The Man

My grandfather Gus Sherman was an innovator.

As the founder of G.Sherman & Company LTD., he is recognized as one of the most influential figures in mid-century Canadian fashion history. The eldest of three children, Gus was born in 1910 in Montréal, Québec, to Lithuanian parents who came to Canada at the turn of the century. 

At the age of 17, he left home and joined the seventh cavalry United States army corps at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. As a young horseman, his passions included boxing, basketball, and poker.

Eventually my grandfather made his way back home to Montréal. During WW2, he enrolled in the Royal Canadian Air Force where he was trained as a navigator but never went overseas. In the Air Force, he was a divisional boxing champion. He married in the 50’s and had two children, Beryl and Mark (my father).

After a brief stint as a life insurance salesman, he took a job selling jewelry. It was this experience that would sanction his path towards worldwide recognition. Jewelry made women feel special, and in that, he saw great opportunity and purpose.

G.Sherman & Company LTD., a manufacturing company specializing in women’s jewelry and mens cufflinks was born in 1949.

With no formal training in business or jewelry design, Gus paved his way by harnessing his desire to create a world of elegance by infusing his craft with his intuitive sense of customer driven satisfaction. There was only one way to do things, the right way: that was his moral code. He was passionate, quality conscious, dedicated to his trade, to his employees, and to his retailers.

And as such, over his 30 years in business, my grandfather earned his reputation as one of the most formidable costume jewelry manufacturers in North America. A man ahead of his time, my grandpa Gus continues to set the craftsmanship standard for costume jewelry.

In 1980, his business closed and shortly after he passed, losing his battle to colon cancer. While he is no longer with us, what a legacy of elegance he's left us; his values, his talent and his passion lives on in each and everyone of the jewels he created.