“In the enchanted world of jewellery, every piece must be original in its execution.” – Gilbert Albert

The Aletto family have been making fine hand crafted jewellery for five consecutive generations beginning in Italy in the 19th century.

The American artist jeweller Barbara Miller Anton was a woman of many talents, an actress, writer and artist as well as a jewellery designer.

The world renowned Royal Warrant holding luxury goods retailer Asprey started life as a small silk printing business in Mitcham, Surrey.

Louis Aucoc made an important contribution to the history of Parisian jewellery not only with his beautiful pieces but also with his tireless work in service to the trade.

Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet were members of a tight knit network of Swiss watch makers who decided to join forces and open their own workshop in 1875. 

The Maison Auger was founded by Louis-Alphonse Auger (1837 – 1904) in 1862. He had begun his career as a stone setter but decided to establish his own jewellery firm and set up premises at 54, rue Etienne-Marcel in Paris’s 2nd arrondissement. 

Bailey, Banks & Biddle started life as Bailey & Kitchen when Joseph Trowbridge Bailey and Andrew B. Kitchen formed a partnership and opened their store at 136 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia in September 1832.

During a twelve year period at the end of the 19th century the two French firms of Bapst and Falize entered into a partnership that resulted in some remarkable jewellery.

Suzanne Belperron believed her jewellery designs to be so original, distinctive and recognisable that signing her pieces was unnecessary, “Mon style est ma signature” she claimed, and so it is.

Artist Val Bennett was born in London in 1923 and educated at Winchester College.  From a young age he was drawn to nature and the outdoors and studied natural history and painting. 

The prestigious firm of J.W. Benson was one of the most respected watch makers in London during the second half of the 19th Century and was one of very few early wristwatch houses that was English, rather than Swiss, owned.

Mademoiselle Berlioz and Monsieur Leroy established their jewellery business during the early 1920’s in Paris.

In the 1953 film ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ when Marilyn Monroe sung ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ she referenced the biggest names in jewellery in America at that time, one of which was Black, Starr & Frost.

The French firm of Boivin was founded in 1890 by Monsieur Jules René Boivin (1864-1917), however the fact that the name is so well known today and the jewellery so collectible, is largely due to a team of exceptional women, headed by his wife Jeanne.  

“Some pieces I can visualize so perfectly that I almost loose interest to do them. Others I have to draw or just start working in wax or metal until it reveals itself. That is by far more interesting.”

Frédéric Boucheron supplied jewels to some of the 19th century’s most famous and infamous women, from Royalty to Queens of the Night, they were all entranced by the spectacular pieces he created.

Théodule Bourdier was born in Paris in 1837 where he was both schooled and then apprenticed to a jeweller.

Artist Ian Bowles was born in 1946 and from an early age was drawn to artistic pursuits.  He studied at London’s Sir John Cass College of Art, specialising in ceramics, and was a full-time professional artist for over 30 years.

Best remembered for his bold and innovative Art Nouveau and Art Deco designs, Paul-Emile Brandt was a leading figure of the Art Moderne movement along with contemporaries such as Després and Templier.

Abraham-Louis Bréguet (1747 – 1823) was born in Neuchatel, Switzerland but left his homeland for the bright lights of Paris and a watchmaking apprenticeship whilst still a teenager.

John Brogden was one of the best known and most prolific of Victorian manufacturing jewellers during the second half of the 19th Century although his family had been in the trade since the early 18th century.

When Mario Buccellati (1891-1965) returned from war in 1918 to find that the company he had worked for since he was twelve had been sold and he no longer had a job he decided there was only one thing to do, buy it back. 

In 1880 a young Greek silversmith, Sotirios Boulgaris, arrived in Italy looking to build a new life. It didn’t take him long to establish himself and after a couple of false starts he opened his eponymous shop on Via Sistina in Rome in 1884.

Henri Auguste Burdy was a French sculptor and gem engraver. Born in Grenoble in 1833, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and in 1863 was awarded second prize in the Prix de Rome for a medal ‘Bacchus Forcing a Panther to Drink.’

“My aim is to design finely crafted beautiful jewellery that people will love, balancing unusual and original design with elegance and wearability.”

Pol Bury was a Belgian artist who worked in a variety of different media but is best remembered for his kinetic sculptures – both life size and the miniature versions he used in his jewellery. 

