How I Got Here: Alexandra Samit on Her Purposeful Pivot to Fine Jewelry

By Karen Dybis | February 04, 2026

Ah, to be in high school again—a time when you might experience your first career inspirations, perhaps your first love. But if you’re Alexandra Samit, it’s the time you establish a jewelry business that turns your family home into a factory.

In other words, Samit was sourcing materials, managing production, and sending invoices when everyone else was fretting over who would ask them to prom.

“It all started from my bedroom floor at age 15,” Samit says, reflecting on the beaded necklaces she made and sold to retailers, including the 30-store chain South Moon Under. “We knew the owners, and she took 10 pieces on consignment. They were sold within a week.”

Samit began a costume jewelry brand while attending Emory University, and she was selling her work at Henri Bendel and Bloomingdales not long after graduating in 2009. She pivoted to fine jewelry about a decade later, catering at first to friends who got engaged and wanted her to make their wedding sets.

Today, Alexandra Beth Fine Jewelry—which Samit debuted in 2020—is thriving. Samit recently entered year two of her direct-to-consumer showroom in New York City’s Diamond District.

Alexandra Beth showroom — *Alexandra Samit just celebrated the one-year anniversary of her appointment-only showroom in Manhattan.*

“When I tell someone that I’ve been in the jewelry industry for nearly 25 years, they’re usually surprised,” she says. “It’s been a journey. I see that sign on the wall with my name, and it’s a ‘pinch me’ moment. I have a desk overlooking the showroom, and it’s what I’ve always wanted.”

Samit grew up in Potomac, Md., and graduated as a small-business titan from Winston Churchill High School. Kidding, kidding. But she did have a large account with South Moon Under, a clothing and accessories store with locations all over the East Coast. Following the retailer’s quick success with her first order, “my mom suggested we approach their buying office,” Samit recalls.

“I was only 15 and sitting in a business meeting. The buyer ordered 98 necklaces, so we had to set up production in the dining room. Each placemat was a different station.” Samit’s brother, she says, still claims he’s owed back pay from helping string all those beads.

And she still has some of the same clients she had back in Potomac, only instead of buying beaded necklaces, they’re asking her to reset their diamonds.

Alexandra Samit diamonds — *Samit shifted from costume to fine jewelry when friends started asking her to make engagement rings and pregnancy “push presents.”*

Samit chose Emory to study business and marketing, but ran into some bad timing, graduating when the country was still in the economic downturn that had hit in 2008. She looked around for jobs, but there were few to be had, so she decided to give working in jewelry full-time a shot for three months. If it went well, she’d stay with it.

Dear reader, it went well. Alexandra Beth Designs landed spots in department stores—and in People magazine. Samit made classic costume jewelry, using primarily gold-plated silver, cubic zirconia, and leather.

By her early 30s, though, she was ready to work with higher-end materials. Her friends were getting married and having children, and she needed to source diamonds for their engagement rings and blue sapphires for those who wanted jewelry to celebrate the arrival of a baby boy. Samit changed her business’ name from Designs to Fine Jewelry.

“I started taking costume down off of the site because it was too confusing for clients if you do both,” she says. “But I had built such great relationships with my clients that everyone stayed.”

Now, Samit has set up a showroom that reflects the same style her jewelry designs do: something formal yet comfortable, where every detail is considered. “It’s my name on the door,” she says. “It’s personal.”

Top: Alexandra Samit has been making jewelry professionally since high school. (Photos courtesy of Alexandra Beth Fine Jewelry)