In 2022, Sara Beth Brown was named president of Brown & Co. Jewelers in Atlanta—a natural progression for someone who grew up in the family business. Founded by her father, Frank Brown, in 1974, the company has long been a staple of fine jewelry in the region.
That same year, Brown & Co. opened a striking new flagship location in Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead Village, complementing its original store in nearby Roswell, which remains open and thriving.
On a recent video call, we spoke with Brown about the growing demand for color in jewelry—what’s trending in the showcases, what clients are asking for, and how she plans to spotlight the category this holiday season.
“People are wearing a lot of bracelets,” she says. “It’s fun to mix sapphires and diamonds—what used to feel super-dressy now works with anything. You can even pair it with fashion jewelry and still look effortlessly chic.”
Brown’s comments below have been edited and condensed for clarity.
On the Enduring Appeal of the Big Three
We’ve always had a significant business in the core three: emerald, ruby, and sapphire. And that has stood the test of time. Anytime we venture off into doing something more on the modern side, we always revert back to the really traditional pieces, such as the classic three-stone. Those do very well for us—from $2,500 to you name it.
Necklace in 18k gold with emerald and diamonds, $3,375; Brown & Co. Jewelers
But I will say, with our new Buckhead location, we have a little bit of a younger audience that is coming through the doors. At the jewelry shows in Las Vegas this year, color was everywhere. Everybody wants color. Everybody wants that fun rainbow sapphire necklace or the blue sapphire necklace that has fun colors scattered throughout.
On Doing Big Business With David Yurman
In our Roswell location, David Yurman dominates. We have our classic ruby, sapphire, emerald jewelry collections. But when I’m talking about fashion jewelry, Yurman really scratches that itch as far as that pop of color that people want.
The great thing about Yurman is that when they have a core collection, they typically do it in every gemstone with a wide offering of products and price points. Our best sellers still tend to be blue topaz, black onyx, pearl. If we’re buying a collection, we will do those gems, some amethyst, some citrine.
Mercer Stone ring in 18k yellow gold with sky blue topaz, $2,350; David Yurman
It’s really fun to show people Yurman’s color designs in both gold and sterling. If you want a big chunky style and $15,000 is just not going to do it for you right now, you can get a big chunky Madison Link necklace in silver or a Lexington in silver and then put three amulets on it, whether it’s a fun puffy heart or a malachite disc and get that fun, bold look that everyone’s going for right now.
On Taking Design Risks
As I said, anytime we venture into that really fun, modern stuff, we always tiptoe back. But I think in our new Buckhead location, designers like Emily P. Wheeler, who we’re just buying into, are going to be very successful.
Buckle ring in 18k yellow gold with 2.45 cts. t.w. tourmaline, 0.86 ct. t.w. sapphires, 0.5 ct. t.w. amethyst, and turquoise, $11,900; Emily P. Wheeler
With Emily, we went with the more fun ombré rings, the wide bands, that you see out there. We got those in a couple of different colors.
We stock Marco Bicego and do well with his gemstone pieces. Right now, we have a beautiful case of product—you walk by it, and it’s a huge pop of color. We have a turquoise set right now that obviously makes an impact when you walk by. But everything from their Jaipur collection is tried and true.
On Bands of Color
Our bridal business is strictly diamond. We very rarely put a colored gemstone in the center. If anything, it would be on the sides, like a very classic diamond center with sapphire sides. We do very well with colored gemstone bands that people can either stack with other bands, wear on the right hand, or stack with a bridal set.
Emerald eternity band in 18k yellow gold with 6.55 cts. t.w. emeralds, $20,000; Norman Silverman
We have this one eternity band. It’s emerald-cut emeralds bezel-set in yellow gold. I don’t even know how many times we’ve sold it. Out of the big three gems, sapphires and emeralds are our best sellers, and ruby’s number three. But before Vegas, we always send out a questionnaire of what everyone wants us to get, and a few people on our sales team mentioned that they are getting requests for ruby set in yellow gold.
On Her No. 1 Favorite Gemstone Style
My favorite colored gemstone pieces are the right-hand rings. We always keep the Princess Diana sapphire ring style in stock, no matter what. That ring will always sell. I just love that really chic, classic, simple look of a right-hand colored gemstone ring.
Ring in platinum with 2.7 ct. blue sapphire and 1.68 cts. t.w. diamonds, $29,990; JB Star
On the Custom Possibilities
We do a lot of custom work. I just updated a friend’s ring that she inherited from her grandmother. It was a cushion-shape sapphire in the center with two diamond trillions on either side. Very beautiful, but it wasn’t her style. We changed it by doing bezel settings, and we did it in yellow gold. And she traded in the trillions. We did a bezel setting around her cushion sapphire and then made it into a different take on a toi et moi style with a pear-shape diamond bezel setting. Now she has a badass cushion-shape sapphire that she can wear all the time and it’s not this big prong-y, sharp edge, three-stone ring with trillions.
On Brown & Co.’s Color Strategy This Holiday
I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but I think ensuring that we have the appropriate assortment of different price points for our traditional colored gemstone collections is crucial to our holiday. And then outside of the traditional pieces and ensuring that we have them in a wide variety of price points and styles is having fun with colorful versions of diamond tennis necklaces.
Bracelet in 18k yellow gold with 1.13 cts. t.w. rubies and 1.92 cts. t.w. diamonds, $5,625; Brown & Co.
It’s been fun to see our clients buy a ruby and diamond necklace or a sapphire and diamond necklace that’s basically like a gemstone tennis necklace but has a few diamonds scattered throughout. People are layering them or even putting pendants on them. It will be interesting to see how that performs this holiday because it’s a little bit newer for us.
Top: Sara Beth Brown, president of Brown & Co.