Gertrude Zachary (1937-2013) was a jewelry designer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She specialized in statement jewelry that has over-the-top, in-your-face designs with big stones. It is not subtle! It is colorful and large. It is spectacular.
Gertrude was born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1937. Her family included her parents, her sister Lilly (who also became a jewelry designer), and her brother Hans. They left Germany after WW II, immigrating to the United States. The family initially lived in New York, then they moved to Michigan.
Gertrude attended Michigan State University, earning a joint bachelor of arts in education and German in 1960. She abandoned teaching, married, and became a flight attendant for United Airlines for about six months. Gertrude and her husband divorced.
In 1965, she met and married a medical doctor. They had two children and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1968. Sometime between 1970 and 1974, Gertrude and her second husband divorced.
After the divorce, Gertrude continued to live in Albuquerque. Gertrude built a career buying and selling Native American jewelry. She also sold antiques. In 1974, she met and married Dick Zachary. The marriage was short-lived and they divorced after six months.
Dick Zachary owned a jewelry manufacturing facility. The business was given to Gertrude as part of the divorce settlement. She set up a wholesale jewelry manufacturing operation in 1974, and moved the workshop to downtown Albuquerque in 1976. Although Gertrude had no formal training as a jewelry designer, she had a wonderful sense of style. She hired local silversmiths to produce her contemporary designs which were based on Native American jewelry. Her designs featured the use of large stones set in sterling silver.
In 1991, she opened a retail shop in Albuquerque which carried jewelry in a range of prices. This meant serious jewelry collectors as well as the young and stylish bought pieces they loved.
Gertrude paved the way for other female jewelry designers. The southwestern jewelry industry was dominated by men when her business opened. In 2008, Gertrude built a new home next to her antique store in Albuquerque. The mansion looks like a European castle. A tour of the house is available here. Gertrude died in 2015, and the building became the Turquoise Museum .
the former home of Gertrude Zachary