About the Store
Moriarty’s Gem Art Jewelers is a distinguished family-owned jewelry business located in the historic square of Crown Point, Indiana, specializing in custom jewelry designs featuring precision-cut gemstones. Established nearly 50 years ago, this remarkable enterprise has evolved into a destination jeweler known for their exceptional craftsmanship, direct-source gemstone acquisition, and unique custom pieces that stand apart from mass-produced jewelry. The business operates under a vertically integrated model where they control multiple aspects of the jewelry creation process—from gemstone sourcing and cutting to design and manufacturing—allowing them to deliver extraordinary quality while eliminating middlemen that typically drive up costs in the traditional jewelry supply chain.
What truly distinguishes Moriarty’s Gem Art is their remarkable expertise in gemstone cutting, particularly through the work of owner Steve Moriarty, who is recognized as a master gem cutter. This specialized skill transforms raw gemstone material into precisely faceted gems with exceptional brilliance, color, and character. Steve personally travels to source locations across the globe including Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar, Brazil, Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia to acquire rare and exceptional rough gemstone material directly from miners or local dealers. This direct sourcing approach not only ensures superior quality control but also enables the business to offer extraordinary gemstones that might never enter the conventional jewelry marketplace, creating truly one-of-a-kind pieces for their clientele.
The business has successfully embraced modern digital engagement while maintaining traditional craftsmanship values, building an impressive online presence with over 150,000 YouTube followers who view their educational content about gemstones and jewelry. This blend of old-world craftsmanship with contemporary marketing and educational outreach has allowed Moriarty’s to develop a devoted following that extends far beyond their physical location in Indiana. Their exceptional near-perfect 4.9-star rating from over 220 reviews testifies to customer satisfaction with both their products and service approach. Despite operating from a small town in Indiana, Moriarty’s ships to over 200 countries, demonstrating how specialized expertise and authentic craftsmanship can create global appeal in the luxury goods marketplace even without the advantage of a major metropolitan location.
Products and Collections:
Moriarty’s Gem Art Jewelers offers an exceptional selection of fine jewelry and loose gemstones organized into distinct collections that showcase their gemstone expertise and design capabilities. The custom jewelry collections feature carefully categorized sections including pendants that highlight spectacular center gemstones in distinctive settings, rings ranging from everyday statement pieces to elaborate designs featuring rare gemstones, and earrings that showcase complementary gemstone pairs cut with precise matching for perfect symmetry. Their engagement ring collection merits special attention, featuring colored gemstone engagement rings that offer distinctive alternatives to traditional diamond rings, appealing to couples seeking unique expressions of commitment through unusual gemstone choices and custom designs created under their “Christopher Michael” design label. The loose gemstone inventory represents a truly extraordinary offering that few jewelers can match, featuring precision-cut specimens across numerous varieties including rare garnets (Malaia, Chrome Pyrope), spinels in various colors, fine sapphires (including Montana specimens), exceptional tanzanite, zircons, and specialty opal like the featured Ethiopian Welo Opal. Many gemstones are offered in matched pairs specifically cut for earrings, with options like the “Pair of Pear Shape Brilliant Cut Blue Zircons” ($1,680) or “Pair of Shield Cut Blue Zircons” ($2,500) demonstrating their ability to create precisely matched stones in sophisticated cutting styles. For collectors and those interested in natural specimens, the store offers mineral specimens such as the “1538g Ruby In Zoisite Mineral Specimen” ($1,179) and “1194g Raw Black Tourmaline Crystal” ($619), connecting finished jewelry with its natural origins. Throughout all collections, Moriarty’s emphasizes the uniqueness of their inventory with the clear statement “When An Item Sells, It Is Gone!” highlighting the one-of-a-kind nature of their offerings. Each product listing typically includes comprehensive details about gemstone weight, cutting style, origin when known, and often information about the particular characteristics that make each stone special, educating customers while showcasing the exceptional quality standards that define the Moriarty’s difference.
Special Services
Moriarty’s Gem Art Jewelers offers specialized services that reflect their unique position in the jewelry industry and extensive gemstone expertise. The cornerstone of their service offerings is custom jewelry design, where clients can collaborate with their designers to create completely personalized pieces that showcase selected gemstones in settings tailored to individual preferences and wearing habits. This bespoke approach allows customers to participate in creating jewelry that perfectly expresses their personal style while highlighting the exceptional gemstones that form the foundation of Moriarty’s reputation. For clients interested in particular gemstone varieties or specific cutting styles, the company provides specialized gemstone cutting services where master cutter Steve Moriarty can transform rough material into precisely faceted gems according to customer specifications, creating truly one-of-a-kind stones for custom jewelry projects.
