From Finance to Fine Jewelry

Kevin V. Brito '17 is in the business of celebration

By Jana Brown

Originally published in GSB Magazine - Summer 2026

Kevin V. Brito ’17 values the personal connections he builds with his clients.

“I don’t consider myself a retailer or salesman,” explains Brito, a skilled tradesman and gemologist who owns Corbo Jewelers in Clifton, New Jersey. “I’m in the business of celebration. Everything we make is in celebration of a moment.”

As a fifth-generation jeweler, Brito pours his heart into his work. His shop serves clients at key life moments, from engagements and weddings to births, graduations, and other milestones. “I get to be part of something more,” Brito adds. “People have been coming to us for decades because their grandparents and parents got their rings from us and [so on].”

While Brito grew up in a family of jewelers (his great-grandparents were jewelry manufacturers in New York’s Diamond District, and his parents opened New Jersey-based Dickens Jewelers in 1986), he veered from the path, studying finance at the Stevens Institute of Technology. After two years as a wealth management analyst at BNY Mellon, he realized the long hours were unfulfilling and thought he could put similar effort into his family business with greater satisfaction. That led to a master’s from the Gemological Institute of America and continued education at trade school, where Brito learned jewelry fabrication, design, and repair techniques.

He initially joined his parents at Dickens, before taking over the nearly 130-year-old Corbo store in Clifton, operated for generations by his sister in-law’s family. Brito is careful to differentiate jewelry stores that serve as merchandisers selling branded products from what he does. Corbo Jewelers carries only its name brand and offers in‑house bench skills and manufacturing, allowing Brito and his team to perform repairs, stone setting, and original work on site, which builds trust and relationships through immediate service.

The shop focuses heavily on custom rings, pendants, and diamond necklaces, with a process prioritizing speed and personalization. Brito takes pride in educating potential buyers before delivering custom engagement rings in weeks — a fraction of the industry’s typical four-month turnaround. He also creates 3D renders, which serve as “proofs” for clients to review before purchasing original creations.

In addition to the celebratory work, Brito also loves helping customers “revive or relive” memories by restoring inherited pieces, often with deeply emotional results. A recent customer walked into the store with a request to modify a sentimental ring that belonged to her late mother. She presented to Brito the rose‑gold band featuring an intricate pattern and asked that it be tapered and resized for comfort. After promising a seven-business-day turnaround, Brito delivered the finished ring in 24 hours.

“She actually shed tears in front of us, and that’s something we experience a lot,” Brito says. “It’s amazing because we get to celebrate with people in those moments, and that’s beautiful.”

Read more from the Summer 2026 edition of GSB Magazine