Traveling between Carlsbad and Alaska, Meeta and Gary Jethani are modern-day gypsies. The owners of Spectrum, a jewelry store in downtown Carlsbad, the couple splits their time between sunny Southern California and Alaska, where they have shops in both Juneau and Ketchikan.

            “From May to September (we are in Alaska),” Meeta said.

            Making the bi-yearly journey may sound like a hassle, but to Meeta, Gary and their staff, it is a normal routine.

             Natives of India, the pair has been in the jewelry business for more than 15 years. 

            “My husband was involved with his family in the jewelry business in St. Thomas (and) about 10 years ago we decided that we didn’t want to be in the family business,” Meeta said.

            Hoping to start a business of their own, the Jethanis moved to Carlsbad to attend the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

            “We just fell in love with (Carlsbad), we knew we wanted to make this our base,” Meeta said.

            The Jethanis gradated from GIA, she as a graduate gemologist and appraiser, and he as a graduate jeweler and jewelry designer.

            “I’ve always loved gemstones and being a gemologist you know a lot more about stones (including) their basic compositions, their rarity,” Meeta said.

            In 2000, around the same time Gary was finishing coursework at GIA, the tourism industry in Alaska started growing. The pair decided to open their first jewelry store there in 2000.

            Using his design skills, Gary created the pairs’ line of pieces while Meeta managed the sales.

            “We went into Alaska with one store, we started working with the cruise ship passengers that came off the cruise ships, we were doing really well,” Meeta said.

            Karen Yoder, of Carlsbad, met the couple while on a stop from her cruise ship.

            “My husband and I … happened to walk into their jewelry store and were speaking with them and realized they were from Carlsbad, also, and struck up a conversation,” Yoder said.

            Yoder said she was drawn to the Jethanis jewelry because of its high quality.

             “(They are) very helpful, very friendly, very informative, (there is) no pressure, which is what I like,” Yoder said.

            To keep up with demand, the Jethanis expanded their business and now operate six stores in Alaska. Additionally, the pair started selling Gary’s jewelry designs on the cruise ships.

            Despite their success in Alaska, the Jethanis missed the sunny beaches and warm winters of Carlsbad.

            In 2002, they opened Spectrum on State Street in Carlsbad.     The store serves as the design and planning arm of the business.  

            “Our specialty is one-of-a-kind pieces,” Meeta said.

            Using a computerized design system that allows him to see the piece of jewelry in three dimensions before setting it, Gary is able to create unique items.

            “I love buying rare and exotic stones and we love designing our own stones, the sense of achievement when you create a really spectacular piece of jewelry,” Meeta said.

            For Linda Ledwidge of Oceanside, unique jewelry is just one of the reasons she frequents Spectrum.

            (People at Spectrum are) very friendly and they (are) willing to show you stuff, its not like going into a jewelry store out in the mall when they try to push sales on you,” Ledwidge said.

            Although Spectrum is only open six months a year, Ledwidge, like many of Spectrum’s loyal customers, waits for the store to open to purchase her jewelry.

            “(They have) some gorgeous pieces, some thing that you’ve never even seen before,” Ledwidge said of Meeta and Gary’s collection.