We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Katie Jaffe. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Katie below.
Katie, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.
Generosity has always been woven into the heart of Brilliant Fine + Custom Jewelry. It comes from family, from legacy, and from a deep respect for the stories people trust us to hold.
As a family-owned jewelry boutique in Roswell, our work is deeply personal. We are invited into some of life’s most meaningful moments: engagements, anniversaries, births, and quiet transitions that don’t always come with a milestone title. Over time, you begin to understand that jewelry is never just jewelry. It is memory, love, history, and hope made tangible. When someone places a cherished heirloom in our hands and asks us to redesign it for the next chapter of their life, generosity becomes less of a value and more of a responsibility.
Much of our generosity comes from the belief that beautiful things should feel accessible, understood, and cared for. Whether we’re guiding a client through their first engagement ring, reimagining a piece passed down through generations, or helping a family preserve something irreplaceable, we approach each project with patience, transparency, and heart.
Our connection to the Roswell and Atlanta community over the past 16 years also shapes this philosophy. Being rooted on Canton Street has allowed us to build relationships that extend far beyond transactions. We are grateful to serve families year after year, often across generations, and that continuity inspires us to give back in ways that feel thoughtful and sincere.
At Brilliant, we often speak about “moments of brilliance.” These moments are not defined by carat weight or price point, but by the feeling a piece carries. Our generosity lives in those moments: in listening closely, honoring sentiment, and helping people carry their stories forward through design that lasts.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Brilliant Fine + Custom Jewelry is owned and led by my husband Jamie and me, and we’ve been building the brand together since 2010. From the very beginning, we envisioned Brilliant as more than a traditional jewelry store. We wanted to create a family-owned boutique where craftsmanship, trust, and storytelling could live alongside beautiful, intentional design.
Jamie brings a deep technical background rooted in generations of jewelry expertise, while I lead with a strong curatorial eye and a passion for creating a warm, thoughtful client experience. Together, we’ve shaped Brilliant into a place where people come not just to purchase jewelry, but to mark meaningful chapters of their lives. Engagements, weddings, anniversaries, births, and even moments of remembrance pass through our studio, and that continuity is what makes this work feel so special to us.
What excites us most is the deeply personal nature of custom jewelry design and heirloom redesign. One of Brilliant’s signature offerings is transforming inherited or outdated jewelry into modern, wearable pieces that still honor their original meaning. Whether it’s redesigning an engagement ring passed down through generations or resetting diamonds into a new custom piece, we see ourselves as stewards of memory as much as designers. Those projects are often the most emotional and the most rewarding.
In recent years, we’ve also expanded into areas that reflect the evolving lives of the families we serve. Our Brilliant Baby + Kids collection was created to celebrate life’s earliest milestones, offering fine jewelry designed specifically for children. It has become one of our most beloved collections, especially among families who have shopped with us for years and want to continue building jewelry traditions across generations.
Another ongoing initiative is the Moments Box, a seasonal, activity-based offering designed to help families slow down and create meaningful moments together. Each box is centered around the idea that jewelry memories aren’t only formed at major milestones, but also in quiet, shared experiences. It’s our way of encouraging connection, creativity, and the kind of everyday magic that becomes part of a family’s story.
At its core, Brilliant remains focused on what it has always done best: custom engagement rings, fine jewelry, heirloom redesign, and creating a welcoming, relationship-driven experience. Being family-owned since the very beginning has allowed us to grow intentionally, stay rooted in our community, and continue doing work that feels personal, purposeful, and lasting.
We’re proud of what we’ve built together, and even more excited about what’s still unfolding.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, there are three qualities and areas of knowledge that have had the greatest impact on our journey building Brilliant Fine + Custom Jewelry: craftsmanship and technical expertise, relationship-driven service, and a deep understanding of legacy and design evolution.
The first is craftsmanship and technical jewelry knowledge. From custom engagement rings to fine jewelry repair and heirloom redesign, having a strong foundation in the technical side of jewelry has been essential. Understanding diamonds, gemstones, metal types, CAD design, and construction allows us to guide clients with confidence and transparency. For anyone early in their journey, our advice is to invest deeply in learning your craft. Take the time to understand how things are made, not just how they look. Technical mastery builds trust, especially in industries like fine jewelry, custom design, and diamond engagement rings, where clients are making emotional and financial investments.
The second is a commitment to relationship-based, community-focused service. Being a family-owned jewelry store in Roswell since 2010 has taught us that longevity comes from connection, not transactions. Engagement rings, wedding bands, anniversary gifts, and heirloom pieces often mark life’s most meaningful moments. Showing up with patience, empathy, and genuine care creates lasting relationships that span generations. For those just starting out, focus on building real relationships within your local community. Listen closely, communicate clearly, and let trust grow organically. Strong client relationships are the foundation of sustainable growth, especially for local businesses and boutique brands.
The third is an appreciation for legacy, storytelling, and the evolution of design. Jewelry holds memory. Knowing how to honor the past while designing for the present is what makes custom heirloom redesign so powerful. Over the years, we’ve learned how to take inherited jewelry, vintage engagement rings, and outdated pieces and transform them into modern custom designs without losing their emotional significance. For those early in their journey, develop the ability to see both where something has been and where it can go. Study design history, trends, and materials, but always center the human story behind the piece.
Our advice is simple but meaningful: learn your craft thoroughly, serve your community generously, and respect the stories people entrust to you. Whether you’re building a fine jewelry brand, a custom design business, or a creative career, these principles create work that lasts and a reputation that grows stronger over time.
How would you describe your ideal client?
Our ideal client is someone who values meaning as much as beauty. They are drawn to fine jewelry not simply as an accessory, but as a way to mark life’s most important moments and carry stories forward. Often, they are individuals or families in the Roswell and greater Atlanta community who are looking for a trusted, long-term relationship with a local, family-owned jeweler.
Many of our clients come to us for custom engagement rings, wedding bands, and fine diamond jewelry, but what truly defines an ideal client is their openness to collaboration and trust in the process. They appreciate craftsmanship, thoughtful design, and the care that goes into custom jewelry creation and heirloom redesign. They enjoy being part of the journey, whether that means selecting a diamond, reimagining an inherited piece, or designing something entirely new.
Our ideal client also values relationships. They want to work with jewelers who take the time to listen, educate, and guide without pressure. They appreciate transparency, patience, and expertise, and they’re looking for a jeweler who will be there for them across seasons of life, from an engagement ring or wedding band, to anniversary gifts, children’s fine jewelry, and meaningful redesigns as their story evolves.
We often serve families who return to us again and again. Parents who first come in for engagement rings later bring their children in to choose their first piece of fine jewelry. Clients who inherit cherished heirlooms trust us to redesign those pieces into modern, wearable forms while honoring their original sentiment. That continuity is at the heart of what we do.
At Brilliant Fine + Custom Jewelry, an ideal client is someone who values connection, legacy, and thoughtful design. They are looking for more than a transaction; they’re looking for a jeweler in Roswell they can trust for a lifetime, someone who will help them create, preserve, and celebrate moments of brilliance, one piece at a time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brilliantfc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brilliantfineandcustom/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrilliantAtlanta/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.ca/biz/brilliant-fine-custom-jewlery-roswell
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