HISTORY

For most Americans, the name Knox brings to mind Fort Knox, KY, Home of the mountain of gold under the care of the US treasury department. But for many Southerners the name is synonymous with striking gold jewelry - the creations of Atlanta jeweler Bob Knox.

The ability of Bob Knox and his talented staff to produce beautiful pieces of gold jewelry has earned the 22-year-old firm a reputation that goes well beyond the Atlanta city limits. Knox Creations have been featured in numerous newspaper and magazine articles and have been worn by the city's rich and famous.

When Bob graduated from high school, he attended Atlanta's Georgia State University in pursuit of a marketing degree. To pay his way through, he worked in a jewelry trade shop belonging to the father of one of his friends. It was there that he realized that one day he would like to have a store of his own.

Bob Knox worked in several Atlanta jewelry stores before opening his first shop in the Cascade Shopping Plaza in the southwest part of town in 1962. The firm operated there for eight years before relocating in an office park in the affluent Sandy Springs on the northeast side of the city.

The interior of Bob Knox Jewelers is not large. The subtle beige and rouge color scheme accentuates and interesting array of jewelry. But the Knox-created designs are the real stand-outs. An 18k Yellow Gold Unicorn carved by Bob Knox's son, Eddie, is a testimony to the young man's talent, which draws inspiration from the realm of fantasy.

The most widely publicized Knox creation was the solid gold belt Bob made for a wealthy Miami Woman in 1982. The belt, valued at $15,000.00, was composed of a dozen gold 50-peso coins, measuring 29" and weighting 22.28 oz. It could be adjusted to fit around the natural waist or around the hips, and each coin could be dismounted from its solid gold frame, making it what Bob Knox called an "authentic money belt".

Another way-out concoction was a solid gold guitar ordered by an Atlanta woman who was a close friend of rocker Elvis Presley. The finished piece, which featured Elvis' name encrusted with diamonds, was presented to the star on his birthday. On another occasion, wealthy Arab gentlemen commissioned Bob Knox to make a sold gold replica of a rose, which he brought with him into the store. When the rose was finished and placed into a steuben vase, the customer presented it to his wife, a passionate admirer of roses. Another man, who had persistently asked his wife what she had wanted for Christmas, decided to grant her comic request for a gold brick. Bob Knox cast him a 3 lb, 16oz. gold brick with "Gwen's Ingot" inscribed on a plate attached to the top.

As a successful jeweler in on of the South's major markets, Bob Knox has seen the arrival of every kind of jewelry trend. He thinks that the men's jewelry market has not really established itself, and he sees the advent of tricolor gold as just a novelty. "Gold jewelry should be treated as an occasion. People today are looking for a nice gold piece, with emphasis on a traditional look. The trend has swung to the way Europeans have been buying their gold jewelry. They want jewelry that is versatile and will last."

There are several craftsmen that toil at the benches at the bock of the store, but Bob Knox Likes to credit all the shops creations as group efforts. Among the talented group is David Richardson who began to work with Bob in 1965, when he was a sophomore in High school. David is an incredible designer and is able to turn a customers vision into a reality.

The Store's quality image is promoted through mostly "Word of Mouth" Advertising. They had had some ads appear in Some Atlanta Neighborhood papers and in a variety of upscale magazines. Much of the advertising is put together inside the store, with Eddie taking photographs and doing the layouts.

Bob is fortunate in having a very dedicated staff, which includes Cleve Spinks (voted BEST in Atlanta Watchmaker by his contemporaries) services Baume &Mercier, Concorde, Rolex and Ebel Watches. Greg Knox (son) is the Diamond Buyer of the store; Jeff Milwood who has worked in the shop for over 21 years is the head jeweler. Fran Knox (Bob's Wife) is in the accounting Department and assists in the buying. Kathy (Bob's Daughter-in-law) helps with design and sales. "We have an excellent crew here, but I still like to think of us as still being just a mom-and-pop operation."

HISTORY | JEWELERS | CHARITY