Sarah Martin Rowe can evaluate a gemstone and create the perfect engagement ring. What also makes her stand out as a custom jeweler is she can knock out an aria with ease, having studied and performed opera for years before transforming her interest in jewelry into a profession.
Martin Rowe is the owner and lead designer of the Leake Co., a custom jewelry design business based in Louisville, Ky., that she opened in 2021 after nearly a decade in the industry.
Still, she’s often reminded of the field she left behind. “Jewelry and singing inform one another,” says the soprano. “They’re both fascinating. With jewelry and music, you never stop learning. Plus, with jewelry, you can be creative and share it in an intimate way, much like you do with music.”
Music became an important part of Martin Rowe’s life when she was high school and placed in statewide and regional competitions for both vocal and flute performance. She attended college on a voice scholarship, but didn’t really think of opera as a possible career until she studied abroad in Italy during her junior year.
“When I got exposed to traditional Italian opera, I knew that is what I wanted to do,” says Martin Rowe. “It was that amazing. I started studying with a vocal coach that summer.”
Martin Rowe received both a master of music degree and a performer diploma from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music before relocating to Louisville in 2013. While in school and afterward, she performed with regional opera companies, including the Indianapolis Opera.
“You really have to love it so much that you forgo other things,” Martin Rowe says. “But while I was working on that, I needed a job in between my music gigs.”
A friend of a friend worked for an independent jeweler near Louisville, and Martin Rowe applied for a sales associate position there. During the job interview she was asked about her most recent jewelry purchase—her description of an art deco platinum diamond ring was passionate enough to get her the job.
Within three years, Martin Rowe graduated with her GIA gemologist certificate. She went on to work as a sales rep across the United States for an international bridal jewelry designer from 2016 to 2020. That role ramped up her understanding of the design process as well as manufacturing.
“Seeing that level of artistry was amazing. I could sit down with the designer and learn the process. And when he debuted his work, it was an electric feeling—just like what it felt like when I was on stage,” Martin Rowe says. “He was unapologetic about his quality. It had to be perfect, like a Swiss timepiece.”
Those four years together were transformative. When Martin Rowe felt ready to start her own business, she thought through every detail. But none was as important as the company’s name.
She wanted the fact that it was a female-owned business to take center stage, so she used her great-grandmother Susie Leake’s maiden name.
“She gave me jewelry and trusted me to take care of it,” Martin Rowe says. “I wore it to every audition. It gave me strength to walk into that room and audition. I felt like that was how I wanted my business to run—it would be woman-powered.”
Her favorite part of running her business is sitting knee to knee with clients who want custom work. She says dreaming up ideas with clients brings her a similar kind of experience as she had as a singer.
“There’s a moment as a performer where you get a pure feeling of joy. After all of those years practicing, you are finally on stage in a role and you get to share it with people,” Martin Rowe says. “You just get to share a story with someone. It’s electric.”
Top: Sarah Martin Rowe started her career as an opera singer, and working in jewelry was just a way to pay the bills; now she has her own custom jewelry business, the Leake Co. (Photos courtesy of the Leake Co.)
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