Biography:Eric Cifani

Eric first began learning the art of jeweling at 10 years of age from his grandfather Joseph Cifani and has continued working on the same classic hand tools in the Cifani family for 70 years. He inherited his grandfather’s tools in middle school and took jewelry courses throughout all years of High School and college. His artistic philosophy is that nature is the creator. It is his role to seek, find, see, reveal, and arrange each piece in the spirit of Mother Earth’s unique creations. Manifesting one-of-a-kind, 100% natural, artist-mined, and handcrafted heirloom jewelry.

Over his lifetime Eric’s work has earned several awards, been internationally published and also exhibited in several museums. Eric is the proprietor of Cifani Gem, a 4 generation family jeweler who offers their work and also teaches The Art of Jeweling from Mine to Maker. His creative process is well documented on social media to help and inspire other artists. Eric is a volunteer supervisor for the Southern Nevada Gem & Mineral Society (SNGMS) and a member of the Goodsprings Historical Society.

Eric co-owns Columbia 23 Mine where they guide visiting diggers on their 20-acre claim to mine their own gemstones and even learn to make custom jewelry from their findings just 30 miles south of Las Vegas.