The educational component of Moriarty’s business model represents another valuable service, with their extensive YouTube presence offering detailed information about gemstone varieties, cutting techniques, and jewelry design considerations that help customers make informed purchasing decisions. Their website regularly features informative articles on topics like “Beryl Gemstone: What Colors are Available?” and specialized cutting techniques such as “Pixel Cut Gems,” demonstrating their commitment to customer education beyond simple sales transactions. For remote customers, Moriarty’s offers worldwide shipping to over 200 countries with free shipping on all U.S. orders, expanding their market far beyond their physical location in Indiana. Their customer-friendly policies include 30-day easy returns on stock items, providing purchase confidence for customers unable to view items in person before buying. The business appears to host special events including “Live Shows” for which customers can RSVP, likely featuring new gemstone acquisitions or special collections, creating engagement opportunities for both local and remote clients. These comprehensive services transform Moriarty’s from merely a retail establishment into a complete gemstone and jewelry resource, where education, customization, and specialized expertise complement their exceptional product offerings.
Payment Methods
Moriarty’s Gem Art Jewelers likely offers flexible payment options appropriate for their high-quality jewelry and gemstone offerings, accommodating various customer preferences while ensuring secure transactions. For their global customer base, the store probably accepts all major credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover, facilitating convenient online purchases for customers worldwide. Given their international shipping to over 200 countries, the business likely supports secure payment processing systems designed for cross-border transactions, potentially including options that automatically handle currency conversion for non-US customers. For substantial purchases such as engagement rings or significant gemstone acquisitions, Moriarty’s might offer financing options through partnerships with specialized jewelry financing services, allowing customers to manage the investment in fine jewelry through structured payment plans rather than single transactions.
The store’s pricing structure reflects their direct-source business model, with statements like “We have deleted the middle men from the supply chain in order to give you the highest quality gems and precious metals available at the lowest possible price” indicating their commitment to value pricing despite the exceptional quality of their offerings. The displayed price ranges for featured gemstones illustrate both the accessibility and premium aspects of their inventory, with options ranging from the more accessible “Round Brilliant Chrome Pyrope Garnet 1.68 Carats” at $699 to investment pieces like the “Round Brilliant Cut Tanzanite 9.36 Carats” at $6,330. Many listings show two prices, possibly indicating retail value versus Moriarty’s direct pricing, reinforcing their value proposition to customers. For custom design projects, the store likely requires deposits to initiate work, with balanced payment structured around project milestones. Their global shipping capabilities suggest secure international payment processing that protects both the business and customers during remote transactions. These comprehensive payment options and transparent pricing approaches support Moriarty’s reputation for integrity and value that complements their exceptional product quality, creating a purchasing experience aligned with their premium yet accessible market positioning.
Online Presence
Moriarty’s Gem Art Jewelers maintains a sophisticated online presence through their website www.moregems.com, which serves as both an e-commerce platform and an educational resource for gemstone enthusiasts. The website features detailed product listings for their extensive inventory of loose gemstones and finished jewelry, with high-quality images that showcase the exceptional cutting and design work that distinguishes their offerings. Each gemstone listing typically includes comprehensive specifications regarding weight, dimensions, cutting style, and origin when known, allowing customers to make informed purchasing decisions even without seeing stones in person. The site is organized into logical categories including pendants, rings, earrings, and engagement jewelry, complemented by gemstone-specific sections that allow customers to browse by their preferred gem varieties such as amethyst, ametrine, aquamarine, alexandrite, and garnet.
