diamond education. How do you help customers choose between lab and natural diamonds — without pressure?

Kathleen: Almost all of our salespeople have attended the GIA and completed the diamond grading course — a full week of deep-dive education covering everything there is to know about diamonds. They carry that knowledge directly to their clients. When it comes to choosing between lab and natural, honestly, most people's minds are already made up before they walk in. But we are very transparent about resale value, and very honest about how a lab diamond holds its value over time. We lay out exactly what you get with each option and then step back and let the customer decide — no pressure, no influence either way. That's the foundation of who we are.

For custom pieces, what is your favorite part of the process — from the initial idea all the way to the finished heirloom?

Kathleen: I love sitting down with a client and really getting into what their idea is — and then translating that into something that is truly viable. A lot of times someone comes in with a vision, and while it's beautiful in concept, it simply won't hold up over the lifetime of a ring. That's one of my favorite moments: taking someone's dream and making it real in a way that will actually last. We also have a 3D printer right in the store, so we print every custom piece before it's cast. We print it in actual size, and sharing that 3D print with the client is genuinely one of the most exciting parts of the process. They can hold their future ring in their hands and see exactly what it will look like before a single gram of metal is poured.

The Diamond in the Rough Scholarship is part of this brand's legacy. What does giving back look like for you today?

Kathleen: It was my dad's legacy — though I suppose it's mine now too. My dad didn't ask for much before he passed away, but one of the things he did ask was that we keep the Diamond in the Rough Scholarship going. It's awarded to the top ten seniors at each of 22 local high schools — students whose grade point averages improved the most from their junior to senior year. My dad believed that kind of growth takes an incredible amount of grit and determination, and that grit is exactly what carries you through college and through life. He wanted to honor these students on the same night the valedictorian is named, because their accomplishments are no less remarkable. That's 220 scholarships a year, given across our community.

As the store approaches its 50th year in business next year, our plan is to host a fundraising gala for the scholarship and create an endowment — so that future generations, for years and years to come, are supported by the Diamond in the Rough Scholarship. It will outlast all of us, and that's exactly as it should be.

Since you've taken over the brand, how do you envision its future — and what has changed with your touch?

Kathleen: We're using technology to provide a better customer experience at every stage. I'll be honest — we did everything on pen and paper until I took over. Now we use a full customer relationship management system, so we know your anniversary is coming up, we know what you've purchased in the past, we can reach out and say, "Your wife was in here and loved this piece — your anniversary is around the corner." We offer lifetime warranties on all our jewelry, and now we can actually remind people it's time to come in for their service, because life gets busy. All of these things are part of an experience we simply couldn't offer before.

We also offer virtual appointments now. We have clients who drive three hours to see us — that's a major commitment — so if someone isn't sure whether we're the right fit, we'll meet them virtually first. We keep ring sizes on file. A husband who wants to upgrade his wife's engagement ring doesn't need to know her size — we already do. We make around 3,000 sales a year, and technology allows us to hold that history and serve every customer as if they're the only one. Creating a seamless, personal experience from start to finish — that's my biggest contribution to this brand.

Is there a client story that has stood out — something personal you'd like to share?

Kathleen: We've been in business long enough that we've now served three generations of engagement rings. A grandmother and grandfather got their ring from us, got married, had children, and those children came back to us for their engagement ring and wedding set. And now their children are coming in for theirs. There is nothing cooler than that. It happens three or four times a year, and it genuinely never gets old. That's the truest measure of what this place means to people.

Can you give us a glimpse into what's coming next from George Thompson Diamond Co.?

Kathleen: I'm really excited about what's in the pipeline. I wear an Oura Ring for health tracking — and I love fine jewelry but I don't want to give up my wellness routine for it. I've seen high-fashion covers for wellness rings made of gold and diamonds, and I didn't love any of them, so I simply designed my own. The diamonds are being set right now, and it should be finished very soon.

I'm also working on a three-carat salt-and-pepper pear-shape stone that came in as a trade — it's not a traditionally desirable diamond, but I loved it immediately. I'm designing an Edwardian-style setting around it, with that beautiful black-and-diamond contrast that's resonating so strongly right now. And because birthstone jewelry is one of the most giftable categories we carry, I'm developing a couple of pendant styles that can be worn with any birthstone — beautiful, versatile, and accessible.

And then there's something I'm particularly excited about: I found some extraordinarily vivid lab-grown colored stones at the Bangkok jewelry show that completely changed my perspective on lab color. I've never been a fan of lab color historically, but these were so bright, so vivid, that they stopped me in my tracks. So a line of lab color paired with lab diamonds is coming, and I cannot wait to share it. Giftable pieces, investment pieces, and fashion pieces — truly all of the above.

Where do your design ideas come from?

Kathleen: A lot of it is stone-led. When I saw those lab stones in Bangkok, they caught my eye and became the guide for what to design around them. The salt-and-pepper pear shape came in as a trade, and even though it wasn't traditionally desirable, I still wanted it to be beautiful — so I let the stone tell me what it needed. But it's also deeply collaborative. My team in the United States has over 250 years of combined experience in the jewelry industry. My team in Thailand has over 150 years of combined experience. I share an idea, and they push it further — asking "what about this?" or "have you considered that?" Some things don't work, but we've had far more successes than failures. That collaborative spirit between two continents, two cultures, and generations of expertise is something very few jewelry brands in the world can claim.

George Thompson Diamond Co. is a testament to what happens when quality, integrity, and genuine love of community compound over nearly fifty years. You can explore their full collection of engagement rings, custom jewelry, and fine pieces at georgethompson.com, where every piece carries the promise that has defined this family since 1977: that you should never have to choose between beauty, value, and trust.