“For those who love beauty and who insist upon its ultimate expression, J.E. Caldwell & Co. are consistently developing new jewels in exquisite forms.

Carreras was one of the oldest family jewellers and silversmiths in Spain, founded by Francesc d'Assis Carreras i Mata in Barcelona sometime around 1785.

The firm of Carrington was named after its founder John Bodman Carrington who established his manufacturing business at 130 Regent Street. 

When Louis-François Cartier (1819-1904) opened his small jewellery store in Paris in 1847, he couldn’t have imagined that 170 years later his name would be synonymous worldwide with some of the finest jewellery ever created. 

Fortunato Pio Castellani (1794 – 1865) founded his business in 1814 on the ground floor of the Palazzo Raggi ideally located on Rome’s Via del Corso, a wide and unusually straight road which led directly from the city’s northern gate into the heart of the historic centre.

“For more than four decades gemstones have been the most important language I use to communicate with nature and the universe. I use gemstones as my medium to create life and through creation, I become one with nature.”

“I chose the diamond because it represents, in its density, the greatest value for the smallest size.  And I used my penchant for all that shines to try and reconcile elegance and fashion in a set of jewellery.” 

“Every day Capri's energy, colours and scents create something unique and extraordinary; something that we have turned, with unwavering passion, into jewellery.”

Founded in 1909 Charlton & Co are probably best known for their fine Art Deco jewels which were the toast of 1920's New York, their reputation was secured by a remarkable French jewellery designer and enhanced by the patronage of Edward, Prince of Wales.

George Chatila opened his eponymous jewellery firm in Beirut in 1860.  He quickly established himself as a discerning jeweller and his reputation grew as he built his successful business.

The story of Chaumet is a long and distinguished one with its roots in late 18th century Paris. 

Walter Child (1840 – 1930) and his younger brother Harold (1848 – 1915) founded their business Child & Child in 1880. 

A small farming village in the mountainous region of Jura in Switzerland might seem an unlikely place for the story of Chopard to begin but Sonvilier had a rich history of watch making and it was here that Louis-Ulysse Chopard (1836-1915), a farmer’s son, established his workshop in 1860 aged 24.

Famous for designing one of the most popular Cartier jewels of all time, Aldo Cipullo’s name will forever be synonymous with bold, modern jewellery that reflected the mood of New York in the 1960s and 70s. 

The American designer Donald Claflin was born in Massachusetts in 1935 and studied at the Parsons School of design in New York.

Julius Cohen (1914 – 1995) founded his eponymous business in New York in 1956 after many years working in the trade.  He began aged 16 when he joined his uncle’s company, Oscar Heyman Bros, where he stayed for thirteen years learning all he could about both the design and manufacture of fine jewellery.

Marylin Cooperman was born in Toronto Canada and emigrated to New Zealand aged 20 where she wrote and illustrated the New Zealand Herald's first fashion and beauty column.

“The idea and purpose of fine jewellery is changing into something that is enjoyed during the day, in the evening and for every occasion no matter whether it is casual or formal. This is the kind of jewellery we create.”

Angela Cummings was born in Klagenfurt, Austria in 1944 but raised in America from the age of three after re-locating with her family in 1947. 

“My aim is to put the art of jewellery into its right perspective: that in which the design of the jewel and the perfection of the work carried out bear, as in the Renaissance period, more importance than the insignificant value of the stones themselves.”

Swiss jewellery firm De Grisogono was founded in 1993 by current company president Fawaz Gruosi and two associates. The name De Grisogono is the maiden name of the mother of one of the other founders and today that name conjures images of bold designs set with large impressive gemstones.

The Parisian jewellery firm of Debacq  traces its origins back to 1812 when Raymond Sabe first set up in business manufacturing and trading gold jewellery.

Emanuel Jules Joseph Descomps was a French sculptor and jeweller working in Paris during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. 

Despres is remembered as one of a group of daring, forward thinking artists and designers of the Art Moderne who broke stereotypes and boundaries with abandon and captured the defining aesthetic of the period in pieces of great style.

Born just outside Paris in 1927 to a French mother and Vietnamese father, Jean Dinh Van is regarded as something of a revolutionary in the history of 20th Century jewellery design.

