According to the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index published in March, watches (and wine) proved to be the equal best place to put your cash during the last quarter of 2021, with ‘average growth’ of 16 per cent. That figure certainly beats the still-measly interest rates being offered on savings by even the more generous banks – but does it mean that all you have to do to make your money grow is to buy a watch and sit back as its value outruns inflation? Er, no. And the reason is that such ‘indexes’ invariably fail to paint a full picture. True, certain watch models did soar in value throughout the pandemic, but many were driven by a combination of hype and lack of availability at retail – Rolex Daytona, Patek Philippe Nautilus, for example – while others were produced by ‘independent’ makers in minuscule numbers and were already way beyond the amount that any rookie collector would be willing to pay – George Daniels, Roger Smith, Philippe Dufour. Even if you add in a few other makes and models that soared in value (Rolex Oyster Perpetual with brightly coloured dial: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak; various Richard Mille references) the percentage of watches showing true ‘investment’ value compared to the myriad available – and, of course, the number that fall in value as soon as they leave the shop – is almost incalculably small. And if you got caught-up in all the hype and ‘went large’ on a Nautilus, Royal Oak or Daytona, you may now be licking your metaphorical wounds: according to a report published by industry news site WatchPro, the prices of some once red-hot models have now dropped to half what they were at their peak. The benefit of this cooling, however, is that it creates far more of a buyer’s market – but the question is, what to buy? To find out, we spoke to four people whose livelihoods depend on knowing the business inside out…

Experts weigh in on how to find a good investment at a watch auction

Danny Shahid

Danny Shahid is from the new generation of young watch dealers who buy, sell and source using social media channels. He, too, has a store in Burlington Arcade.

‘We really have entered a buyer’s market. In reality, prices haven’t fallen dramatically – what has actually happened is that many people who have been able to buy sought-after watches from authorised dealers (ADs) have discovered that people won’t pay hugely inflated prices, so they are being forced to offer them more realistically. That means it’s not entirely accurate to say the market has ‘gone down’, because those heavily over-priced watches were never going to sell in the first place. There is also a lot of talk about waiting lists at ADs and people being given preferential treatment because they are long-standing customers. I’m not sure I believe that now – it’s more to do with being in the right place at the right time, and I have seen many instances of that. Far from wanting to deter the ‘flippers’ [people who buy a watch at RRP and quickly sell it on for profit] I think the AD’s are actively encouraging them. My advice to anyone starting a collection would be to look towards true vintage pieces and, if they can afford them, genuine rarities. Independent makers such as F.P. Journe and MB&F should also be considered but, above all, condition is vital – don’t worry too much about boxes and paperwork. Worry about condition, originality and provenance. Don’t follow the crowd and don’t buy a watch simply because you see prices rising. Wait, and buy when the price goes back down.’ diamondwatcheslondon.com

Adrian Hailwood

Adrian Hailwood has a wealth of experience in the watch business, having been the manager of a Breguet boutique before moving into the auction world with traditional firms such as Fellows, Dreweatts and Woolley & Wallis. In 2020, however, he was instrumental in setting-up online auction site watchcollecting.com, which promises a ‘fresh approach’ to buying and selling.

‘We have a blanket ban on the use of the word ‘investment’. That is because we don’t regard watches as investment vehicles, and we don’t want people to think that, because they buy a watch and see it rise in value,  they are therefore expert investors. If that happens, lovely. If not, the fact that you have bought something that you enjoy looking at, wearing and using and which you can probably leave as an heirloom should be regarded as your ‘return’. The idea of buying a watch simply because you think some mythical person in the future might want to pay more for it is depressing – it’s an old adage, but just buy what you love. In my opinion, the very best way to buy a watch is to completely ignore the name on the dial. Look at what you’re getting for your money, the fit, the finish, the material, the level of complication. Right now, I would say Vacheron Constantin is a make to look at – excluding the steel sports models which are having a moment in the sun – and, in particular, anything by Jaeger-LeCoultre. Cracking value at the moment.’ watchcollecting.com

David Duggan

David Duggan is one of the most respected watch dealers in Europe, if not the world – he has been buying and selling top quality timepieces since the 1970s and his shop in Mayfair’s Burlington Arcade has become a mecca for discerning collectors on the hunt for the best of the best from a trusted source.

