Nilda Garcia Zulueta, a Cuban immigrant who rose from jewelry store secretary to owner of a lauded New York jewelry manufacturing company, died July 18, 2021. Zulueta, who was 77, passed after a fight with cancer.
The longtime resident of North Bergen, N.J., moved to the United States when she was 17 during the Cuban revolution, her family said in her obituary. She and her brother, Carlos, arrived in Miami in March 1961. They soon moved to New York City, renting a room while they looked for work. Nilda Zulueta took a job in a Brooklyn doll factory before a friend introduced her in 1967 to the owner of Larré Jewelers, where she was hired as a secretary.
Jewelry became Zulueta’s passion, and she spent the next decade learning everything she could about the industry and her new craft. In 1978, Zulueta, her brother, and a friend founded Aliart Jewelers. A decade later, following the dissolution of that company, she founded Cardel Jewelers. There, she gained recognition for her attention to detail as well as her custom work.
Friend and business associate JoAnne Mulhall, owner of JoAnne Mulhall Jewelry Design, told JCK via email that Zulueta left a “unique legacy” for her dedication to her work and equally impressive personality.
“For over 35 years, Cardel has been one of a handful of preeminent fine jewelry companies providing the highest quality manufacturing dedicated to the art of fine jewelry–making,” Mulhall said. “Her company produced jewelry for celebrated award-winning designers, select clientele, elite jewelry lines, and iconic retailers including Tiffany, Harry Winston, and others.
“Nilda is a true fine jewelry industry icon and a pioneer, being one of the only women in the ’80s to succeed in a male-dominated field. She would joke that if she had accomplished and said what she did in these current days and times, she would be canonized as a saint. She had great candor!”
Zulueta’s work and that of her family will serve as heirlooms within the jewelry industry, Mulhall continued. She said Zulueta worked closely with her children, all perfectionists in their own right, within New York City’s legendary fine jewelry district, giving them “immediate access to the world’s best stones and metals so that their pieces had a quality that was unlike any others.”
“Speaking as a jewelry designer, it is critically important to have a mutual vision, to cocreate with your manufacturer to interpret your designs and create them into beautiful pieces of jewelry to wear and enjoy. Since 1991, Cardel has been the manufacturer of my fine jewelry collections,” Mulhall said. “Nilda was not only my contractor, collaborator, and mentor, but also a cherished friend that I will hold in my heart forever.”
Family tributes to Zulueta also highlighted her craftsmanship and personality.
“Her indomitable spirit; remarkable work ethic; her positive, can-do attitude; her light and her charisma; her kindness and generosity toward others; and loving, caring ways for her family and friends will forever hold her in the memories of everyone she knew and loved,” her obituary stated.
Zulueta is survived by her husband of 52 years, Hector Zulueta; her daughter, Adlin Mojica (José) of North Bergen; her son, Hector (Sheila) of North Bergen; and five grandchildren: Alyssa, Olivia, Celia, Justin, and Julian.
Top: Nilda Garcia Zulueta, 77, died July 18, 2021 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City. (Photo courtesy of the Zulueta family.)
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