530 Ramona St, Palo Alto, CA
Info@MansoorFineJewelers.com
650-327-5667
Catherine Mansoor Bio
About Catherine Mansoor
Catherine Mansoor didn’t exactly set out to take on the family trade of dealing in jewelry and antiques when her uncle, Edmond, decided to retire in 1978 after years of running his Palo Alto shop. She was 25 at the time, a fresh college graduate in humanities from San Francisco State, and a white-water rafting guide. When he offered her the chance to buy the business, she thought, “sure, I could do that for a bit.”
Every morning before going into the shop, she would stop by her uncle’s house to learn something new about jewelry and running the business. Nearly 40 years later, Catherine is still the smiling face greeting long-time customers at Mansoor Fine Jewelers, providing them with unique pieces to treasure for a lifetime.
While growing up in West Los Angeles, Catherine learned an appreciation for objets d'art from her dad, William. From his travels, to his birth country of Egypt or throughout Europe, William would bring back treasures and drape them over the coffee table or hang them on the wall before spending hours telling his family about the history of the pieces and the cultures they came from. “Look closely at the stones,” he would say. “Can you see the intricate detail of the inlay?” He would talk about the period of a piece, how jewels were mined, and world history. “It’s not just a thing,” he would tell them, “but the embodiment of a people and a period in time.”
William had attended university in Europe for degrees in archaeology and art history, which provided him an extensive background that he took into the gallery his father started in 1904 in Cairo’s historic Shepheard's Hotel—a hub for international commerce, European tourists and international aristocracy. During the 1940s, William (the oldest of 10 children) began establishing business connections in New York and other parts of the United States where he eventually moved the family business.
William and three of his brothers established art and jewelry businesses in California—one of those in Palo Alto near where Catherine moved when she was 10. She frequented her uncle Edmond’s shop along Ramona Street’s historic district while growing up, admiring the Asian-inspired jade jewelry, the Egyptian lapis and silver scarab pieces popular then. She had no intention of taking on the family business until it became apparent that there wasn’t anyone else to do so and felt it would be a shame to have such a unique collection built on family tradition over the decades disappear.
After taking over the reins of the business in 1978, Catherine ran the shop solo until 1983 when she met Adelaide Gore, introduced by her uncle. Adelaide, a local jewelry dealer, shared space in the shop which allowed Catherine a little more flexibility. When they had the opportunity to buy a collection from Elizabeth Gamble, they pooled their resources and renamed the business Mansoor and Gore. Eventually, Adelaide’s daughter, Julie - a fine arts major, designer and painter - took over Adelaide’s share of the business. Julie and Catherine remained partners for 15 years until 2015 when Catherine retained sole proprietorship.
As Catherine learned the jewelry business over the years and attended trade shows, she met some fantastic designers and artists from around the world—people she knew could bring exclusive pieces to the shop that would thrill her clientele.
“People who are drawn to the shop are well-traveled, know history and are excited about the story behind a piece and the culture it came from,” Catherine says. “They may come in and ask questions like, ‘Do you have anything from North India?’ I want to be able to match our unique clientele with distinctive pieces.”
As for her ability to connect with people and know instinctively what they may be interested in, Catherine says she learned much of that from watching her uncles.
“We used to hang out at the farmer’s market all the time when I was little,” she says. “My uncle sold music boxes from Switzerland; I was mesmerized by how he could talk to people. And I’ve heard many stories about how my grandfather, even as he grew blind in his old age, could charm patrons by handling a piece and regaling them with stories. It’s just in my blood.”
Catherine began designing her own pieces with the help of Hakon Jonsson, an Icelandic goldsmith (now retired) in 1995. Hakon trained in the old European style of learning all facets of jewelry fabrication.
“He could do everything!” Catherine says. “Truly a talented, Renaissance craftsman.”
She would hand him drawings or photos of antique jewelry and ask him if he could create something like it. Her aesthetics tend toward a mash-up of ancient and modern Mediterranean styles with rich-colored stones (tourmaline, rubies, sapphires, coral, colored diamonds) and high carat gold. She also sources ancient coins to place in contemporary settings, enjoying the sense of the old with a modern interpretation.
“Anything that looks like it was buried for a few thousand years looks good to me!” she says.
Catherine says the most rewarding part of continuing her family’s tradition are the relationships she has built with clients over the years. She commonly has two or three generations of a family coming into the shop together, looking for a distinctive piece or gifts for all of life’s special occasions.
“Seeing the joy on their faces when we help them find that perfect piece…and knowing they will treasure it for years to come…that’s what makes me happy.”