A jewel of a woman who knew her gems

Deepa Bharath

Mary Barr had good taste. And she knew it very well.

In fact, she was proud of it.

Mary knew gems and stones as well as she knew every nook and

corner of Newport Beach, the community she came to with her husband

Charles H. Barr in 1959. Together, she and her husband, a

second-generation watchmaker, started a jewelry store on Balboa

Island. Five years later, they opened a second store in Westcliff

Plaza in Newport Beach.

Her husband died in 1973, but Mary kept the store. She had used

her refined aesthetic abilities and art background to decorate the

store. After Charles’ death, she quickly began to learn more about

their wares.

She not only earned a diploma from the Gemological Institute of

America, but also ended up being the first female member of the

California Jewelers Assn. She became the association’s president in

1984.

Her passion for what she did was unsurpassed. In the 1970s and

‘80s, she traveled extensively with jewelers’ groups. She went all

over the world, attending workshops and seminars, watching masters in

action, and touring diamond and opal mines. Her daughter even has a

picture of Mary standing on a ladder, stepping down into an opal mine

in Australia.

She became well known locally as a gemologist and appraiser of

precious stones and gems. Sitting in her small back-room office at

the store, bifocals and a loupe for appraising gems slung around her

neck on separate chains, Mary offered her services to the people who

walked through the door.

She also designed jewelry. Often, customers would bring in old

heirloom jewelry or stuff they once liked, but didn’t anymore. And

Mary would take it apart and craft a piece to their liking. She was

good at visualizing and capturing a client’s dream ring or pendant.

Mary had a strong presence. She was about 5-foot-4 and weighed

about 150 pounds. But you couldn’t help but notice the woman, her

style, grace and elegance.

She had a beautiful wardrobe. Mary often designed and sewed her

own clothes. Her favorite colors were royal blue, aquamarine and

purple. And her well-chosen jewelry added more sparkle to her

scintillating personality. She loved them all: rings, necklaces,

strands of white pearls, earrings.

But her favorites were the two rings she wore often -- a domed

ring with a blue-star sapphire and a ballerina ring, which was

basically a diamond in the center embraced by baguettes that tapered

off like a ballerina’s tutu.

After 43 years in the business, Mary sold her store to new

management barely two years ago, when she was 82. Despite working

seven days a week and 12 to 14 hours a day at the jewelry store, Mary

always had time for volunteer work. She was active in various

community organizations including the Kiwanis Club in Newport Harbor,

Hoag Hospital’s 552 Club, Friends of the Newport Beach Library,

Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Soroptimists International and

the National Charity League.

Mary was close to her family. She and her daughters took trips all

over the world. She traveled to many countries, but her favorite

country was the United States. In the late ‘50s, she and her family

took a road trip across the United States. They traveled for six

weeks, driving about 10,000 miles. She wanted her children to get a

taste of their homeland.

Mary had a subtle sense of humor. She was an outgoing person who

enjoyed nice clothes, parties and of course, fine jewelry. And like

doctors who can’t step out of a party without being asked for medical

advice, people always sought Mary’s expert opinion about their

jewelry.

Mary once told the Jewelers Circular Keystone magazine during an

interview in June 1998, the year she was sworn in as the first woman

president of the 24 Karat Club: “I have people say: ‘Well you’re an

appraiser.’ And they wave their hand at me and they say, ‘How much is

it worth?’ What am I going to say about some dirty, old, brown

diamond? I say: ‘I can’t see a thing without my loupe.’”