‘The market is definitely settling down and that comes as no surprise, because the values of certain watches had become so inflated that a correction had to happen. For that reason I would always advise people not to follow the crowd – if you are lucky enough to buy at a fair price before a watch becomes hyped, that’s great. Otherwise, look to the models that other people are ignoring. At the moment, I think Patek Philippe perpetual calendar watches and other complicated models look like very good value. They are made from precious metals and they are almost invariably rare, but they seem to have been left behind in the favour of the steel Nautilus and Aquanaut. As a general rule, I would always recommend people buy watches that need a lot of labour to create – and a perpetual calendar model in gold clearly takes a lot longer to make than a time-only Nautilus in steel.’ daviddugganwatches.co.uk

Paul Boutros

Paul Boutros has been collecting watches for more than 30 years and was appointed US head of watches for auction house Phillips in 2016. He has since overseen the sale of Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona for $17.8m (the most ever achieved for a wristwatch at auction), the sale of Marlon Brando’s Rolex GMT-Master, worn in Apocalypse Now, for almost $2m and, last year, the charity sale of a new Patek Philippe Nautilus ‘Tiffany Blue’ for $6.5m.

‘The sector I always recommend considering is vintage – historically, vintage watches have returned slow, steady growth but have lately been overshadowed by the shift towards more modern, steel sports watches. As a result, vintage dress watches now seem hugely undervalued. Time-only Patek Philippe Calatravas from the 1940s to the 70s are exceptionally well made and offer tremendous watchmaking for the money. Likewise time-only Vacheron Constantin pieces are rare and beautifully made and designed. It’s important to remember, however, that tastes do change. The rectangular Rolex Prince, for example, was a collector’s favourite 20 years ago, but there has been a decline in interest for such shaped dress watches  – but a Prince in excellent, original condition is still a fabulous watch. Prices have levelled, too, for many Heuer models, although the best Monaco and Autavia pieces remain very sought after. When buying such sports watches of any make, I recommend looking for a minimum case size of 35mm.’ 

On 5 and 6 November, Phillips will  auction near-unique pieces such as a trio of George Daniels rarities headed by the one-off yellow gold Spring Case Tourbillon (over CHF 1m), remarkable Patek Philippe models including a unique, steel ref.530 chronograph from 1945 (CHF 500,000 – 1m), several rare Rolex Daytona Cosmographs with Paul Newman dials, including a 1969 ref. 6264 in yellow gold with famed ‘lemon’ dial (CHF 550,000 to 1.1m), and superb pieces from independents like Philippe Dufour, F.P.Journe and Vianney Halter. On view from 2 November, phillips.com

The watches that sold at auction for mega-money

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This article is from our Watches & Jewellery Collector’s Issue 2022. Buy here.

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Chase the Rainbow: Colourful Jewellery

Track & Trace: The Origins of Coloured Gems

Four years ago, Caroline Scheufele, co-president of Chopard, which has a deep commitment to sustainable and ethical production, told me that tracing the origins of coloured gems was ‘still a nightmare’.

Diamonds, mainly in the hands of big industrial firms, have cleaned up their act, but coloured gems are different. A much more fragmented industry, there are a few big players who can control conditions and distribution, such as Gemfields (on emeralds and rubies) and Fuli (on peridots) but it is still substantially dependent on an age-old system of small-scale artisan miners and dealers who know each other well, relying on handshakes and trust rather than blockchain ledgers. In some regions, politics, conflict and dubious finance still enter the equation, and the old image of the intrepid gem hunter risking life and limb still has some truth.

But clients today want reassurance not only that their gem is exactly what it says on the tin but that it has been mined and processed in sustainable, ethical conditions. Strides are being made, with high-tech tracking of individual gems from mine to maker now available. It’s currently business to business but it will shortly extend to the consumer. But can technology ever replace trust, and how long will this take?

Analysing stones for authentication goes back a century, when the Gemological Institute of America and Switzerland’s Gübelin Gem Lab started setting standards, which they still do – the latter’s Provenance Proof technology can identify the source of many stones by their ‘chemical fingerprint’, and pinpoint treatment such as heating that affects value.

But a supply chain that may include up to 30 participants needs full traceability such as blockchain, says GemCloud’s COO, Philippe Ressigeac. GemCloud is a software that records online every transaction involving the stone and rejects a sale if the owner is not registered.

‘Blockchain’s advantage is that it cannot be tampered with once an entry is made by a registered person,’ says Daniel Nyfeler, managing director of Gübelin, ’and it is already used in reduced circumstances – all it needs is the internet and a smart phone.’

