19th C. Towson Jeweler Plans

by Ryan Marshall, The Frederick News-Post

A longtime Baltimore jeweler currently in Towson plans to open a second location in downtown Frederick by the end of the year.

Nelson Coleman Jewelers, a sixth-generation jewelry company, will move into the space at 11 W. Patrick St., in what the company's CEO called a return to its roots in a downtown area.

"It's always been our dream to bring Nelson Coleman Jewelers back to the city," Chief Executive Officer Amanda Coleman-Phelps said in an interview Friday.

Coleman-Phelps is the sixth generation of her family to be involved in the business, which was at the corner of Charles and Pleasant streets in Baltimore for more than 100 years before moving to Towson in 2002.

She said her father and uncle would tell stories about the heyday of downtown Baltimore, with their shop on a street with up to a dozen other jewelers, multiple furriers and other merchants.

As she talked with officials from the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Frederick Partnership and the county Office of Economic Development, she became more sure that opening a branch of about 2,000 square feet in Frederick was a way to bring the company back to its downtown roots.

While it's considered a luxury jeweler, specializing in bridal, fashion, estate and vintage items as well as custom jewelry, it sells items from $20 and up, Coleman-Phelps said.

It also has a master jeweler at its Towson store who can do repairs, she said.

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