For the Bennett family, jewelry making is more than a business. It is a craft that has been passed down for nearly 50 years.

The family’s story began in 1976, when the late Fred Bennett Sr. started what would become a multigenerational jewelry legacy.

According to Seattle Gold Grills, Bennett Sr. became the first African American to graduate from the Paris Junior College Jewelry Program before launching Fred Bennett Creations. His work laid the foundation for what the family would continue building decades later.

His son, Fred Bennett Jr., grew up around the business and learned the trade directly from his father.

In 2016, Bennett Jr. launched Seattle Gold Grills, expanding on a family tradition that had already grown beyond traditional jewelry and into custom grillz.

The Better Business Bureau lists Seattle Gold Grills as having started locally in 2016, with Bennett Jr. serving as owner, while also noting that the business has been making and selling jewelry since 1976.

Today, Seattle Gold Grills creates custom grillz, chains, pendants, and fine jewelry from its Renton, Washington showroom.

The company describes itself as the longest-running Black-owned jeweler in the U.S., tracing its roots from Fred Bennett Creations in 1976 to the family business operating today.

That history now stretches across three generations, with the next generation continuing to learn and carry forward the same craft that started with Bennett Sr.

For the family, each piece represents more than gold or gemstones.

It represents decades of knowledge, entrepreneurship, and a skill passed from one generation to the next.

Nearly 50 years later, the Bennett family is still creating, still teaching, and still keeping the family craft alive.