“As a rule I would use jewellery generously to get the most out of it. A many stoned necklace of rhinestones for instance will look lovely with a décolleté frock for evening.

The firm of Cecil Drayson Ltd was founded in London in 1936 by Keith Cecil Drayson, however the family’s involvement in the trade can be traced back to at least the beginning of the 20th Century.

The name Dreicer is little known today but a century ago this New York firm was spoken about in the same breath as Tiffany & Co. and Cartier, indeed the latter considered them their greatest rival in the city.

Jean Dunand was one of the most significant and influential artists of the Art Deco period who chose to work in multiple media including sculpture, lacquer-work and jewellery.

“Jewellery should be an extension of the wearer…. it should go with bone structure, facial structure, complexion and so on. It’s not enough to wear things that you think are beautiful… the shape has to look like it belongs on you.” 

Dusausoy are best remembered for their exciting Art Deco jewels which they exhibited to great acclaim at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, winning themselves a coveted Grand Prix.

Julien Duval (b. 1865) and Georges Le Turcq (b. 1859) both studied at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris before establishing themselves as partners in 1885.

Artist, craftsman, perfectionist, connoisseur, visionary  –  Carl Fabergé was all these things and much more besides, he was the mastermind behind the largest and most important jewellery firm in Russian history.

The name Falize typically conjures images of brightly coloured oriental inspired cloisonné enamel jewels but these are only one chapter in a story that spans several generations and encompasses a wide range of beautifully designed and crafted jewellery.

Mario Fasano (1900 – 1968) founded his eponymous jewellery business ‘Gioielleria Fasano’ in 1928 in Turin.  The company upheld the traditional ways of the old Parisian jewellers and was faithful to their techniques and craft.

Eugène Feuillâtre was renowned for the beauty and quality of his enamel work which he employed to decorate both jewellery and objet in the Art Nouveau style. 

Born in September 1900 into a prosperous family of German descent, Flato’s upbringing in the cowboy state of Texas was affluent and carefree. 

The Parisian jewellery firm of Fontana was founded in 1840 by Thomas Fontana (1813-1861) who had moved to Paris from Switzerland.  He opened a modest workshop in an arcade inside the Galerie Beaujolais near the Palais Royale. 

Fontenay was one of the outstanding French goldsmiths of the 19th century, described by his contemporary Henri Vever as “a man of distinction and rare intelligence, of great discernment and impeccable taste.”

From 1860 until 1936, three successive generations of Fouquet would make a considerable contribution to the world of fine jewellery – each creating spectacular pieces representative of their respective eras.

Looking back over a lifetime in the jewellery trade and reflecting on his considerable success, Fred Samuel said simply that “I knew that the brilliance of the stones I loved so much would help me to make my way in the world.”  

Elizabeth Gage was born in 1937 into an artistic family and studied design at London’s Chelsea School of Art and at Sir John Cass College.

Garrard, the famous London firm of silversmiths and jewellers, was founded in 1735 by George Wickes.  He was born in to a family of craftsmen and was apprenticed to Samuel Wastell at 14 before gaining his freedom and registering his own maker’s mark in 1722.

New York jeweller E.M. Gattle &Co. might not be a well known name today but during the first decades of the 20th Century they produced jewellery that rivalled some of the best names in American jewellery at that time such as Tiffany & Co., Marcus & Co. and Raymond Yard.

Gay Frères was founded in 1835 in Geneva by Jean-Pierre Gay and Gaspard Tissot.  They specialised in making chains both for pocket watches and jewellery and over the years gained a reputation for both the quality of their work and reliability of their service.  

Jewellery firm Gazdar was established in Mumbai in 1933 by brothers Rusi and Dinshah Gazdar.  Their boutique was situated inside the historic Taj Mahal Hotel and they also established a manufacturing facility where they employed top craftsmen from Austria, Sri Lanka and India.

The Georland atelier was founded in Paris by Georges Richard and Roland Bouder in 1954, the company name deriving from a combination of their Christian names. 

The Italian jeweller Carlo Giuliano (1831-1895) came to London in about 1860. Little biographical detail is known of him prior to this except that he very likely trained under and worked for Castellani in Rome.

“I have always been fascinated by diamonds; I truly believe that working with diamonds is what I was born to do. It was an inherent feeling that has turned into a lifelong passion.”