Meanwhile, membership of the watchdog Responsible Jewellery Council is mushrooming and although many of the movement’s initial leaders were smaller independents, the major luxury companies – which in the past, points out Philippe, guarded their coloured stone sources from competition – are now fully signed up to the concept. Some of the biggest, including Tiffany & Co., Swarovski, Richemont, LVMH, Kering and Gemfields, created the Coloured Gemstone Working Group (CGWG) in 2015, which offers help and advice on achieving sustainability and transparency to any company at any level of the industry, large or small.

Annoushka x Fuli Gemstones Radiance collection 18ct gold and peridot earrings, £28,000

These threads are drawn together in new websites Gemolith (from GemCloud) and Gembridge, which offer stones online, currently to jewellers but eventually direct to consumers, with a fully transparent history of the many hands they have passed through.

‘The mine-to-finger process matters to today’s consumer, especially if it is from an artisanal mine,’ says Daniel, who supplies Gübelin’s analyses to Gembridge. ‘They ask if their stone has a negative environmental impact, or is funded by conflict, and until recently it was hard to answer.’

He explains how sub-microscopic nano-particles containing a stone’s data can now be coated on. It’s expensive, so best for high-value stones, but is also balanced by software like GemCloud, which, according to Philippe, is designed to be ‘very simple and affordable; it’s already being used by mining families in Sri Lanka and women’s mining co-operatives in Madagascar.’

Coloured gem prices, including varieties formerly labelled ‘semi-precious’, have risen exponentially – Philippe estimates up to 1,000 per cent in the past decade, fuelled by new demand from China. Big companies, which must submit to exacting scrutiny, have jumped in as never before, allowing tightly controlled gems like Fuli peridots or Greenland rubies to come to market and attract top designers, such as Annoushka with her peridot suite or Pomellato, which chose Greenland ruby for its Nuvola Earth Day ring in Fairmined gold.

Pomellato Nuvola Earth Day ring, £17,300

‘This industry has to wake up to its impact on the planet’, says Fuli’s UK director Pia Tonna. ‘The company has a licence from the Chinese government, is almost vertically integrated, including using its own hydro-electric power, and is independently audited for sustainability. There are also industrial by-products – local people welcome the employment opportunities.’

Greenland rubies are heat-treated to enhance colour and durability. ‘We are proud to acknowledge the effects this achieves; it’s part of our commitment to transparency,’ says CCO Hayley Henning. ‘It’s taken decades to agree mining licences with the Greenland government to create a modern enterprise that doesn’t just take but is part of the community.’

The high-tech process depends mainly on geologists and engineers, some trained locally, ‘because local people understand how to work in the climatic and light conditions of the high Arctic’. Cutting and polishing take place in Thailand, where the company controls the process. It has also founded the PinkPolarBear Foundation, helping not just conservation but to preserve Inuit culture.

Despite the positives, traceability is a slow process, and the old ways still have a place. ‘Remote areas may lack power or internet so dealers have to handwrite the transaction, and some artisan miners cannot read, so there has to be trust,’ says Philippe.

Boodles Havana ring with pear-shaped orange diamond, rock crystal and white diamonds, £POA

For most jewellers, trusted sources remain as important as high-tech traceability. Boodles’ director Jody Wainwright, whose grandfather was a noted gem hunter, commemorated in the brand’s latest high jewellery ring collection, says, ‘on the one hand we are working with high-tech tools like Gembridge, while on the other we rely on personal links, such as a trusted dealer in Sri Lanka who acts for about 20 artisan sapphire-mining families. These links go back generations and are invaluable.’

Even those who help formulate traceability policies are realistic. Assheton Carter, CEO of TDi Sustainability, has spent decades on this, and says, ‘there needs to be a balance. Conditions in some areas may not seem ideal, but if we can ensure that small artisan mines are safe and clean and demonstrate that they can meet regulations and still be profitable, that’s progress’.

Julianne Moore wears a necklace from Chopard’s Green Carpet Collection featuring the first responsibly sourced Paraiba tourmaline

Caroline at Chopard agrees. ‘There is still a long way to go to improve sustainable practices but initiatives like the community platform make a big difference,’ she says. The consumer message is optimistic: do some research and have confidence in today’s glorious-coloured gemstones.

Featured image: The Fuli Gemstones peridot mine in China

The Emerging British Jewellery Designers to Watch Now

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‘We have always sold jewellery to men, but now we are approaching levels that are almost Jacobean’, says British society jeweller Theo Fennell of the current explosion of interest in male jewellery. There is perhaps some way to go before we reach the standards of bling that prevailed at the Court of King James I, nevertheless, historical hyperbole aside there is no denying that men’s jewellery is undergoing a renaissance.

