'America's Coolest Jewelry Store' found in Lake Travis

In the jewelry industry Sir Zoltan David II is considered a legend. As a jewelry designer for more than 30 years, he has earned the rank of one of America's most elite artisans.

His two stores—the flagship gallery at the Hill Country Galleria and the Oasis location—have both recently been named "America's Coolest Jewelry Store" from jewelry industry publication InStore Magazine. It is the only business in the nation that has won that award twice, David said.

"What distinguishes this store from other places is that there are no other modern brand jewelry stores where you can talk to the originator of the work," David said. "I've been in the industry a lot of years, and I'm not aware of any in the country. That's what makes us unique."

David describes his business as a boutique luxury brand.

"We design all our own work. There is nothing even close to it in the jewelry industry. All the work is original. In the jewelry industry, if you walk into six different jewelry stores, by the time you walk into the sixth one you're pretty much looking at what you thought you saw in the first, second and third one. There are a lot of followers in this industry and very few innovators."

Innovation is what David is best-known for. He holds multiple patents, including a U.S. patent for metal ornamentation—a three-dimensional inlaying technique. He has the only patent for inlay given since 1891, and it is his signature look, he said.

David has also won dozens of national and international awards for jewelry design and was twice named Jewelry Designer of the Year.

All of the work that David does is based on original concepts and represents 3 percent to 5 percent of the jewelry being made in the industry, he said. David's designs, which are made onsite at his Dancing Metals Studio, can take anywhere from five minutes to several weeks to create, he said. His new collection, Knight Dreams, took two years of research and development.

His inspiration comes from a variety of sources such as clients, gemstones and metals.

"Maybe it is something that I have no idea how to do, and I want to figure it out," David said.

David grew up in Budapest, Hungary. His father was a World War II hero and a leader in the 1956 Hungarian revolution against the Soviets, and his family immigrated to Canada when David was 6. His father was honored for his bravery with Hungarian knighthood, which was eventually passed on to David in 1988.

David began his career by taking sculpting classes and working with wood and metal. He then spent eight years in apprenticeships with internationally known Swiss and German artisans before winning a national De Beers award and venturing out on his own in 1980 in Vancouver. He later moved the jewelry business to Laguna Beach, Calif., where he met his wife, Patti, a sixth-generation Texan.

"I told her that I would never move to Texas because I had been to Dallas and Houston. I had never been to Austin. So we came out here on vacation and fell in love with the area," David said. "Lake Travis should be proud that they're the only community with two award-winning stores. Lake Travis is a cool community. It just got a little bit cooler," he said.

Jewelry buying tips

With the holidays approaching, David offers the following jewelry buying advice:

"The biggest mistake is buying jewelry overseas when you travel. Most of the time when someone walks in here and says I just bought this diamond in Africa or this tanzanite in Tanzania or this pearl in Japan, they generally pay more than they would here for a lesser quality.

"The second mistake is lack of knowledge about what you're buying. The only way to get knowledgeable is to spend time looking. Visit different jewelry stores. The Internet has so much contradictory information. Go to where you think you're going to get forthright information. If you can find someone who would rather be forthright than sell you a piece of jewelry, then you found the right person to talk to."

David's best advice for holiday shoppers?

"Come and visit my store," he said, smiling.

Zoltan David

• 12901 Hill Country Blvd., Ste. D-1-120, 372-8888
• 6550B Comanche Trail, Ste. 111, 582-018
• www.zoltandavid.com