For a man whose jewellery career began more by accident than by design, Andrew Grima would prove instrumental in changing the face of post-war British jewellery with his bold, audacious and innovative jewellery. 

The Swiss family firm of Gübelin is as well known today for its gemmological expertise as it is for its jewellery and fine watches.

After many years working for one of jewellery’s most famous Maisons, Van Cleef & Arpels, Frenchman Louis Gérard decided to strike out on his own. 

Victor Gérard created beautifully crafted and imaginative jewels from his workshop overlooking Paris’s Palais Royal.

The American firm of Hammerman Brothers was founded in New York in 1946 by Benjamin, Hyman and Bernard Hammerman.  

Within the archives of the London jewellers Hancocks, there exists the most extraordinary book.  Large, heavy and showing distinct signs of age it is filled with page after page of diary entries documenting almost one hundred and twenty years of not only company history but social history as well. 

“Our own philosophy resonates with poetry - originality, beauty, boldness, creativity and technical understanding all go into making a Hemmerle jewel.” Christian Hemmerle

The renowned firm of Hennell was founded by silversmith David Hennell (1712 – 1785) in 1736.

The world famous French company Hermès was established in Paris as a harness making shop in 1837 by Thierry Hermès (1801-1878).

“We want to sell jewellery the grandchildren fight over to keep, not pieces that heirs fight over to sell.”  This sentiment, expressed by Tom Heyman, echoes the very ethos that his grandfather and great uncles built their business on in the early 20th Century.

Hunt & Roskell was a renowned jewellers and silversmiths on Bond Street in London who for many years held the Royal Warrant of Queen Victoria.  The firm was the successor to the celebrated silversmith Paul Storr who had left Rundell, Bridge & Rundell to set up his own workshop on Harrison Street near Clerkenwell in 1819.

The Italian fine jewellery firm of Carlo Illario e F.lli was founded in 1920 by three brothers – Carlo, Vincenzo and Luigi Illario. They established their manufacturing business in Valenza, an area of northern Italy, south-west of Milan, that is renowned internationally for its fine goldsmiths and quality jewellery.

"Everything conspires to make you bigger and more public, my instinct and my radar, my selfishness and arrogance and above all the passion for happiness told me to stay small, stay silent, do what you want to do, don't be seduced, don't be enticed, just get on with it the way you think it should be done."

Antoine LeCoultre (1803 – 1881), a talented self-taught watchmaker, set up his small workshop in Le Sentier Switzerland in 1833.

“‘A piece of jewellery is sophisticated when it leaves a thief indifferent but turns the connoisseur’s head.’’  Otto Jakob

Famed for producing some of the most stylish jewellery and objet of the Art Deco period, the house of Janesich was actually established almost a hundred years earlier, in 1835. 

Thirty seven years old, widowed and with two young sons to provide for, Georg Jensen gambled his life savings on opening a tiny silversmithy in the spring of 1904, a decision that would change not only his life but also the history of Danish silverware and jeweller...

“A desire for being with, observing and drawing animals has been with me from my earliest memory, so it comes as no surprise that as a professional artist I am an animalier.” Lucy Kinsella.

The jewellery firm of Kitching & Abud was founded in 1824 and registered at 14 Dover Street in London. Joseph Kitching had been in business on his own since 1817 but made the decision to form a partnership in 1824 and in 1830 the business relocated to Conduit Street.

The Kutchinsky business was established in 1893 when Hirsch Kutchinsky arrived in England having fled Poland along with his son Morris and other members of the family.

The esteemed Austrian jewellery firm of A.E. Köchert is today run by the 7th generation of the Köchert family.  The firm’s extensive and wonderfully detailed archives allow us to trace the history of both the people and jewels that made this arguably the most important Austrian jewellery firm of the last two centuries.

‘La Triomphe’ was the name given to a range of jewellery created by the American firm Astoria Jewelry Manufacturing Company of Long Island, New York.

René Sim Lacaze was one of the most important jewellery designers of the twentieth century.  His creative talents were employed most famously by Van Cleef & Arpels and Mauboussin where he was responsible for creating some of the most iconic jewels of the period. 

Leopold, Jacques, Jules and Fernand Lacloche were not born into the jewellery trade, their father was in the textiles business, but between them these four brothers ensured that the name Lacloche became synonymous with some of the most exciting jewellery of the 20th Century.  