Beyond product listings, the website features educational content including articles about gemstone varieties, cutting techniques, and new acquisitions, reflecting the company’s commitment to customer education alongside sales. The “What’s New” section highlights recently added inventory and informative content, encouraging return visits from engaged customers interested in new offerings. The site prominently mentions their exceptional YouTube presence with “Over 150,000 Fans on Youtube” who view their “Educational Videos & Reviews,” indicating the integration of video content into their digital strategy. This YouTube channel likely features detailed gemstone information, cutting demonstrations, and product showcases that complement the website’s more static content. An email signup invitation stating “love gems & jewelry? So do we. But we hate spam. Be the first to hear about new finds and amazing gemstones and no spam” suggests regular newsletter communications about new inventory and educational content. The website clearly communicates their customer-friendly policies including worldwide shipping capabilities, free U.S. shipping, and 30-day return policy on stock items, building purchase confidence for remote customers. Their significant online presence allows Moriarty’s to extend their market reach far beyond their physical location in Crown Point, Indiana, creating a global customer base for their exceptional gemstones and jewelry while maintaining the personalized service approach that defines their business philosophy.
Gemstone Expertise and Sourcing
Moriarty’s Gem Art Jewelers distinguishes itself through extraordinary gemstone expertise centered on the specialized cutting skills of owner Steve Moriarty. As a master gem cutter, Steve transforms rough gemstone material into precisely faceted gems that maximize each stone’s natural beauty, color saturation, and optical performance. This expertise encompasses both traditional cutting styles like brilliant, emerald, and cushion cuts, and more innovative approaches such as the mentioned “pixel cut” and “fantasy & concave” cutting techniques that create distinctive visual effects beyond conventional faceting. The company’s tagline “The excellence is in our cutting” emphasizes how this specialized skill serves as their fundamental competitive advantage in the fine jewelry marketplace, allowing them to offer gems with superior brilliance and character compared to mass-market options.
Their gemstone sourcing practices further enhance this expertise advantage, with Steve personally traveling to mining regions across multiple continents including Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar), Asia (Thailand, Burma, Cambodia), and South America (Brazil). These direct-source buying trips allow Moriarty’s to acquire exceptional rough material that might never enter conventional supply chains, providing access to rare varieties, unusual colors, and superior quality specimens. By eliminating intermediaries in the gemstone supply chain, the company not only secures better pricing but gains first selection from newly mined material before it passes through multiple dealers who typically reserve the finest specimens for premium clients. This direct sourcing coupled with in-house cutting creates a vertically integrated approach rare in the jewelry industry, where most retailers purchase pre-cut stones from established dealers rather than controlling the cutting process themselves. The educational content Moriarty’s produces, including their popular YouTube videos and informative website articles, further demonstrates their commitment to sharing this specialized knowledge with customers, helping clients appreciate the technical and aesthetic factors that distinguish exceptional gemstones from average specimens. This combination of specialized cutting skills, direct sourcing practices, and educational outreach creates a comprehensive expertise profile that few jewelers can match, establishing Moriarty’s as an authoritative source for fine colored gemstones despite their location outside traditional jewelry centers.
Business Evolution and Heritage
Moriarty’s Gem Art Jewelers represents a remarkable example of business evolution within a family enterprise, having maintained relevance and success across nearly five decades while adapting to significant industry changes. Founded almost 50 years ago, the business has transformed from what was likely a traditional local jewelry store into a specialized gemstone-focused operation with global reach, demonstrating how specialized expertise can create sustainability even as retail jewelry has faced significant disruption from chain stores and online competition. The family ownership structure has provided continuity through this evolution, with current leadership appearing to include multiple generations, as suggested by content attributed to both Steve Moriarty (identified as the master gem cutter and owner) and Jeff Moriarty (author of educational articles on the website).
The business has skillfully balanced traditional craftsmanship values with contemporary business approaches, maintaining hands-on gemstone cutting and custom design work while embracing digital marketing through their sophisticated website and significant YouTube presence. This hybrid approach allows them to preserve the specialized skills that distinguish their offerings while reaching a global audience that appreciates these traditional techniques. The development of their “Christopher Michael” design label suggests brand evolution beyond the family name, creating opportunities for broader market recognition while maintaining their heritage identity through the Moriarty’s Gem Art business name. The company’s adaptability is further demonstrated by their embrace of e-commerce and international shipping capabilities, expanding from local retail roots to global distribution while maintaining the personalized service approach that defined their original business model. Their evolution has been guided by a consistent focus on gemstone quality and exceptional cutting rather than following mainstream jewelry trends, creating a distinctive market position that transcends typical retail jewelry categories. This strategic clarity has apparently served them well through decades of industry change, with their near-perfect 4.9-star rating from over 220 reviews suggesting that their evolved business model successfully delivers both product quality and customer satisfaction in the contemporary marketplace while honoring the craftsmanship traditions that have sustained them for nearly half a century.
