(Image Courtesy Michelle Macalintal)

Born into a prestigious, four-generation legacy of jewelry crafters, Mouawad took his family business to a whole new level by combining the creative juices of Hollywood's fashion icons with his own expertise in making jewelry.

 Mouawad, raised in Geneva, Switzerland, cultivated an interest in jewelry-making from an early age. His father took him to factories, where Mouawad would sit on a bench to help make and polish jewelry. Even as a child he knew he would take over the business since it was a job he grew to enjoy.

 "I always knew that I would hold the reins, but I didn't know when," Mouawad said. "It eventually became a passion."

 Mouawad wanted to expand the business beyond Europe and penetrate the U.S. market. He moved to Los Angeles following high school and completed his undergrad at Pepperdine University. After receiving a gemology degree from the Gemological Institute of America, he obtained his MBA from UCLA. In 1999, Mouawad moved to New York to start a new company in the diamond industry and change the direction of where the family business was going. He soon realized that the most efficient way to accelerate the process was to line the company up with celebrities; the royalty of America. Mouawad's heart stayed in Hollywood, and so he moved the company to Los Angeles to start cultivating relationships with A-list celebrities. 

 The Heidi Klum collection was the first of many collaborations he made. Mouawad met Klum in 2000, after meeting Victoria's Secret executives on a yacht party in Cannes. He was asked to design dazzling lingerie encrusted with gems for Victoria's Secret runway shows. His collection became the "Fantasy Bra" set, carrying the world's most expensive bra. Through Glamhouse, Klum was also able to make her own signature fashion jewelry line. 

 In addition to jewelry designed by celebrities, Mouawad won his customers over with his own designs. Many red carpet stars such as Angelina Jolie, Tyra Banks, and Eva Longoria can be seen wearing his gems. 

Celebrities with designing abilities who wanted to create their own collections under their labels partnered with Glamhouse. Mouawad provided the endorsement and designers, while the celebrities provided the names. The designer and celebrity sit down and think about what to make, and the 3-dimensional drawing transformed into a prototype, which would become a sample, which would eventually be produced and sold in major department stores.  

Glamhouse's role in the collaboration process is being the holding company. All of Mouawad's partners have their own labels; Glamhouse became synonymous with innovation. Mouawad changed the jewelry industry by giving celebrities creative freedom to make their own jewelry and combining that with classic European traditions and craftsmanship. The company's fan base grows wider every day, and Mouawad expects even greater things to come. 

"Jewelry is art," Mouawad said. "It enhances the beauty of a woman, and I love the creative aspect." 

An entrepreneur whose priority is to please his customers, Mouawad continues taking the business to new heights. One celebrity he enjoyed working with particularly is fashion icon Nicole Richie, who has partnered with Glamhouse for four years.

"We work extremely well together," Mouawad said. 

 There is no one else who has quite changed the industry as Mouawad did; he is an expert that brought it to new levels and created a special, highly profitable link between celebrities and high fashion. 

-Reach writer Jennifer Joh here