“I feel that in all my creations I have been profoundly influenced by Greek art.  All my various collections have one common denominator, which is some idea, some design, some technique derived from the art of Greece.”

The term revolutionary cannot be so aptly applied to many in the history of jewellery as it can to René-Jules Lalique.

Georges Le Saché was a highly respected jewellery designer and manufacturer who created pieces for some of the most prominent jewellery houses of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.  

Legnazzi is an Italian family of jewellers from Valenza in Northern Italy who have been creating wonderful jewels in their workshops for over 100 years.  

Georges Lenfant could be described as one of the unsung heroes of 20th Century French jewellery.  A hugely skilled designer and manufacturer, he was a Cartier workmaster and made jewellery for many of the top Parisian houses of the Place Vendome and rue de la Paix. 

In 1922 the Parisian jeweller Robert Linzeler entered into a brief partnership with the Russian jeweller Alexander Marchak.

Today the name Linzeler is best remembered for the brief partnership between Robert Linzeler and Alexander Marchak and the fact that between them Linzeler et Marchak created some of the most exciting jewels of the Art Deco period.

Robert Linzeler was the grandson of Eugène Linzeler who had founded his eponymous business in Paris in 1840.

London & Ryder were established in the 1850s at 17 New Bond Street after taking over the business of Thomas Hancock, jeweller and goldsmith.

Irene Lummertz’s interest in gemstones was sparked at an early age by her father who was a gemmologist.

Jean Mahie jewellery is the result of a wonderfully symbiotic and fruitful partnership between Jacline Mazard and her father-in-law Jean-Marie Mazard. 

Makovsky was a true master craftsman whose exceptional talents were sought after by many of the most prestigious jewellery houses of the early 20th Century.

Mappin & Webb was formerly established in 1889 however it’s roots can be traced back to 1775 when Jonathan Mappin opened a silver smithing workshop in Sheffield. 

Often referred to as the ‘Cartier of Kiev’, the house of Marchak was a widely respected Russian-French firm best remembered today for their wonderful Art Deco jewellery.

Herman Marcus was born in Germany in 1828 and began his jewellery career working for the court jewellers Ellemeyer in Dresden. However the bright lights of New York called to him and in 1850 he left home and emigrated to America. 

Marina Bulgari was born in 1930 into one of the jewellery industries most famous dynasties and grew up between Rome, Athens and Corfu. 

G.T. Marsh & Co. (also known as Marsh & Co.) was founded in San Francisco in 1876 by George Turner Marsh, an Australian who had immigrated to America, by way of Japan. 

Lorenzo Marzo was a jeweller of Spanish origin who worked for his uncle’s silversmithing business in Madrid before moving to Paris where he established his own jewellers.

Josep Masriera Vidal opened his first workshop on the Carrer dels Vigatans in Barcelona in 1839 after completing his apprenticeship.

Born in Liège in Belgium in 1829, Oscar Massin was only twelve years old when he was apprenticed to the jeweller Charles Reintjens who specialised in gem-set pieces.

Mauboussin’s story begins in 1827 when a gentleman called Mr Rocher established a jewellery workshop in the Rue Greneta in central Paris.

Meister was founded in 1881 and remains a family jewellers based in Zurich in Switzerland.  They design and make all their jewellery in house and specialise in using a wide range of beautiful precious coloured gems in striking and unusual colour combinations.

The Mellerio family traces its history in the jewellery trade back as far as the early 16th century when a group of them left their native Italy to settle in France in 1515. 

Ernest Membré was a French jeweller who specialised in beautiful enamel work for which he was well known, as noted by Henri Vever in his indispensable guide to 19th Century French jewellery and jewellers ‘La Bijouterie Française au XIXe Siècle’.  

"My dream is to adorn the necks of all women around the world with pearls." 

Bernd Munsteiner won his first gold medal in 1969 when he was just 26 years old.  It would prove to be the first of many awards won both in his native Germany as well as internationally. 

"My love for this city of water and light is so intense, that I hope my jewels are able to bring Venice to the world."  This was Giulio Nardi’s greatest wish for his jewellery, pieces that were inspired by and suffused with the elegance, history and sheer beauty of his beloved Venice.  

“It is wonderful to do work which it is sad to sell.”

