Meet the Team

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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.

Crystal serves as the Marketing Director and Uptown Diamond Girl for Uptown Diamond. A dedicated marketing professional with skills in communications, public affairs, and project management. While being well-versed in the creative and organizational aspects of implementing a compelling marketing strategy, Crystal continues to help us develop our operation to help us run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Being our resident diamond girl has its perks. When she isn’t working with the many talented individuals in the bridal community to collaborate our jewelry into new projects, she is creating content all over town with her favorite pieces. Although you may think the diamonds are her favorite part of the job, she holds our Non-Profit Leave No One Behind close to her heart and enjoys coordinating events for those athletes. Feel free to reach out to Crystal with any collaborations or questions you may have.

Meredith serves as an executive assistant and most valuable asset to Uptown Diamond’s Owner, Rick Antona.  She is instrumental in Rick’s correspondence, reading and analyzing incoming memos, submissions and distributes them accordingly. Naturally, in this process, Meredith has gathered a broad understanding of gemology and continues to learn as she hopes to grow her own clientele as she trains to become a diamond consultant. Meredith takes pride in her customer service skills and loves being a part of the jewelry making process.

Karen is the first person you see as you walk into the reception area of Uptown Diamond. Her smiling face and welcoming demeanor are absolutely necessary to our team along with her in-depth knowledge of our process and clientele we do not know what we would do without her. Currently, she is enrolled at Houston Community College with goals of becoming an attorney. Until then, we will hold on to her as long as we can!

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.