I moved to Cobb County in 1975 and in 1979 I opened Edward-Johns Jewelers.
The Story: I am a native Georgian, born in Villa Rica, and I moved to Atlanta when I was 5 years old. I graduated from Georgia State University and started in the jewelry business in 1969 with the only retail store in the Atlanta area that custom made jewelry. My wife, Anna, and I are celebrating our 43rd wedding anniversary in February.
Why Cobb? I moved to Cobb County in 1975 and in 1979 I opened Edward-Johns Jewelers. I had looked all over the north metro area to locate a store and chose to be in the Merchant’s Walk shopping center. I felt very at home there and felt that the East Cobb area would be a great place to start the business. My wife and I have always loved Cobb County and believe it to be the leading county in the state.
What Do You Love About Your Job? The thing I love most about the jewelry business is that we are generally involved in happy events with our customers, whether it is a couple starting their life together by getting married or a married couple celebrating anniversaries. We get to be involved in the birthdays of spouses, children and grandchildren. Because we create custom jewelry, we get to see the satisfied look on some-one’s face when they see a piece of jewelry created expressly for them. I particularly like to create pieces using a customer’s stones and giving them new life as a different piece of jewelry and hopefully a new family heirloom.
Leisure Time: My leisure time has changed over the years—age has a way of doing that. I love to play golf when I can, am an avid reader and am very active in Kiwanis International, having served as governor of the Georgia District and currently serving on the Kiwanis International Board of Trustees. My favorite leisure time activity has always been being involved in my children’s lives and supporting them. My daughter Jana is our store manager and our son Jerad is a teacher and coach at Pope High School. Anna and I have been absolutely blessed with four grandchildren (and one more on the way), and as all grandparents understand, there is nothing better than being a grandparent!
My Best Advice: Treat people as you would like to be treated, and BE INVOLVED. Be involved in your local communities—give back to your area, make where you are a better place to live, work and raise your family. Be active in the many organizations in your community. Be involved in your business organizations, be part of your industry.
edward-johns.com • (770) 977-2026 • Woodlawn Square, 1205 Johnson Ferry Rd., Marietta, GA 30068
My brother and sister-in-law had known Johnny Johnson personally and professionally for many years when we lost our grandmother. That darling left a few pieces of treasured jewelry to us, one of which was a gold ring with three beautiful diamonds in it. The ring had to be split and each diamond was specifically left to each of my sisters and my first born daughter. We knew the diamonds were quality and we had heard of jewelers switching stones occasionally. My brother recommended Johnny Jonson of Edward-Johns. We were very pleased with the results. Three beautiful rings and detailed appraisals for each gem and setting was the result. He is very talented and full of integrity. I sent my son to him to buy his engagement ring and was again very pleased with the results. EPW, Stockbridge, GA