Meet the Team

Rick Antona, the Owner and Gemologist of Uptown Diamond, was raised in Houston, Texas and attended Texas Tech University. After a chance encounter with Harry Gordon, Jr., Mr. Gordon offered Rick a job in 1992, managing Harry Gordon Jewelers on Post Oak Boulevard in Houston, Texas. Even though Rick did not have any diamond jewelry experience at the time, he passionately dove head first into the business in order to learn as much as he could from Mr. Gordon, the innovative jeweler whose family was credited for changing the way Americans buy fine jewelry. After gaining a world of experience at Harry Gordon Jewelers, Rick joined a local major Houston diamond cutting house and was one of the top diamond experts there for over twenty years. Over the years, Rick has built and maintained relationships with a number of colleges and universities. It is because of these relationships that Uptown Diamond now designs and produces championship rings for University of Texas, Texas A&M, University of Houston, Rice University, Texas Christian University, and many others. In addition to the collegiate level, Uptown Diamond has designed and produced rings for a number of professional organizations such as the Houston Astros as well as Anschutz Entertainment Group (“AEG”).

Grayland Noah, a Beaumont, Texas native, began his career as a gemologist in 1995 and served as Executive Sales Director for a major Houston diamond cutting house prior to becoming President of Uptown Diamond in 2012. Throughout his career as a gemologist, Grayland has cultivated a number of long standing relationships with clients including, Tracy McGrady, Roger Clemens, Jamie Sharper, Mario Elle and Ernest “Hot Shot” Cannon. Because of Grayland’s attention to quality and detail, he was able to design and participate in the creation of the World Series Championship Ring for the 1999 New York Yankees. Recently, Grayland spearheaded a five year agreement with Texas Southern University, through which Uptown Diamond designs and produces all of their Southwestern Athletic Conference and NCAA championship rings and pendants. Prior to becoming a gemologist, Grayland was in marketing and business development for the Houston Business Journal and was responsible for industries ranging from healthcare to luxury automobiles. Throughout his career, Grayland has supported a number of local, not-for profit, 501C3 organizations, such as Muscular Dystrophy, to help them achieve their fundraising goals.

Raeven is the Marketing Coordinator for Uptown Diamond. Prior to this, she worked as an Executive Assistant for an upscale Houston diamond cutting house. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in both Marketing and Business Management. A dedicated marketing professional with skills in communications, public affairs and project management, Raeven is well-versed in the creative and organizational aspects of implementing a compelling marketing strategy. She was extremely instrumental and played a key role in establishing a relationship with the University of Texas athletic department and from this relationship, Uptown Diamond was able to enter into a five year agreement with the university to design and produce all of their Big XII and NCAA championship rings. Raeven is the point person for the University of Texas relationship and provides them and all of the Uptown Diamond client’s with superior customer service.

Alberto Chavez is the Master Jeweler and Design Artist for Uptown Diamond. He grew up watching his father’s jewelry manufacturing business flourish in Mexico City. Eventually, Alberto moved to the United States to pursue his passion for custom jewelry design. Designing custom jewelry since 2005, Alberto has crafted a number of unique and exquisite pieces for clients all over the region. In addition to a strong family heritage of jewelry design, he is also certified in Matrix Gemvision, a computer-aided design (CAD) software for custom 3-D jewelry design.

Pops grew up with a family of jewelers including his father, uncles, and brothers. He started to learn how to design and make jewelry at a very young age, and has acquired over 55 years of experience in the industry. He started his own jewelry business in Mexico in 1979. He eventually moved to Houston and worked with the top 3 best jewelry companies. He conducts the diamond setting, wax casting, and hand makes custom jewelry pieces with his master craftsmanship. He works with the highest standards of integrity and professionalism while creating unique pieces.

Veronica started her career 13 years ago selling wholesale jewelry, and decided she was more fascinated with the production side of things. She previously worked for one of the top 10 gold wholesale jewelry stores in Texas. She has 12 years of experience as a Finishing Expert. She handles the pre-polish to polish to rhodium plating. She is in charge of applying the Glimmer and Shine to your custom piece of jewelry.

Manuel was born and raised in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, a town notorious for many gold and silver mines. Due to the proximity of the gold and silver mines, the jewelry industry became a natural extension and this is where Manuel began his career crafting fine jewelry over 20 years ago. After honing his skills in Mexico, Manuel decided to bring his family to Texas where he continues his master craftsmanship of fine jewelry at Uptown Diamond. Manuel’s primary responsibilities include casting, setting stones, polishing, jewelry repair and other support areas within the entire jewelry manufacturing process.

Ivan was born and raised in Richmond, Texas and grew up learning the diamond and jewelry trade from his father, a Master Jeweler. Ivan is proficient in all aspects of crafting fine diamond jewelry. Ivan initially started out polishing jewelry and then moved onto becoming a finishing expert. After more than 10 years in the business, Ivan has become skilled in many areas; including, but not limited to laser welding and stone setting. Ivan has been instrumental in crafting a number of Championship Rings for professional, collegiate and high school teams throughout the country. Since Ivan is bilingual in English and Spanish, he is able to assist many of our Hispanic clientele during their visit with us at Uptown Diamond.