1987
Simon and Elizabeth Zouein opened Vinca on the Country Club Plaza in 1987 with one belief: jewelry should be personal. Not exclusive. Not intimidating. Personal.
They built the workshop the way they wanted to live in it. Small enough to know every customer by name. Serious enough to make pieces that would outlast the marriages and milestones they were made for.
The workshop is still on the Plaza. Some of the customers from 1987 are still customers today.
Our History
1987
Simon and Elizabeth open doors at Kansas City's Country Club Plaza
1990
First on-site jeweler-craftsman hired
1991
First visit to opal mines of Central Australia
1993
Tu joins as Store Manager
1995
Christian (age 13) learns to cast gold, designs first pieces
1999
Invited to Annual Tahiti Black Pearl market
2004
First trip to Tanzania (tanzanite)
2013
First original holiday card tradition begins
2016
First relationship with a Sri Lankan ruby mine
2022
First trip to Madagascar (sapphires)
2025
Vinca becomes available worldwide
The boy at the bench
A lot has changed about jewelry since 1987. Most of it has involved removing the human from the process. 3D printing. Mass casting. Drop-shipped stones. Offshore finishing. Algorithms choosing the metal.
We went the other way.
Every Vinca piece is still designed and crafted by hand, in Kansas City, by the same family. It takes longer. It costs more. It is the only way we know how to do this properly.
Video
Thirty-eight years, one workshop
A lot has changed about jewelry since 1987. Most of it has involved removing the human from the process. 3D printing. Mass casting. Drop-shipped stones. Offshore finishing. Algorithms choosing the metal.
We went the other way.
Every Vinca piece is still designed and crafted by hand, in Kansas City, by the same family. It takes longer. It costs more. It is the only way we know how to do this properly.
Why we're still here
People have asked, more than once, why Vinca didn't move to New York or Los Angeles. The honest answer is that the workshop is here. The family is here. The first ring was made here, and the next one will be too.
A jewelry house belongs to a place. Ours belongs to the Plaza.
WHO WE ARE
Vinca Family
As a family-run jeweler, we are a team that delights in helping you find or bring to life your perfect piece. With backgrounds as diverse as the stones we source, we celebrate the individuality of you and your loved one. We love to see the light that jewelry brings to your life.
Christian
Elizabeth
Lindsey
Simon
Tu
Vida
Dung
Zana
See what we're making at the bench
Learn More