Hidden Gems: Meet Taylor Heller of Camóre

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Heller.

Hi Taylor, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started my career in the fine jewelry world, working at my mom’s fine jewelry business for four years. That experience taught me everything about what makes high-end pieces last: the craftsmanship, the materials, the attention to detail, and the experience of being a jewelry designer. I wanted to bring that same standard to a more accessible price point and I realized there was a gap in the market that no one was filling.

There wasn’t a brand for women like me. Women who were ready to move beyond fast-fashion jewelry, but weren’t quite at the stage of investing in fine jewelry. Women who cared about quality, noticed the details, and wanted pieces that reflected a more refined and curated stage of life. From the beginning, my goal when launching Camóre was to approach demi-fine jewelry with the same level of intention you’d find in fine jewelry and to truly push the boundaries for what gold-plated jewelry could be.

Each piece is designed by me, and because every design is my own, you won’t find pieces like ours anywhere else. Each piece is crafted with a thick 5-micron layer of 14KT gold (double the gold used in standard gold vermeil). We color-match to true 14KT gold tones and use the highest quality gemstones for a refined, elevated finish. Our new collection coming out next month features 100% natural, custom cut black onyx. By intentionally choosing these materials, Camóre pieces are crafted to last for years with proper care. Our primary goal is to design demi-fine jewelry like fine.

Beyond the materials and the quality, Camóre is really about that transitional stage of life for the woman who is upgrading every part of her life and wants her jewelry to reflect that evolution too.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s definitely not been a smooth road! Creating a brand that genuinely stands out in a saturated market and getting people to truly see the difference in quality before they experience it firsthand has been one of my biggest challenges. The jewelry space is crowded with brands making big promises, so breaking through that and earning trust has taken time, patience, and constant learning.

On the product side, achieving our quality standards adds a layer of complexity. Designs can take up to a year to perfect through the design, sampling, and quality control phase. Getting the gold tone right alone and color-matched to true 14KT gold rather than the brassy yellow typical in the category is something I work on obsessively. That level of detail isn’t cheap or fast, and balancing the desire to bring fresh designs to market with the equally important need to sell through existing inventory is a constant juggle.

There’s also the challenge of positioning. Camóre lives in the demi-fine jewelry space, which sits above fashion jewelry, and below fine jewelry. That’s a category many consumers aren’t yet familiar with. Helping people understand why that distinction matters, and why it’s worth caring about, without sounding overly technical or coming across as comparative, is something I’m still navigating every day. I consistently ask myself how I can clarify my message even more than it already is.

However, the most unanticipated struggle is what happens after the initial launch excitement fades. The early hype dies down and sometimes there are quiet days without a single sale, and you have to find a way to keep showing up anyway. I’ve had to remind myself that it could be years before I see this work truly pay off. That kind of persistence, and pushing forward when there’s no immediate reward, and no clear signal that it’s working, is what I believe truly separates the founders who are in it for the long haul. It’s the hardest part for sure.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
There’s a huge quality gap in the jewelry world that most people don’t realize exists. On one side, you have fashion jewelry: these are pieces that typically last about a year before tarnishing or breaking. On the other side, you have fine jewelry, which is very high quality but not always affordable, especially if you’re buying a lot of jewelry or statement pieces. This is exactly why I decided to start a demi-fine jewelry brand. Our niche is crafting demi-fine jewelry that bridges the quality gap between fashion and fine jewelry. Without getting too technical, we use 5 micron gold plating, which is 2x the amount of gold used in standard vermeil and to put this plating thickness into perspective, our pieces are designed to last for multiple years with proper care. We also use 5A Cubic Zirconia, the top quality available, for a brilliant sparkle that doesn’t cloud over time.

What truly sets Camóre apart lives in the details. From the functional hinge on our cuff that lets it seamlessly fit your wrist, to the weight of each piece that feels substantial without being too heavy, to the tone of the gold that took nearly a year to perfect to match true 14KT gold tones. These are the kinds of decisions that happen long before a customer ever sees a finished piece, and they’re the reason that when someone opens their Camóre order for the first time, the reaction is almost always the same: it exceeded their expectations.

The name Camóre is a blend of my middle name Cameron, California where I was born and raised, and the Italian word amóre, meaning love. It represents both a personal connection to my story and a love for design and craftsmanship.

Every collection starts with a concept that goes beyond how something looks. Most importantly, we want the perception of our pieces online to be exceeded when our customers see them and touch them in person. Our debut Architect Collection was built around the idea that jewelry should be just as functional as it is beautiful, with pieces designed to be foundational and versatile so that you’re investing in something you can build on over time. Many of our pieces feature removable charms, meaning you can wear them multiple ways and continue adding to them as new collections launch, rather than starting over every season. Our Latch Choker is the perfect example of this. It’s become our most iconic foundational piece, one that can be styled countless different ways and that future collections are designed to build upon. It has sold out twice since we launched, which still feels incredible to me.

Our upcoming Halo Collection, launching in April 2026 feels like a real milestone for the brand and a reflection of where I want this brand to go. This collection is one of the clearest examples of what it really means to approach demi-fine jewelry with the same level of intention you’d find in fine jewelry. I have seen what truly high quality natural gemstones look like in person, and it completely changed my perspective on what I wanted to create. I kept seeing the same materials across the fashion jewelry space, dyed stones and colored moissanite that looked good online but didn’t reflect the look or longevity of natural gemstones in real life. That didn’t feel aligned with what I wanted to create. So for this collection we centered everything around 100% natural black onyx, custom cut specifically for Camóre. Because the black onyx stones are natural, they can be reset and repurposed forever, making them a true investment piece. To me that’s what demi-fine jewelry should be: pieces built around truly high quality materials that become part of your collection for years rather than months.

At its core, Camóre is about collecting with intention, and that philosophy shapes everything about how we design. There comes a stage in life where you stop over-buying and start curating, where you want everything around you to reflect the person you’re becoming, and your jewelry is no exception. That’s exactly who we design for. A big part of how we do that is by building in systems where many of our pieces are meant to evolve with you over time. Our Latch Choker acts as a foundation that every charm and future collection builds upon, so you’re always expanding what you already own rather than replacing it. The Halo Collection works the same way and will continue to grow into new stories over time. These aren’t pieces you wear for a moment and move on from. They’re pieces you keep, come back to, and build on, and that’s exactly the kind of brand I set out to create.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is to make decisions based on the long term rather than for quick success, because chasing short term wins will always compromise your vision. Consistency and persistence are everything as a founder, and the ability to keep pushing when you’re not yet seeing results is what truly separates the people who make it from the ones who don’t. That gap between the work you’re putting in and the results you’re waiting for is the hardest part of the journey, but it’s also the most important part to push through.

Beyond the business itself, becoming an entrepreneur has pushed me to grow across every aspect of my life in ways I never anticipated. It’s just as much a personal journey as it is a business journey. You have to train yourself to become your most productive, resilient self, consistently pushing yourself to be better and to be patient with the process. Starting a business comes with a lot of ups and downs, which is why it’s so important to pause and celebrate the progress you’ve made along the way.

Pricing:

• Rings starting at $108
• Bracelets starting at $148
• Necklaces starting at $220
• Earrings starting at $120
• Chokers starting at $360

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shopcamore.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopcamore/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shopcamore

Image Credits
Photographers are Nathalie Rodriguez and Photo Bites Studio