How I Got Here: Advisor Mirta de Gisbert on Why Jewelry Empowers

By Karen Dybis | May 28, 2025

When Mirta de Gisbert walks the Las Vegas jewelry trade shows in June, she will be searching for pieces that will resonate with her private clients—jewels that are not only beautiful but memorable.

As de Gisbert renews friendships, meets new designers, and looks for industry trends in Vegas, one long-ago client will be in the back of her mind. That’s her mom—her first jewelry influence, the inaugural paying customer of de Gisbert’s jewelry consulting service, and her best friend.

Her mother died only seven months after de Gisbert started her business in 2017. Mirta de Gisbert LLC provides “objective and unfiltered jewelry advice,” she says. Why those specific words? Because jewelry is deeply personal, de Gisbert says. That’s why her mom loved it, and why she has always loved it.

“Jewelry is about having fun and connecting with the piece. It’s how it makes you feel. So feel it. Love it. Connect to it. And, above all, wear it,” she says.

Mirta de Gisbert DJWE — *Give Mirta de Gisbert—seen here at the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition—a loupe and she’s in her happy place, the advisor says.*

de Gisbert was born in Spain and lived there until she was 7, when her family moved to South Africa for her father’s job as a metal trader. It was supposed to be a five-year stint, but her parents stayed in the country for 21 years.

When the family traveled back to Spain or France to visit relatives, her mom often took de Gisbert with her to bring jewelry out of the vault to pack for the trip. The things her mom told her about each gemstone or jewelry piece became de Gisbert’s favorite stories.

“To this day I love the emotions jewelry evokes and the stories it tells. It is a form of self-expression for me. Jewelry is a wearable and tangible memory,” de Gisbert says.

She graduated from high school in Johannesburg, and then her path twisted and turned—through business school and jobs in branding, marketing, and advertising—from Spain to Washington, D.C., to London to San Francisco. She now lives in New York City, with her husband, toddler son, and their Frenchie, Pintxo.

Mirta de Gisbert Basque — *de Gisbert in Saint Jean de Luz, in France’s Basque country, where her family is from and which she considers her European base*

While attending Georgetown University, de Gisbert had an internship one summer at mobile communications company Vodacom in Johannesburg, and it gave her her life’s mantra.

“I received a piece of advice that I’m proud to say I’ve lived by: Be proactive. Don’t wait for opportunities—make opportunities. Don’t wait to learn—ask to learn. Don’t wait to help—help.”

After graduating from Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business in 2008 with a bachelor’s in international business and marketing, de Gisbert worked at FairWinds Partners, a Washington, D.C., startup focused on internet-strategy consulting. She loved her coworkers, but she was ready to try something else. With her parents’ financial help, de Gisbert quit and moved to London to figure out what she wanted to do.

“As I was saying my goodbyes, a good friend of mine suggested I consider getting into the jewelry industry. At the time, I shrugged it off because I thought to myself, ‘Okay, so I like pretty things. But who doesn’t?’” de Gisbert says. “The seed she planted, though, stayed with me.”

Mirta de Gisbert OMBAS — *de Gisbert says finding the right jewelry for her clients and building relationships happen at trade shows, like the Original Miami Beach Antique Show, where these pieces were exhibited.*

In London, de Gisbert interned in corporate communications for public relations firm Capital MSL, in global licensing for Burberry, and in jewelry sales and production for Jessica McCormack. She was a sales and marketing coordinator at Philippa Holland Fine Jewelry in 2010 and 2011 and a jewelry intern at Sotheby’s the following year. She also earned her Graduate Gemologist and Applied Jewelry Professional certifications from GIA in London between 2010 and 2012.

After moving to San Francisco in late 2012 to be with her then fiancé, de Gisbert did volunteer work while waiting for her green card. In November 2014, she joined Edelman as an account executive.

“I genuinely learned the art of communication, the importance of being buttoned up, how to pitch, how to wear many hats, the importance of being a good manager, and to have thicker skin,” de Gisbert says. “I also realized that if I’m putting in 16-hour workdays, I can definitely do that for my own company.”

As an advisor, de Gisbert helps clients with anything and everything jewelry-related. Her job is to build relationships with designers, jewelry brands, and industry experts, she says. It’s a job she loves, and she celebrates that she gets to do it daily.

“Ultimately I want everyone to have a jewelry collection that truly speaks to them and represents who they are,” de Gisbert says.

Top: Mirta de Gisbert may not have come out of a jewelry family, but she says she has invested her life in this industry. (Photos courtesy of Mirta de Gisbert)