Sponsored by AGTA
Longtime Georgia Jeweler Johnny Johnson Dies at 74
In addition to running Edward-Johns Jewelers for 42 years, Johnson was an active member of the community in Cobb County, Georgia.

He was 74.
Johnson was born Dec. 26, 1946 in Villa Rica, Georgia. He moved to Atlanta when he was 5 years old and graduated from Georgia State University there.
Johnson started in the jewelry business in 1969, at the only store in the Atlanta area that custom-made jewelry.
In 1975, he and his wife, Anna, moved north to the suburbs—east Cobb in neighboring Cobb County— and four years later, he opened his own jewelry store, Edward-Johns Jewelers.
For more than half of its 42 years in business, Johnson ran the shop alongside his daughter, Jana Johnson-Barry.
In a profile on Marietta.com, the longtime jeweler said what he loved most about the business was being involved in the happiest moments in people’s lives—engagement, birthdays and anniversaries.
“Because we create custom jewelry, we get to see the satisfied look on someone’s face when they see a piece of jewelry created expressly for them,” he told the website.
“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.”
In addition to running the store, Johnson served as president of the Georgia Jewelers Association and was named Georgia Jeweler of the Year.
Known for his white hair and long, white beard, Johnson would dress up as Santa at Christmastime and participate in various parties and festivals around Cobb County.
“Santa,” seen in the Instagram post below, would also pay a visit to Edward-Johns Jewelers, where he would take free pictures with children.
According to a front-page feature in the Marietta Daily Journal, he represented part of east Cobb on the Cobb County School Board from 1996 until retiring in 2008.
He also was a member of the East Cobb Kiwanis Club and Kiwanis International, chaired the east Cobb division of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce and served as president of the Cobb County YMCA.
Johnson was once named East Cobb Citizen of the Year, and he received a Lifetime Membership Award from the Georgia PTA.
A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, March 6 at 2 p.m. at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, 955 Johnson Ferry Road in Marietta.
Memorial contributions may be sent to the Kiwanis Children’s Fund, P.O. Box 6457, Dept. #286, Indianapolis, IN 46206.
The Latest

“Art as Jewelry as Art” features works from artists like Salvador Dalí, Alexander Calder, and Max Ernst.

It’s the company’s seventh showroom opening this year.

Rio Grande provides a pathway to responsibly sourced gemstones.

The Belgian organization is calling for entries from all over the world, with an eye on attracting emerging talent.


Sherry Smith digs into year-to-date data on lab-grown vs. natural diamonds, the performance of colored gemstone jewelry, and more.

Associate Editor Lenore Fedow leads readers through the Italian jeweler’s works from the 1940s to the 2000s.

From laboratory-grown diamonds to design to country-of-origin, GIA's Alumni Collective™ has a seminar to suite your needs.

The NYPD is still searching for the four suspects who robbed Rocco’s Jewelry in the Bronx.

The jewelry trade show is taking place Aug. 14-16 at the Javits Center in New York City.

The sponsorship will help fund programs and initiatives in the upcoming year.

The jewelry giant said the acquisition will allow it to tap into a pool of customers who are younger, more affluent and ethnically diverse.

There were only 250 made available, selling for more than $50,000.

The British-based Swiss designer’s “Pottering Around” collection is for sale at Sotheby’s East Hampton starting this week.

It provides real-time diamond market analytics.

The diamond firm will give the donation at a ceremony in Namibia this month during a trip for select retail jeweler partners.

He was convicted last month after falsely claiming he had a deal with Costco in order to obtain millions in diamonds from LLD Diamonds USA.

Tough, vibrant, and full of personality, spinel is a perfect birthstone for August babies, Amanda Gizzi says.

The charity will hold its fifth annual fundraising day on Sept. 24.

The passionate gem lover helped bring more than 300 different varieties of stones to the gem trade.

The brand has attracted attention for its colorful, vintage-inspired pieces.

Marcelo Tau is the company’s new chief operations officer.

The jewelry designer founded her eponymous brand in 2015 after nearly two decades in the diamond industry.

Sponsored by HiBid

The watch seller comments on future demand, how the crypto crash impacted Rolex and Patek Philippe pricing, the supply recovery, and more.

It features fives sets of jewelry.

Through the collaboration, HRA will exclusively cut, polish, and distribute Plasmability’s lab-grown diamonds in the market.