Melchior Siegfried Arnold Ostertag (1883-1940), known as Arnold, was born in Lucerne Switzerland in 1883, the youngest of three children.  He studied for a while in America before travelling throughout the USA, Europe and India, finally settling in Paris at the beginning of the 1920s where he began dealing in pearls.  

The New York jewellery firm Ostier was founded in 1938 by husband and wife Oliver and Marianne Ostier who had emigrated from Austria earlier that year.

The firm of Paltscho was founded in Vienna Austria in 1899 by Ernst Paltscho who had trained under his father Karl.  He soon established himself and began attracting the attention of a diverse group of clients including Austro-Hungarian aristocracy and the Greek Royal household. 

Patek Philippe, arguably the best known and most prestigious watch maker in the world, are the last independent, family-owned Genevan manufacturer and have almost 180 years of world class experience to their name.

"From her very first jewellery design, a silver pendant shaped like a classical amphora which was inspired by an old vase through to her final collection for Tiffany & Co

“Jewellery is eternal. Fashion is the moment, but jewellery is more than the moment. I love the fact that it’s always related to particular memories or people that are dear to you or were dear to you.”

The Parisian workshop of Henri Picq, a name that is no doubt unfamiliar to many, was none the less responsible for some of the most exceptional jewellery of the early 20th Century.  

Ernesto Pierret was born in Paris in 1824 but moved to Rome as a young man where he trained as a goldsmith.  It has been suggested that he may have been an apprentice or at least spent some time in the workshop of Castellani due to the similarity in style and mastery of technique both firms display. 

The Maison Poiray was founded in 1975 by François Hérail and Michel Ermelin and named as a tribute to the legendary early 20th century French couturier Paul Poiret. 

The historic jewellery workshop of A. Péry et Cie traces its roots back to 1875 when Monsieur Lucien Péry decided to expand his glove making company by diversifying into jewellery, beginning by making gold chains.  

Omar Ramsden was born in Sheffield in 1873, the son of an electroplate and silver manufacturer.  

The firm of S.J. Rood was founded in London by the Allen family in 1873. They were primarily jewellery manufacturers and retailers serving a well-to-do clientele from their premises in the prestigious Burlington Arcade in Mayfair.

Rowlands & Frazer were a jewellers and silversmiths on London’s famous Regent Street.  The exact origins of the firm are unclear but by 1841 Christopher Rowlands & Son are recorded at 146 Regent Street as retail watchmakers, jewellers and silversmiths.

The names of Jean and Robert Rubel are relatively unknown today but during the 1920s and 30s they ran one of the most important jewellery workshops in Paris.

Best known for his whimsical sculptural jewels created using interesting baroque shaped Mississippi pearls, William Ruser (1908-1994) was one of the quintessential American jewellers of the 1950’s and 60’s and was beloved by Hollywood. 

The Maison Gustave Sanzdoz was a family affair led by three successive generations all of whom were prominent and active members of the jewellery profession in their own times. 

Saunders and Shepherd is a firm of manufacturing jewellers that were founded in London in 1869 by Cornelius Desormeaux Saunders Sr. and James Francis Hollings Shepherd at 23 Bartlett’s Buildings in Holborn Circus. 

“I want to capture the irregularities of the universe. I observe nature and find verve.”

Seaman Schepps (1881-1972) was born in Manhattan and grew up on the Lower East side. He worked as a travelling salesman, a job which took him all across the country and after arriving in Los Angeles he decided to settle there and open his own store in 1904. 

Sheffield & Co. was established in Alexandria, Egypt by Edward Sheffield in 1935 at 10 Rue Chérif Pacha, the most fashionable street in the city.  

George Coates Shreve and Samuel S. Shreve travelled from New York to San Francisco at the beginning of the 1850’s. They, like many thousands of Americans, made the long journey west in the hope of making their fortune in the wake of the gold discoveries of 1848. 

Sonwai is the artist name of Verma Nequatewa, a Native American jeweller who worked with her uncle, the renowned jeweller Charles Loloma, before establishing herself in her own right in the late 1980s.

Theodore B. Starr (1837 – 1907) began his career in the jewellery trade in 1853 at the age of 16 when he took up a position as messenger boy for a New York city jeweller.

Pierre Sterlé was still a young boy when fate dealt him the hand that would set him on the path to becoming one of the most exciting jewellers of the mid 20th Century.  