‘For so long men have had so little to cheer themselves up and I am all for it both commercially and spiritually’, says Fennell who, much as he loathes admitting it, believes the phenomenon of dressing for the red carpet has done a lot to change attitudes about men in diamonds. ‘Seeing men whom they thought of as role models wearing jewellery has helped. Even very rich, successful men have role models. Every banker wants to be Keith Richards and have a little rock and roll in their life, even if Keith Richards does not want to be a banker’.

Fennell is finding that many men are now commissioning jewellery that has a strong sense of personal significance whether in design, motif, or material. ‘They are looking at unique designs and they are thinking of things more pertinent to them: initials and zodiac signs for instance.  They want rings that have a meaning and have some emotional heft: in a way this is what used to be signet jewellery, things that had crests on them and pertained to the person’.

Bulgari’s unisex B.zero1 collection

Mirabile dictu; there was a time when a crested ring was the only option. Men of my generation – let us just say I will not see fifty again – were brought up on the unimaginably puritan notion that the only acceptable items of male jewellery were a signet ring and cufflinks. Back in those dark days, the range of personal ornament available to men who were not either (a) mayors or (b) Olympic medallists was so limited that we were even conditioned to regard watches as ‘male jewellery’ … imagine.

Nowadays, according to Giona Zen, senior marketing manager of Bulgari, horology can be a gateway to jewellery. ‘I have several watches and I choose which one I want to wear that day, like an accessory, and it is the same with jewellery. It is interesting you can have a very beloved ring with particular meaning, but you can also add pieces to your outfit to underline a moment or image that you want to project, or create a different look for different seasons. We used to think that men were buying jewellery as gifts, now we ask if it is self-purchase and what we see is that we have more and more men wearing B.zero1, Serpenti and Viper’. Since making this discovery Bulgari stores now have counters and displays that ‘mix jewels and watches as men’s accessories’.

Best British Watch Bands For Your Wrist

Certainly, the unstoppable rise of the man bangle has helped to consolidate the idea of jewellery having a place in the arsenal of male accessories and it is due to such powerful proselytisers as Patrick Mavros that it is now accepted as a totem of masculinity. Mavros is machismo writ large. Like a character in his own Wilbur Smith novel he grew up in a world of assegais and axes and served in the elite special forces unit the Selous Scouts, before turning his powerful hands to jewellery; his adjustable silver ‘elephant hair’ bangle is a classic.

Eschewing the term ‘male jewellery’ in favour of ‘symbolic adornment’, he draws upon his native Zimbabwe. ‘We are working on cuffs for men all the time’. Happily, Mavros finds boundless inspiration in his homeland whether the ‘textures and fissures on the skin of a bull elephant or the scales of a crocodile’. The important thing is to stimulate the male imagination.  Men are buying adornment and looking for an excuse to buy more’.

Boucheron’s Flèche du Temps earring with white gold, mother-of-pearl and diamonds, £POA

But jewellery for men is not just about accessories or pieces with personal significance; it is increasingly about the finest creations of the top Paris jewellery ateliers. ‘High jewellery should not only be for women, we want men to wear jewellery because we also design pieces for them’, says Hélène Poulit-Duquesne CEO of Boucheron. ‘Jewellery is not a question of gender but is above all a question of vision. It allows everyone to express their uniqueness’.

Gender neutrality is very topical, but Poulit-Duquesne believes that this is about more than just paying lip service to a passing fashion moment, rather about men reclaiming something that was historically theirs.  As such, she insists that addressing the needs of the bedizened man is a duty of the great jewellery maisons…a duty that Boucheron takes particularly seriously.

‘Since the dawn of time, high jewellery has been a story of men. In fact, high jewellery was first made for them in the time of kings and Maharajahs. It is therefore natural to keep this idea alive and create fine jewellery and high jewellery pieces for men’.

It was with this mission in mind that when it launched its Contemplation collection it showed a man wearing high jewellery. ‘It was actually the first time we chose to show a man in our campaign. The Fleche du Temps earring for instance is a perfect example’, she says of a stunning single earring in the shape of an arrow set with diamonds that appears to have pierced the wearer’s lobe. It is a fabulous piece and one that while perfectly contemporary would also have suited the jewel-loving court of King James I where George Villiers Duke of Buckingham would appear at parties ‘trimmed with great diamond buttons,’ accessorised with ‘diamond hatbands, cockades and earrings, to be yoked with great manifold knots of pearl, in short to be manacled, fettered and imprisoned in jewels.’

Who knows, maybe the time is right for gem-set fetters and manacles after all?

