CEO

Richard Koll

Richard Koll, son of Malcolm Koll joined the Charles Koll team in the summer of 2011. He studied Business at Colorado University and graduated in 2010. After graduating he took an eight month trip to South Africa to get to know his distant relatives and to see where his grandfather, Charles Koll, started his business. 

When he returned, he was not sure what step to take next. His father, Malcolm, offered him a job and he hasn’t looked back since. Richard joining the family business has brought a new energy to the store and a sense of the next generation. He works on improving the website, improving operations by tracking workflow through new software and increasing efficiencies. “Charles Koll is a legacy and I couldn’t be happier being a part of something that is bigger than me. 

To reach great heights you have to stand on shoulders of those that came before you and it’s great that I have two very sturdy shoulders to stand on.” In his free time he loves rock climbing, having climbed in Spain and South Africa.

PRESIDENT

Malcolm Koll

Malcolm Koll joined Charles Koll Jewellers in 1977, in Welkom, South Africa where the family business originated in 1961. Together with his family, they established the first full service jewelry manufacturing facility in 1979. A year later, Malcolm was appointed to the board of directors for the Chevron Jewelers Group, an organization of elite South African jewelers created by Malcolm’s father, Charles Koll. Nearly a decade later, Malcolm and his father sold the Welkom store in preparation for relocation to San Diego, California. Following a six-month consultancy with Sterns Jewelers, Charles and Malcolm opened their first San Diego store in 1991.

The Charles Koll family’s uncompromising commitment to offering the highest-quality works of wearable art, backed by total transparency throughout the acquisition, design, and manufacturing process, has placed him, and the business that bears his father’s name, among the most trusted names in the jewelry business. “We have a collective ability to interpret a customer’s likes and dislikes to create a unique, customer specific, piece of jewelry that honestly reflects the occasion as well as the person.”

PARTNER AND LEAD DESIGNER

David Armstrong

David Armstrong began his career in the business of creating fine jewelry because of a university studio arts program. The first indications of an exceptional eye for design and affinity for fine detail emerged during a subsequent six-year apprenticeship under three master model makers who produced jewelry for famous artists’ estates including Erté and Lalique. A year later, in July of 1992, David joined Charles Koll Jewellers as a goldsmith, accepting a partnership in the business in November of 2000. 

Known for his beautiful and intricate hand engraved platinum jewelry reminiscent of the classical Edwardian era, his frequent diversions into whimsy and technically challenging designs reveal his true creative range. His approach of regarding his pieces as tiny sculptures, combined with powerful contemporary visualization tools, permit him to respond fully to client imagination and wishes. 

His designs speak for themselves and his raw honesty is appreciated from clients and co-workers in regards to the jewelry industry. “People come to me at the happiest time in their lives. I make clients wearable, highly personalized pieces of art, and they love it! What could be more satisfying?”