Martin W. Hassing
President, appraiser and jeweler extraordinaire, Martin has been creating, repairing and appraising jewelry since 1974. With modest beginnings in the basement of his house, Marty has since moved operations to a restored house in Webster Groves where he continues to fill the showroom with amazing designs. His achievements include winning the prestigious AGTA Spectrum award in 1991, completing the Gemological Institute of America’s Advanced Diamond Setting, Diamond Grading and Gem Identification courses. He has also taught metal-working and stone setting workshops at Maryville, Webster and Southern Illinois Universities. An enthusiastic world traveler, Martin journeys annually to Asia and South America to hand-select loose gemstones, pearls and some finished jewelry. Willing to take on nearly any project, Marty is a master of his craft and one of the very few metal casters in St. Louis. He has worked in platinum, gold and silver with a penchant for imaginative metal fabrication.
Gayle Gourdé Camp
Designer, Sales Associate and bench jeweler, Gayle has been with Summit since 2006. Gayle graduated from the University of Kansas with a BFA degree from the school of design emphasizing metal-smithing. She is a graduate of the G.I.A. Diamonds and Diamond Grading course. She has brought to Summit experience with metal fabrication, enameling, forming, casting and stone setting. With a flair for the whimsical and unusual, her designs have big personality. She also is a painter, sculptor and illustrator and has shown her artwork around St. Louis. She has added Matrix CAD to her long list of talents. (And she is our lovely model for some of our print ads!!!). She and her husband are very busy keeping up with their two young sons and two kitties.
Emily Gogel
Meet the new sales associate. Emily is a fine arts graduate from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She started her jewelry career as an apprentice in 2018 and is inspiring to add designing to her skills here at Summit. Emily enjoys getting her hands dirty by creating beautiful sterling silver and gemstone jewelry at home. She also enjoys the adventuring outside and is currently renovating her new home, alongside with her boyfriend, cat and dog.
Vicki Ferris
Vicki is our behind-hind-the-scene lady since 2016. Occasionally, she will pop down and help us at the counter when needed and say hi. She is huge animal advocate, rescuing her two fur babies, Bebe and Roscoe. A passionate supporter of Stray Rescue of St. Louis, Care STL, and Stray Paws Rescue. She will happily drive anywhere to help an animal in need and find them forever homes. When she is not working or helping others out in her spare time, she loves to travel all over, especially Colorado, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Nashville and of course Bangkok.
Buddy
The sweetest member of our family, Buddy enjoys belly rubs, dog biscuits, and chasing tennis balls.
Yadi
Our resident “puppy #1” who greets all our guests. He enjoys holding hands, random objects that don’t belong to him, sticks, and stealing his big brother’s ball. Also, excited to finally have a little brother who will he can teach all his “tricks” to.
BeBe
BeBe, a beagle/husky mix, is our little rescue dog. She enjoys her favorite chair, occasionally greeting guests but doesn’t care much for her brothers.
ROSCOE
The youngest member of our four-legged family. Roscoe is our “foster failure” because, after just spending a couple of weeks with him, Marty knew he had to stay. Roscoe and Buddy love to cuddle, and now Yadi has a younger brother to run and play with. And Bebe? She is tolerating all the “puppiness” that surrounds her.