Every jeweler has a process. The sourcing, the crafting, the customer service–it all tells a story of what they value.
From the moment its doors opened on the County Club Plaza in 1987, Vinca Jewelry set a standard of excellence that has been followed for almost 40 years. Founders Simon and Elizabeth Zouein believed jewelry should be personal and accessible, and they built their family business upon this cornerstone.
“The foundation is our clients. Good design isn't just beautiful - it carries sentiment and value, and it’s wearable,” Simon said. “The vision I started with has now grown into something our entire family and team carry forward together. That's who we are.”
Elizabeth and Simon’s four children began learning the art of custom jewelry from an early age. Their son, Christian, recalls always being part of the team, and along with his three sisters, would accompany Simon across the world to source the best stones, pearls and opals for their clients. Watching his father give his best to the business helped shape the way Christian sees beauty and entrepreneurship.
“My father has a very strong perception of what beauty looks like. I think it almost hurts him if it is not done correctly. A lot of it is because it is how it is supposed to be,” he said. “That is the mentality I grew up with–going to the ends of the earth to buy stones, going into mines, climbing down ladders in Australia to buy opals.”
“As our children grew up, Vinca became a place where our family could work together, where everyone learned the value of hard work and the art of design. This has always been our space to express our creativity - not just as art, but as functional design with the engineering precision that makes people want to carry their pieces with them through their entire lives,” Elizabeth said.
Christian began to emulate this work at the age of 13, melting gold and making jewelry with Simon looking over his shoulder. Now with young daughters of his own, he carries Vinca’s mission, teaching them not only the craft, but the symbolism a piece of jewelry can represent for someone.
“It is really not about the piece itself. It is about the meaning behind the piece. The reason the piece is there,” Christian said. “It is a bond between the two people, or a woman who buys jewelry for herself. Oftentimes, it is symbolic for them. They have reached a point in their career, or they want to look beautiful.”
The Vinca team found inspiration for their newest collections from this idea of self-expression. Although the collections differ from one another, Christian designed them to match personalities or evoke feelings based on curves, angles and freeform.
“Curves make you want to flow cleanly in a situation or environment. Compare that with angles, something much more structured. For me, there is an aspect of protection. Sometimes you want to have a line between you and the outside world—a clean transition between one thing and another. The freeform collection is a bit more whimsical–open to possibility, open to where things might go,” he said.
The value Vinca places on people is seen in the way they celebrate life with them. Whether an engagement, a wedding, a milestone, or just another day, Vinca is committed to honoring each person’s story with genuine care, respect and warmth, as if they were a part of the family.
“I never anticipated how deeply we'd become woven into the fabric of people's most precious moments,” Elizabeth said. “We always keep a box of tissues in the store because people cry when they find a piece that’s perfect for them. Those are tears of pure joy.”
Christian is incredibly proud of his family’s belief that jewelry is for everyone. Knowing the uneasy feeling many can experience when they enter a jewelry store, Vinca strives to be a pillar of difference, not only in the Kansas City community but throughout the world.
“We serve a wide range of customers. We meet them where they are. Seeing the beauty in the jewelry, we see the beauty in the people, too,” Christian said. “Part of the reason that we go to the ends of the world to buy these stones is because it makes jewelry more affordable for people. You are finding these beautiful pieces and making them in such a way that more people can have access. It is special and hard to do.”
While trends come and go, Vinca has remained true to its profound style. With another 40 years on the horizon, the entire family believes the foundation that has built Vinca from the beginning will never part from its story–beauty, family and people.
“We want to look forward to being part of countless more milestone moments - contributing to people's joy, satisfaction, and contentment while creating pieces they'll love and want to pass down through generations,” Elizabeth said. “That's our legacy, and it's what we'll always strive to be.”
All featured collections are available at Vinca Jewelry's Country Club Plaza location or online at vincajewelry.com
Hair and Makeup Artist: Shani Overfelt
Modeling Agency: Voices and Models
Models: Jillian Harte, Olivia Beckman & Elena Weber
Clothing provided by Halls.