There are not many girls who did not want to dress in mom’s sparkly jewelry, and the adage, diamonds are a girls best friend, is not without its avid believers.
For one East Peoria native, however, diamonds are her job. Melissa Mustain-Dornon, a gemologist, is a diamond buyer for Peoria’s Bremer Jewelry.
“What sparked my interest was, from a very young age, I was really into jewelry and weddings,” Mustain-Dornon said.
The interest was also a hobby for Mustain-Dornon, who still has a book of advertisements and favorite designers that she started when she was young. Later, Mustain-Dornon turned her passion into a school project.
“At East Peoria High School, you have to do a senior project, and I did mine on how to buy the perfect diamond. I worked with a gemologist here, at Bremer’s, for three months, as my mentor for the project.”
After graduating from high school and attending Illinois Central College for a semester, Mustain-Dornon applied to the Gemological Institute of America and kept it a secret until she was accepted to the campus in California.
The program at GIA only lasts six months, but it is the equivalent of two years at a college.
“There are labs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day and about five hours of homework every night. I went from January to July of 2006, and it was one of the most uplifting experiences of my life,” Mustain-Dornon said.
After turning down a teaching position at the GIA, Mustain-Dornon returned to Central Illinois to take a month of rest while applying for jobs.
“I wanted to return to Central Illinois because this is where I am from and where my family is. Plus, (Bremer’s) was the store I wanted to work for. I worked here before with my senior project and I knew the owner, Rhonda Daley, and I loved it,” Mustain-Dornon said.
Eventually, she was able to return to Bremer’s. When she first started at the jewelers, she worked on the floor doing sales for a year.
“One of the first engagement rings I sold was to a man who wanted to propose in the store. Frank Sinatra was playing over the speakers, we had flowers in our display cases, and we even took photos for the couple. It was really neat to say you got to be part of someone’s engagement,” Mustain-Dornon said.
In 2007, just before her own wedding, she was offered the job of fashion and bridal buyer, which she started after returning from her honeymoon.
“As a fashion and bridal buyer, you get to travel to shows and choose the pieces that will be sold in the store, which is fun. You get to travel and see all these high-end pieces and your jaw just drops at the sight of some of them,” said Mustain-Dornon who met her idol designer, Cyril Waskol, at the industry’s weeklong show in Las Vegas last year.
In September 2008, Bremer Jewelry’s owner, Daley, gave Mustain-Dornon the title of diamond Buyer.
“I get to hand select every diamond and piece of jewelry that comes through our door. That means diamonds we might buy and those that customer’s come in to appraise, I see them all,” Mustain-Dornon said.
Some of Mustain-Dornon’s harder tasks are finding the right diamond for the right customer, as well as buying diamonds at the right place to stay competitive.
“Fashion is always changing, and every day is something different; I love my job. I always want to learn more about the industry and just to get more knowledge and meet more people, but I want to stay here,” said Mustain-Dornon.
East Peoria, Ill. —
