FAMILY WORKS: Frances Fitz-Gerald Jewelry and Antiques

Frances Fitz-Gerald Jewelry & Antiques has built upon an extraordinary family legacy over the past 10 years since opening its storefront in Lake Charles. But the roots of this mother-daughter business stretch back generations.Frances Fitz-Gerald, the matriarch of the business, has been working in jewelry and antiques for over 50 years, creating a career grounded in craftsmanship, resilience and impeccable taste.

The story begins in Woodville, Mississippi, with Elizabeth “Honey” Whetstone—grandmother of Frances and great-grandmother to Elizabeth “Kate” Bergstedt, the duo who now run the Lake Charles store. “She had a side hustle before a side hustle was a thing,” Kate says. “She would drive her yellow Cadillac up and down the Delta, selling antiques out of the trunk of her car.” The family legend tells of Honey returning home each evening with crystal and silver tucked into her petticoat, clinking her way to her room so her husband wouldn’t see her purchases.

Honey’s entrepreneurial spirit carried through to her granddaughter. In 1974, Frances and her husband, Danny Roane, opened The Goldsmith, a fine jewelry company in Baton Rouge. Frances, recognizing Danny’s extraordinary skill, did her research—studying the styles and selections at luxury retailers like Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. She sent packages of their work to buyers and successfully secured a deal with Saks, creating custom pieces for their high-end traveling shows.

Danny used the lost wax casting method to create each piece, a labor-intensive process that mesmerized their daughter, Kate, as a child. “It looked like lava,” she remembers, recalling the awe she felt watching her father engrave and set stones by hand. “Jewelry was made so differently then—it was a true art form.”

In 1990, Danny was named one of the top 10 jewelers in the country at the Dallas Fine Jewelry Show. When he passed away shortly after, Frances kept the business running with the help of jewelers Danny had trained. She eventually sold The Goldsmith after seven more years and, in 1994, remarried and moved to Lake Charles. Though she didn’t settle there until 1996, Frances remained active in the antique world, operating booths in St. Francisville, Lafayette and her hometown of Woodville, before expanding into Breaux Bridge. She continued in that work for over two decades.

Kate, meanwhile, earned a degree in interior design from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and worked at the Paul Michael Company in Lafayette before transferring to Monroe. Eventually, the pull of home—and family—brought her back to Lake Charles. In 2015, she and Frances combined their talents and opened Frances Fitz-Gerald Jewelry & Antiques on Ryan Street. The shop grew steadily, expanding its space year by year over the next decade.

In January 2025, they moved to a new location at 200 W. Sale Road, Suite 800—but this wasn’t just a move; it was a transformation. Frances and Kate personally designed the entire space from the ground up. They created the floor plans, chose the wall colors and paint finishes, designed custom molding, selected lighting and even picked the stain for the concrete floors. Every inch of the store—from architectural layout to the smallest decorative detail—was intentionally crafted to reflect their vision of beauty, warmth and function. The result is not just a storefront, but a fully immersive experience that tells their story.

Where do their treasures come from? The two travel the country together, sourcing one-of-a-kind finds from antique shows and markets. “She’s my best friend,” Kate says of her mother. “Our work trips feel like vacation. We’ve met people from Russia to Madagascar.”

For Kate, the goal is more than just selling antiques. “I want to show people what their home could look like,” she says. “Things don’t have to match, but they do have to go. Antiques tell a story—they carry the history of people and places—and we want our customers to feel that story when they walk in the door.”

At Frances Fitz-Gerald Jewelry & Antiques, history isn’t just preserved—it’s lived, celebrated and shared from one generation to the next.