Company History

In 1964 M.Y. Gilardy starts his business in the gemstone trade. He lives in the Italian fashion metropolis Milano, and travels from there to gemstone mines in Brazil, South Africa, Madagascar, Asia, and many more, buying stones of exceptional quality and importing them to Europe. In 1968 he begins to trade in Germany, regularly visiting the German gemstone capital Idar-Oberstein, where one can find the German diamond and gemstone stock market as well as one of the largest agate and amethyst mines in Europe, in which gemstones have been sources for over several hundred years. 

 At work: Men cutting gemstones in a historic, hydro powered agate manufacture.

Business is flourishing and in 1970 M.Y Gilardy decided to open his own local branch in Idar-Oberstein, including an in-house gemstone grindery. Thus, from the mid 70s onwards, buying and manufacturing gemstones is coordinated from there, and the contact to Italian manufacturers is handled at the Milano office. Furthermore, important markets, such as France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Greece are being served by the German branch. Today, the company portfolio offers a wide variety of gemstones in all their glory. The business now concentrates on the trade and refinement of colored gemstones, such as aquamarine, amethyst, blue topaz, citrine, garnet, peridot, quartz and tourmaline. 

 Gemstone brochure for the mass market, by M.Y. Gilardy, designed in three languages in the 1980s.

In 2006, David Gilardy, son of M.Y. Gilardy, founded GILARDY – Fine Jewelry and presented the first own GILARDY design line. From this point onward, David Gilardy has been creating the finest diamond and gemstone jewelry, regularly presenting new designs as well as custom-made items. The Online-Shop www.gilardy-shop.eu was set up in 2007, and only two years later the first jewelry shop opened in Bogenhausen, Munich. In 2012 a second GILARDY jewelry shop followed, in the fashionable quarter of Haidhausen.