New Era Gems - CARVING A PATH AND CREATING A LEGACY

Think back to your 20th birthday; what were you doing? How did you celebrate?

- Antoinette Rahn

Steve Ulatowski did something that would more or less “begin” a life based on a leap of faith; he started his business, New Era Gems. That was 43 years ago, and by most accounts, that leap of faith has paid off, explains his wife, Jennifer Ulatowski.

Given his early exposure to the fascinating world of rockhounding and mineralogy and its many cast of experts and characters, it makes sense why Steve would leap.

“From what he’s told me when he was six or seven years old, his family lived near Los Angeles, and he stayed at a summer camp, and the man who ran the camp was a rockhound,” Jennifer explained. “One day, while Steve was out looking for rocks, he saw a different looking boulder, so he rolled it back to camp where the man cut it for him, and they found agate.

“Years later, the wife of the man at the camp, whose husband had died, gave Steve a slab of that same rock he found, rolled back to camp, and the man cut. He still has that slab.”

After that initial and life-changing introduction, Steve was hooked and hungry to learn and see more. By the seasoned age of 11, Steve had created his first gem cut, which he named after a girl he was sweet on. Soon after, he was faceting to make a little money. An early entrepreneur, indeed. Since that time his journey has included hunting for rough in locales thousands of miles from home, while working side-by-side with miners and dealing with mine owners directly; selling at many gem shows throughout the year in all corners of the globe; cutting and carving when and where he can; and meeting new people who inevitably become old friends in no time, according to Jennifer.