Please join us in congratulating Jim Shick for achieving 30 years as an American Gem Society Certified Gemologist. Jim is the Manager of our jeweler's shop and watchmaking repair center, where our talented specialists repair your treasured possessions and create beautiful custom pieces of jewelry, including engagement rings, pendants and cufflinks.
Jim has been a jeweler at Kerns for almost 28 years. His long career in the jewelry business began with a jewelry making art class he took in high school. After high school, he attended Indiana University Bloomington where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in jewelry making and silver smithing. Jim moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1985 to work as the Assistant Director of Bearskin Meadow Summer Camp, one of the oldest wilderness camps for youth living with diabetes in the country, run by the non-profit Diabetes, Youths, Families (DYF)
In the Fall of 1987, Jim went to Santa Monica to attend the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in-residence program for 6 months. There, he earned diplomas in Diamonds and Diamond Grading, Colored Stones and Gem Identification, and Graduate Gemologist, one of the most prestigious credentials in the industry.
After completing his education at GIA, Jim returned to Burlingame, starting his career at Kentzler Fine Jewelry working for and learning from master jeweler Walter Kentzler. He then spent a couple of years working in the jewelry department at Butterfield & Butterfield (now Bonhams) in San Francisco. In 1994, Jim started at Kerns Fine Jewelry. He has done it all at Kerns. He has worked in sales, appraisals, custom jewelry designs, and at the jewelers bench setting stones and repairing jewelry. Here at Kerns, we like to say “If it’s broken, Jim can fix it."
Jim first earned the title of Certified Gemologist from the American Gem Society(AGS) in 1992. To become a Certified Gemologist, jewelry professionals are required to take advanced studies in diamonds and colored gemstones and demonstrate mastery of diamond, gemstone, and precious metal testing procedures. To join AGS, every member must go through a peer-reviewed application process followed by an annual recertification exam. Members must also sign and adhere to a Code of Ethics pledge signifying their commitment to ethical business practices. Only one in twenty jewelers have met the exacting requirements necessary for AGS membership.
Jim’s 30 years as an AGS Certified Gemologist is quite an accomplishment given the rigorous requirements that need to be met year after year. During his tenure at Kern’s, Jim has been an invaluable member of the Kerns Fine Jewelry family. His hard work and dedication to quality and customer service are unparalleled. We applaud Jim’s latest achievement and thank him for all he does at Kerns.
American Gem Society Mission Statement
The American Gem Society (AGS) is a nonprofit trade association of fine jewelry professionals dedicated to setting, maintaining and promoting the highest standards of ethical conduct and professional behavior through education, accreditation, recertification of its membership, gemological standards, and gemological research.
The Society is committed to providing educational products to inform and protect the consumer and to contributing to the betterment of the trade by creating industry standards to protect the jewelry-buying public and the fine jewelry industry as a whole.
AGS Laboratories, founded to support the AGS mission, is a nonprofit diamond grading laboratory with a mission of consumer protection. Adhering to the AGS Diamond Grading Standards, AGS Laboratories is dedicated to offering diamond grading reports that provide consistency and accuracy based on science.