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The Emerging British Jewellery Designers To Watch Now

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Is jewellery important in your everyday look?

Yes, incredibly so. I love pieces that go from day to night, to dress up with lipstick or down with trainers…jewellery helps define who you are; each piece tells a story.

How would you define the Precious Lace collection?

Supremely feminine, light and delicate.

How does it make you feel?

As if I’m in a dream. It’s other worldly.

What is your favourite piece?

The heart. It feels like the world needs more love in it right now, so why not?

Which one word describes this collection?

Effortless.

How would you style it?

I’d wear it in the bath, or doing the washing up, with a beautiful dress or just a white T-shirt, jeans and trainers, lounging on the sofa. Seriously, you can wear it with anything. It’s so versatile and the diamonds make you smile.

Our Haute Joaillerie collection is inspired by the world of Haute Couture and lace in particular. What is special about lace?

It’s something quite emotional –  its delicacy, and how precious and timeless it is.

All Chopard’s Haute Joaillerie is created in-house by its artisans. How important is craftsmanship and meticulous work to you?

The saying ‘buy better and buy less’ rings true to me. I really believe that one very special piece of jewellery, sustainably made and using beautiful craftsmanship, is much better than having several without that quality.

The Precious Lace collection is made ethically with Responsible Jewellery Council-certified suppliers. Is that important to you?

Yes. We need to respect and nurture our planet; we only have one!

How has your charity work, such as with Save The Children, changed you and what is your hope for the future?

I’ve learnt that children are so inspiring. They are our future and I feel honoured to work with such organisations to see their incredible work at first hand.

You are also active in projects aimed at protecting the ocean and safeguarding our planet. Why is sustainability and ethical sourcing, and working with committed brands like Chopard, important to you?

Everyone is aware of how important it is for our oceans to survive, to sustain them even with little things like recycling, avoiding single-use plastic etc. Everyone can play a part and together we can achieve incredible things for our future. Working with brands that I feel a connection to makes sense and Chopard is so passionate about sustainability, our partnership feels organic and true.

What is your first memory of Chopard?

Seeing Julianne Moore on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival wearing beautiful emerald earrings, and with her sensational auburn hair it was effortless, timeless and striking. The image really stuck in my mind.

What is your best red carpet experience to date at the Cannes Film Festival?

Around five years ago, I wore a tear-drop Chopard necklace with layers and layers of diamonds, too many to count. I felt like a princess.

Joie de Vivre is part of Chopard’s DNA. What makes you instantly happy?

Dancing barefoot, like nobody’s watching.  Also my nieces and nephew; they make me laugh more than anyone.

Do you have any happiness tips?

Smiling. Living with intent. Positive mental attitude; wherever you feel you can get that, dig for it, because it’s worth it.

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Q&A With The Larkins Sabrina Bartlett

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Bright Young Things: New Jewellery Designers to Watch

Better Together: Annoushka Collaborates with Alice Temperley

There are some artistic collaborations so obvious that, with hindsight, it seems crazy that they didn’t happen before. Take the new bridal capsule collection by jewellery designer Annoushka Ducas and high fashion creator Alice Temperley, both forthright British women with well-known independent businesses, both with a decorative, detailed, very personal approach to design, both with a love of vintage influences alongside modern versatility, and both with an interest in the bridal market.

Alice is known for her ethereally beautiful wedding dresses, exquisitely embroidered and beaded, while Annoushka’s jewellery is equally delicate and intricate. Over Zoom, they tell me how the project came about. Alice says they ‘knew each other’s work and had mutual contacts but had never met’.

‘And I have a lot of Alice’s [non-bridal] dresses,’ chips in Annoushka, who only recently started designing bridal jewellery, whereas Alice has had years of experience crafting both bespoke and ready-to-wear wedding dresses.

Lovebird ring, £11,500, annoushka.com

The introduction was made by Annoushka’s marketing director, who used to work with Alice and saw the potential for collaboration. Both designers have a clear vision and their collaborative process must have been fascinating to watch. ‘I went a bit off-piste at first,’ admits Annoushka, ‘but Alice brought me back and she was right. As two upfront creatives it was very refreshing and very important to be honest in a collaboration.’

The capsule collection is based on items of Victorian jewellery that Alice has collected over the years. Annoushka loved their ‘delicacy, sense of movement and versatility – we wanted them to go far beyond your wedding, to wear every day’.

