Hannah Frohman’s work allows her to be a part of some of the “happiest moments” in people’s lives, she told CNBC Make It. And, he says, it’s “completely different” from his previous career as a corporate lawyer.
Frohman is a jewelry designer specializing in engagement rings and the owner and founder of Hannah Frohman Fine Jewelry, a Boston-based custom jewelry company. The company achieved seven-figure sales in 2025, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
Frohman, 36, who is also a mother of two, says becoming a jewelry designer wasn’t always part of her plans.
Frohman graduated from Tulane University in 2011 with a degree in political science and received his J.D. from Northeastern Law School in Boston in 2015. After graduating, she started working at a corporate law firm, but quickly realized she didn’t enjoy the “intense, high-pressure” aspects of the job, she says.
“I think a lot of successful lawyers enjoy the stress. It energizes them and keeps them going. For me, it was kind of the opposite,” she recalls.
Frohman said that shortly after marrying her husband in 2016, she decided to work part-time at a law firm to “explore other options.”
find her strengths
Florman was inspired to start her jewelry company after recognizing a gap in the local market for custom fine jewelry. She wanted to reset some of her family heirlooms, but had trouble finding a jeweler with whom she had connections.
“What I wanted didn’t really exist in Boston,” she says. So I decided to try designing my own jewelry.
Mr. Frohman permanently left the law firm at the end of 2016 to study at the Gemological Institute of America for six months. She officially launched her eponymous jewelry business in September 2017, specializing in custom engagement rings and fine jewelry.
Engagement and wedding rings from Hannah Florman Fine Jewelry.
Courtesy of Hannah Frohman.
Her husband and father-in-law both work in the luxury watch business, and their jewelry connections allowed Ms. Frohman to quickly develop relationships with vendors and diamond dealers, she says.
Still, it took me a few tries to figure out her workflow. Frohman realized early on that physically making jewelry wasn’t for her, so she found a local workshop to create her pieces.
That was her first big lesson in business. “Find what you’re really good at and what your strengths are, focus on those, and outsource the rest.”
Frohman worked for himself for the first few years before hiring his first full-time employee in 2022. Today, she has three full-time employees (a workshop liaison manager, a social media manager, and another jewelry designer) and runs a jewelry showroom in a brownstone on Boston’s Newbury Street.
Connection with clients
Most of Frohman’s early customers were friends or friends of friends, she says. For the first three to four years, she estimates that customers found her business primarily through word of mouth.
“I think the moment you realize something has changed as a business owner is when you start getting customers who don’t know how they found you,” she says.
According to Frohman, building strong relationships with customers is the backbone of her business model.
She always begins the custom jewelry process with an introduction over the phone. “It takes time for us, but it allows us to get to know our clients better,” she says.
During the design meeting, Frohman presents the client with several design sketches from which they can choose or make changes. For engagement rings, which make up about 50% of annual jewelry fees, Frohman says he sources five to six diamonds from a diamond vendor to show his customers.
Once the client is satisfied with the design, Frohman sends it to the rendering team who converts the sketch into a 3D digital model. Finally, a jewelry workshop creates a piece based on the model. The entire process typically takes about six to eight weeks, Frohman said.
Diamond tennis bracelet designed by Hannah Frohman.
Courtesy of Hannah Frohman.
Florman requires a minimum budget of $7,500 for custom fine jewelry and $15,000 for custom bridal jewelry. “We want to meet the expectations of our clients to get the quality that we want to produce,” she says.
When she started her business, Frohman says her personal goal was to be able to pay herself within five years the same salary she made as a lawyer. Since then, she says, she’s been able to achieve that goal and “feel like I made the right financial decision.” (Mr. Frohman declined to provide details about her salary.)
balance
Frohman said custom jewelry will always be “the bread and butter of the business,” but the company is also exploring the ready-to-wear market.
Florman recently launched a ready-to-wear fine jewelry collection on her site and plans to release an engagement ring collection made with lab-grown diamonds in the coming months. She says she designed these collections to “make our jewelry more accessible to people who aren’t in Boston or who are afraid to reach out to us and go through the customization process with us.”
Still, Frohman said the company “always craves that personal interaction” with customers, “so whatever we do going forward, we’re focused on making sure that continues and grows.”
Bracelets and rings designed by Hannah Florman Fine Jewelry.
Courtesy of Hannah Frohman.
Another major priority for Florman is balancing his growing business with his family life. Frohman said finding a career with a better work-life balance was the main reason she left law, recalling how her colleagues often missed their children’s sports games or doctor’s appointments because of work.
But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to spend a lot of time running your company. As a business owner, “Even if your employees are great, you’ll never have a complete day off,” Frohman said. However, she has been able to be present at important moments for her two sons.
From Frohman’s perspective, it’s meaningful for children to “see their mom creating something and being passionate about something,” she said. She wants them to know that she is “doing something that I think is really important.”
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