Mary Leppert and Samantha Hurst Larkins have a friendship bonded by gold. The Indianapolis natives have been friends for years and began working professionally together when Leppert brought Larkins’s jewelry line into G. Thrapp Jewelers, where she worked.
In 2016, the friends opened their first jewelry store together, Metalmark Fine Jewelry, in Denver, Colo., where Larkins lives. The women then decided it was time to open a location closer to their hometown and settled on Carmel, opening a shop at 211 W. Main St. in Oct. 2017.
“It took us a while to find a place,” Larkins said. “Our broker said we should go check out what’s going on up on Main Street in Carmel. We drove up there and I thought it was amazing. We checked out the space and pretty much signed on the dotted line.”
Metalmark specializes in eclectic jewelry not found in typical jewelry stores.
“The range of the jewelry is completely individualized,” Larkins said. “You could buy a $90 leather bracelet or a $10,000 pair of diamond studs. We’re trying to empower our guests to find something they love. We’re passionate about our jewelry, and we would wear it ourselves.”
The space was designed with guests’ comfort in mind.
“The space in Carmel is totally different,” Leppert said. “We have a kitchen island right in the middle. We wanted people to feel like they’re in someone’s home so that they could just come over and sit down at the island with a glass of wine or just sit and talk about jewelry.”
Both women have degrees from the Gemological Institute of America. Larkins creates custom-made pieces by request.
“We want our clients to feel like they’re part of a family,” Larkins said. “We want them to stay and linger over the jewelry. We don’t want anyone to feel intimidated coming into Metalmark.”
For more, visit metalmarkfinejewelry.com.