In turn, Alice loved the way Annoushka made the motifs ‘modern and more sophisticated, a bit rock’n’roll but very feminine’. Unusually for bridal jewellery, most of the collection is in yellow gold – these two rarely take the conventional route. Annoushka says she ‘would not have used the polished gold that Alice wanted, but its glint gives a lovely sense of movement’. Alice says she wanted ‘a little bit of bling, like the subtle gold sequins I always use on dresses that glimmer as you walk’.

Dove Chandelier earrings, £8,200, temperleylondon.com

This glimmer lights up delicate, long, asymmetric earrings with a tiny gold, diamond-trimmed bird, based on an earring that Alice wears daily, and on chandelier earrings where the bird’s tail appears as a stylised motif, each with a tiny, trembling pearl droplet. The motif also appears on a necklace that Alice has had since she was 14, which was the inspiration for a pendant that is designed to go with the deep V-neck of many bridal dresses. A cluster ‘disco ball’ ring with a bird motif shank is set with diamonds and cabochon aquamarines (something blue), is based on a ring that Alice says she ‘found in Paris but was much less sophisticated’, and there is a simpler aquamarine version featured in the collection, too.

Alice says they can visualise future versions with different stones, before thinking about extra designs. Given that many women, brides or not, will want these beautiful, versatile pieces, that time could come very soon.

Annoushka x Temperley Bridal launches on 11 October on annoushka.com and temperleylondon.com

Chase the Rainbow: Colourful Jewellery

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Go with the Flow

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Fashion Director: Nicole Smallwood

Photographer: Rachell Smith

Make-up: Barrie Griffith using CHANEL Fall-Winter 2021 Collection Tone-On-Tone and CHANEL Sublimage Le Baume

Hair: Davide Barbieri at Caren for Leonor Greyl

Manicure: Edyta Betka using the Dior Manicure Collection and Miss Dior Hand Cream

Models: Theo at Established Paulina at The Hive

Fashion assistant: Daisy Bryson

Photographer’s assistant: Cam Smith

Featured image: THEO – Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36mm with a yellow dial; Cartier Clash de Cartier 18ct rose gold earring. Waistcoat, Comme des Garçons at Matches Fashion / PAULINA – Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41mm with a silver dial; Cartier Clash de Cartier ring and Juste un Clou earrings. Shirt, Dior

The Emerging British Jewellery Designers to Watch Now

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The Best of British Style – Fashion, Beauty, Brands & More

The Apprentice: Keeping The Skill Of British Heritage Brands Alive

You might imagine, as you wander around London’s swankiest jewellery areas, that the gemstones sparkling in the windows, or the prestigious Royal Warrant hanging above some doors, are the biggest assets of the stores you pass. But no – British jewellers’ best assets are the loyal and remarkable craftspeople who dedicate their lives to transforming designers’ visions into intricately detailed, exquisitely-crafted reality.

Many of them begin five-year apprenticeships at 16 and then move between workshops before settling. Alan Pither has been at David Morris for 22 years, Alex Sheridan at Theo Fennell for 35, and his colleague Staffan Haggstam for 30. However, some are nearing retirement and workshop numbers are diminishing. Pither apprenticed at Cartier in 1972 and joined David Morris in the late 1990s. He remembers around 30 people in the workshop in those days, whereas now there are only six. However, they’re the most highly skilled, producing precious jewellery pieces that sell for tens of thousands of pounds. The celebrated goldsmith of the ’60s and ’70s, Andrew Grima, employed more than 30 in his workshops, ‘and it wasn’t [even] considered the biggest in its day,’ recalls Peter Scott, founder of court jeweller Cleave & Company, who was apprenticed to Grima in 1974.

‘Andrew would take an apprentice on every year, who would work on saleable pieces by year two, so there were always four who would be revenue- earning as well as running errands and maintaining the workshop,’ remembers Scott. He sat at the same workbench as Haggstam (now at Fennell) who taught him skills and proffered advice. ‘Peter, it has to look as if it’s been handmade, it mustn’t be perfect, like it’s been made by a machine,’ Haggstam would urge. These jewellers learn every skill, from mounting, setting and polishing precious jewellery to specialist crafts like enamelling and engraving – associated with the ancient British tradition of making insignia and decorations. ‘The skills go back centuries and even the workbenches have stayed the same, with leather pouches to catch loose metal,’ says Sara Prentice, creative director at former Crown jeweller Garrard & Co.

