Ormachea Jewelry

Come visit the Ormachea’s studio, located in the charming El Jardin courtyard in Downtown Ventura, California. Behind the large bay window in the back of the store, you can even watch Hugo and the rest of the Ormachea team crafting new designs in their workshop.
Hugo Ormachea was born in the Andean city of Cusco, capital of the vast Inca Empire before the arrival of the conquistadors. He is the son of Donato Ormachea, a well-known jeweler in Cusco, and represents the third generation of jewelers in his family.
Hugo is self-taught and in fact, had to overcome objections from his father, who wanted his son to become an architect. Hugo, however, believes he was born to be a jeweler, demonstrating an artistic inclination since childhood.
To honor his father’s wishes, he did study architecture at the University of San Antonio in Cusco for four years, which fosters a unique style and refined eye for design in all of his creations. Growing up in a poor third world country with limited resources forced Hugo to invent and manufacture many of his own tools, which he still prefers to use to this day. Disdaining the “easy” options of pre-fabricated settings and molds ensures that Hugo’s hands personally craft each piece at Ormachea Jewelry.