Step inside the nearly 21,000-square-foot suburban Chicago jewelry store with Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff.
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
These punk-inspired earrings from the new Canadian brand’s debut collection reveal the alter ego of the classic pearl.
The company brings its nanotechnology to two new fancy cuts for diamonds that feature its signature color and brilliance.
From protecting customer data to safeguarding inventory records, it's crucial to learn how to tackle cybersecurity challenges.
Sponsored by Tasha R
Three Titanic survivors presented him with the personalized Tiffany & Co. timepiece about a year after the tragedy.
A federal court found that the jewelry store chain violated terms of the settlement reached after it was accused of defrauding customers.
This fall, sharpen your skills in jewelry grading, quality control and diamond assessment.
Cynthia Erivo chose Dreams of Hope, an organization dedicated to empowering LGBTQA+ youth, as the charity for this year’s collection.
The new space was designed to evoke a warm, inviting vibe.
The auction house was accused of helping clients avoid paying taxes on millions of dollars’ worth of art purchased from 2010 to 2020.
The four finalists will present their pieces at the 2025 JCK Las Vegas show.
The “Camera Oscura” collection showcases earring designs celebrating female Surrealist artists Claude Cahun and Leonor Fini.
The money will fund the planting of 10,000 trees in critical areas across Oregon, Arizona, Montana, and other regions.
The event centered on advancing jewelry manufacturing technology will return to Detroit in May 2025.
Local reports identified the woman as the wife of the jewelry store owner.
A collection of pieces owned by Ferdinand I, the first king of modern Bulgaria, and his family, blew away estimates in Geneva last week.
The Australian jewelry box brand’s new West Village store will showcase new jewelers each month through its Designer in Residence program.
“Lovechild” was created in partnership with Carolyn Rafaelian’s Metal Alchemist brand.
Hampton discussed how Helzberg is improving the customer experience and why it was inspired by the company formerly known as Dunkin’ Donuts.
The group will host several curated events and an exhibition of designer jewelry made with Peruvian gold traceable to the miners’ names.
The collection honors the 50th anniversary of Dolly Parton’s “Love is Like a Butterfly” song, which shares a birth year with Kendra Scott.
This year’s theme asks designers to take inspiration from classic fairy tales.
Senior Editor Lenore Fedow makes the case for why more jewelers should be appealing to nerds at the annual event.
The latest “Raiz’in” drop showcases a newly designed “Scapular” necklace and donates a portion of the proceeds to Make-A-Wish France.
No. 1 out of 100, the timepiece was created to mark Citizen’s 100th anniversary and will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s next month.
On the latest episode of “My Next Question,” two experts share best practices for store security during the holidays and year-round.