‘The apprentices still make the tools that stay with them throughout their life as jewellers,’ says Garrard’s head of design, Claire Scott, who was herself an apprentice to Prentice, sitting at the corner of her desk for six months, shadowing her and learning traditional skills like gouache painting. ‘A wonderful thing today is a willingness to test new techniques and find new ways of doing things,’ she adds. Garrard’s 2019 Muse collection, inspired by Queen Alexandra, required very fine filigree work that was fashionable in Victorian times, but is painstaking to achieve by hand. Garrard’s craft specialists invented new techniques to create a similar effect in a modern way. Fears that these skills will be lost as the older generation retires are worrying the jewellery business. Pither points to the ’80s and ’90s, when almost no apprentices joined the trade, and many skills are now found more cheaply abroad.

However, there is fresh hope thanks to a new generation of apprentices rising up through the Goldsmiths’ Centre, funded by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, which was founded in 1327. The centre provides a foundation year and study time as part of a five-year apprenticeship. Cleave, Garrard, Theo Fennell and Rebus, the signet ring specialist in Hatton Garden, have all recruited apprentices from there. ‘School tried to push me into the university system but I wanted to do something artistic with my hands and so I had to fight my corner,’ says Jordan Kippax, who’s in the second year of her apprenticeship at Fennell. ‘My grandma gave me some jewellery and I thought it quite cool to make heirlooms for people to hold onto, with all the meaning these pieces possess, rather than something designed for fashion,’ she explains. Now she sits at a work bench beside Sheridan and Haggstam.

Gabriela Kucharska has been a designer at Cleave for six years, having graduated through the Goldsmiths’ Centre as its first design apprentice. ‘I didn’t know about this apprenticeship scheme when I was at school, but the person who taught me jewellery also taught there,’ she says. Now she designs pens, jewellery, trophies and enamelled insignia for the court jeweller, founded 19 years ago. ‘Insignia are jewellery for generals,’ says her boss Peter Scott, who made the Garter Star for the Duke of Cambridge. ‘We believe it is the first new one in about 140 years,’ he says, explaining how, when one of the 24 holders of the Order dies, all their insignia are returned to the Queen to be re-awarded. Another skill learned at the Goldsmiths Centre is hand engraving, which, says Rebus founder Emmet Smith, uses tools and skills dating back thousands of years. Apprenticed at 16, he points to the need for ‘natural artistic talent and the ability to focus on a tiny area under an eyeglass for a job that could take three or four days’. The difficulty, he admits, is finding apprentices now who can sit still and stick it out.

Alan Pither’s son, Lewis, is his apprentice at David Morris and the third generation in his family to go straight into the trade from school. ‘I remember starting on a big necklace straightaway,’ says Lewis, while his father adds: ‘There’s no mucking around on practice pieces, you’ve got to get straight into it.’ During lockdown Lewis was creating mounts using computer-aided design (CAD is one of the modern techniques appearing in workshops along with laser machines and 3D printers), for a spectacular diamond and ruby necklace the pair are currently completing. ‘So if anything goes wrong it’s all Lewis’s fault,’ teases his father. No pressure from the master, then.

READ MORE

Let’s Get Phygital: How Luxury Jewellers Are Adapting / The Best Sustainable Jewellery Brands

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The Luxury Brand – Bulgari

Bulgari’s CEO Jean-Christophe Babin

Few luxury house bosses have a hotline to the British government, but Bulgari’s CEO Jean-Christophe Babin never follows convention. When the pandemic hit Italy early and hard, Bulgari turned its fragrance division to making hand sanitiser. Realising that vaccine research was imperative and that Britain’s Oxford-based team is a leading contender, the brand helps finance the work and, longer term, is funding scholarships for students committed to virus research. This active involvement in trying to defeat the virus explains why Babin’s calls to Health Secretary Matt Hancock do not go unanswered, and reflects his adventurous, can-do attitude.

‘The pandemic sped up change,’ Babin tells me by Zoom from Rome. ‘Celebrations of key life moments continue but we needed new methods. Luxury brands have been slowly embracing online commerce – we had it but we have expanded to fifteen countries in a few months, and online sales have triple-digit growth. Our sales staff have online meetings or phone calls with regular clients, as much to see how they are as to sell, especially during lockdown, increasing the quality of our relationship with them.’

Bulgari still launched its annual high jewellery collection in June, ‘but we needed to be creative to sell £2 million necklaces virtually,’ he says. ‘We sent top clients iPads that explained the background to the Barocko collection, and its inspiration in 17th- century Roman baroque – and via an app it shows all the pieces, to try on virtually like it’s a mirror.’ The app will expand to cover a wider range, including watches; in the meantime, clients pay a deposit and the item is sent so they can try it IRL. He estimates the conversion rate to sales at 60 per cent.

