Key Points:
• Frank and Geneva Barnhill founded Lauderhill’s Fine Jewelry in 1981.
• The Barnhills have more than 60 years of experience in the jewelry business.
Lauderhill’s Fine Jewelry has served the community as a family-owned business for more than 43 years at its Orchard Park Shopping Center store.
The cities of Dunwoody and Sandy Springs wouldn’t form until decades after Frank and Geneva Barnhill opened Lauderhill’s in 1981 at 2090 Dunwoody Club Drive, Suite 107.
Frank began his jewelry career 60 years ago, working for Ellman’s Fine Jewelers. After those stores were sold, Frank Ellman asked him to work at his Cumberland Mall store as a diamond buyer. When that store was sold, he worked for Rich’s as a fine jewelry buyer. When Rich’s sold, it was too much for Frank Barnhill. When he came home with that news, he asked Geneva to help him open up their store.
Geneva said they opened the store “on a wing and a prayer” with the help of the family’s supporters. Financially, they weren’t prepared to open a store. The Dunwoody area location was chosen because they knew so many people in the area. From the first three months, it was a success. It was the right move at the right time, she said.
Frank fell ill with cancer and now suffers from Alzheimer’s and dementia. Geneva said he was a very successful businessman and got Lauderhill’s off to a good start. But it remains a family effort. Geneva said their son, Mike, started working at Lauderhill’s 29 years ago. She said her master jeweler at the store said Mike had a natural talent and he should be given a chance.
Lauderhill’s is a full-service jeweler with a repair shop. It offers custom design work on site.
“We do a tremendous amount of special orders, because as people become more successful, they buy more special items,” Geneva said.
Fine jewelry is available at all price points, she said.
“You don’t have to break the bank to get a fine piece,” Geneva said.
Lauderhill’s does not offer lab-grown diamonds or commercial products. Geneva said Lauderhill’s steers clear of trends and specializes in one-of-a-kind pieces. She said the demand for higher quality always exists.
“People don’t like going to the club or a wedding and wearing the same piece of jewelry that two other people have on,” Geneva said.
Lauderhill’s job is to stay more specialized and offer things customers haven’t seen in a catalog. They order jewelry from France and Italy.
The business has gone through many cycles.
“In the beginning, we did a lot of custom work making pieces. And then it became more important items, more expensive things, for anniversaries and birthdays,” Geneva said.
Customers who grew to know them came in to make purchases for anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions. Then they started buying for their children, and then their grandchildren.
Geneva said they created engagement rings or wedding gifts using jewelry from customers’ grandmothers.
“People know when they come here that they’re coming in for fine jewelry,” Geneva said. “And after the children inherit what grandmother had, they can bring in the pieces, and it’s still fine. We can refinish it; we can rebuild it. We can do wonderful things with it.”
Geneva wants to make everything the store does special for the individual customer. Each person has a special need, and they need to feel comfortable that their need will be met when they come to the store.
Geneva is in her 80s and has no interest in retiring. A visit to Lauderhill’s usually shows her active and engaged while helping customers.
The store is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.