The firm of Storr & Mortimer was formed in 1822 when the celebrated silversmith Paul Storr entered into a partnership with John Mortimer.  

“Once I sense something creative, there is no way of resisting the urge to express it in silver. It is always an adventure to work the material directly from the beginning. It allows me to be very creative. I call this method 'thinking through making' or 'sensing through creating’.”

The renowned Art Deco jeweller Raymond Templier (1891 – 1968) joined his family business in 1919.  It had been founded seventy years previously in 1849 by his grandfather Charles Templier ( 1821 – 1884) at 15, rue de la Tixéranderie (now 66 rue de Rivoli) and managed by his father Paul (1860 – 1948) since 1885.  

“I like the scale of jewellery, I like the fineness. And I like diamonds, diamonds really do make everything else look better.”

In 1837 an ambitious young man called Charles Tiffany borrowed $1000 from his father and set up shop with his friend John B. Young selling “stationary and fancy goods”.

The firm of A. Tillander was established by Alexander Tillander in Russia in 1860. 

The somewhat unlikely alliance between the venerable French jewellery house Mauboussin and the entrepreneurial American jewellers Trabert & Hoeffer lasted seventeen years during which time they produced some of the most imaginative and glamourous jewellery of the 1930’s and 40’s. 

The jeweller and silversmith Elisabeth Treskow was born in Bochum, Germany in 1898.  

Edmond Tétard took over the business of the renowned master silversmith Émile Hugo in 1880.  He registered his mark in the August of that year giving the workshop address as 4 rue Béranger, north of the Marais in central Paris.

According to one of their  1930’s adverts….  “Fabrics fade, fashions change, but the beauty of the jeweled pieces chosen from Udall and Ballou is a continuing joy, a constant enhancement of feminine charm and loveliness.”

On June 16th 1906 Van Cleef & Arpels opened the doors to their first boutique at number 22, Place Vendôme. Next door to Lalique, opposite the Ritz and a stones throw from Boucheron, this would prove to be the first of many boutiques that the highly successful Maison would open around the world during the 20th Century.

Little is known about the French jeweller André Vassort, which is so often the case with the craftsmen and workshops behind the famous Maisons of the Place Vendôme.   All around Paris, tucked away in discreet buildings, skilled and highly creative master craftsmen work anonymously for their high profile clients.  

“Fulco’s references to nature, culture and religion keep his work classic. But without question he was a revolutionary, the one who changed everything. Fulco made it all modern.” 

Widely known as the jeweller’s jeweller, Verger created some of the most exceptional jewels, clocks and watches of the Art Deco era supplying many of the most famous jewellery houses of the period.

Undoubtedly best known for their Art Nouveau jewels, Vever created some of the finest pieces of this highly decorative style including the famous ‘Sylvia’ which is now in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris

James Henderson Watherston and his son Edward James Watherston went into business together in 1864 after the formers retirement from his previous partnership with John Brogden.  

"I had a tremendous feeling for art in me. I wanted to be an archaeologist, a ceramicist, or a jeweler. Jewelry won out."

Carlo Weingrill set up his goldsmith workshop in Verona in 1879 with the goal of making the finest 18ct gold jewels using the highest quality materials coupled with exceptional craftsmanship. 

“Jewels are more than my love and my life; they are an insatiable obsession.”

Jules Wièse is regarded as one of the finest silver and goldsmiths of the 19th Century. 

The fine jewellery manufacturing business known today as E. Wolfe & Co was established in 1850 by Johann Jacob Wolff (also known as J.J. Wolff) in Bedford Square, London. 

The Wolfers family had long been involved in the gold and silversmiths trade when brothers Edouard and Guillaume decided to leave their home in Germany to pursue their careers in Belgium.

Philippe Wolfers was the son of gold and silversmith Louis Wolfers who opened his business in Brussels in 1850. 

“Mr Yard’s impeccable taste helped set the standard for American jewellery during the twentieth century.”  David Rockefeller was far from alone in this belief, Yard’s client list read like a who’s who of America’s wealthiest and most prominent families and his knowledge, charm and warmth were widely appreciated by all who knew him. 

The Greek firm of Zolotas was founded in 1895 in Athens at the foot of the Acropolis by Efthimios Zolotas.