After helping Italy’s anti-pandemic effort Bulgari was able to hold a sparkling, but rigorously Covid-compliant, Rome launch in September, with a socially-distanced catwalk show and dinner at one of the city’s greatest baroque private palazzos, plus inspection in-store of the astonishing stones and designs of the collection. But it’s not quite back to normal. ‘The pandemic has changed how we work,’ says Babin. ‘I’ve found we can manage the company efficiently with very little travel, saving time, energy and money that we can re-invest, and have a better life balance.’ bulgari.com

The Vintage Specialist – Pragnell

Pragnell 1940-1960 gold, sapphire and ruby vintage bracelet, £4,900

Family firm Pragnell offers high-quality vintage, its own jewellery designs and top watch brands, and all sectors are doing well, says MD Charlie Pragnell. ‘People have more time to consider their purchase, to get informed online, and often make an appointment so we can prepare pieces for them.

There is a return to classically beautiful design. Something that has stood the test of time, and is restored to last hundreds more years, is very attractive’. Other factors are: ‘the investment value of heavy, vintage gold as the metal price rises, and people’s desire to shop in traditional high streets. And they are increasingly broad-minded, layering an antique yellow-gold chain with our new, bold, retro-style version.’ pragnell.co.uk

The Townhouse Model

The Audemars Piguet townhouse on Bond Street, one of five worldwide

On Bond Street a discreet doorway leads into Audemars Piguet’s London townhouse store, which feels like a private club. The spacious apartment has separate areas – a bar, a large table for client dinners, sofas around a wide screen and a secluded zone for consultations. Visits are by appointment, currently with only two clients at one time. However, says UK general manager Daniel Compton, ‘if someone is intrigued by our banner outside and calls up, we accommodate them if we’re not full.’

It’s one of five AP townhouses worldwide, all in architecturally interesting buildings. ‘As an independent brand making only 40,000 watches annually we would like to know all our clients personally,’ says Compton. ‘People aren’t travelling so we’re getting to know our local clients, both collectors and the guy who has saved up to buy one AP. They can take time out and relax here. We encourage visits even when they’re not buying.’ In normal times, treats would be laid on to suit clients’ interests – ‘money- can’t-buy’ experiences. Now it’s about building relationships, and other brands are looking at the business model. audemarspiguet.com

The Remodeller

Robinson Pelham’s work runs from vivid rainbow-sapphire earrings to bespoke pieces that the Middleton family wore at William and Kate’s wedding. They have upped their digital offer and replaced meetings with phone consultations, many about remodelling. ‘Each customer who has commissioned during the pandemic has done so to capture or hold on to an emotion,’ says director Zoe Benyon. ‘They’ve been thinking about what jewellery means to them. It could be a grandfather’s coin collection put on a bead necklace, sapphires from a grandmother’s ring set into a Pomegranate ring alongside our rainbow sapphires and tsavorites, or a single old-cut diamond given a pavé sleeve of orange and pink sapphires. We change our habits to suit the customer,’ she adds. ‘Jewellery is full of sentiment but it’s also fun. If a client is nervous about coming to us we make it happen in a different way so it’s till a wonderful experience.

The Shopping Outlet

Outlet stores are often overlooked for jewellery and watch shopping, yet make sense for long-term buys. Bicester Village has brands including Breitling, TAG Heuer, Longines, Annoushka, Pomellato and Monica Vinader, which have found a double-digit growth in average transaction value since lockdown, especially on watches, as clients want to ‘buy better’.

Some stores are innovating to reach the customer – Annoushka has pioneered virtual shopping, which now accounts for nearly half its Bicester business, either directly through the website, through video with the store or through the Village’s personal shopping service. And De Beers’ Forevermark diamond brand, which currently has no Bicester store, recently held a successful week’s trunk show, by appointment, at the Village’s VIP apartment. tbvsc.com

The Luxury Chain

As a major retailer with 135 branches in Britain and the US, Watches of Switzerland was hard hit by lockdown, with spring sales down 28 per cent. But the bounceback has been impressive. Last quarter showed a 20 per cent increase year-on-year with online sales up almost 50 per cent. Even in July, jewellery sales for the group (including Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths) were only two per cent down on last year. What’s the secret?

‘Our staff and the way they have kept in touch with clients,’ says CEO Brian Duffy. ‘Throughout lockdown they were contacting regular customers with Zoom meetings and phone calls. We’ve taken digital ads and sped up delivery to next day, or same day on high value items – 86 per cent of our watch sales are £1,000-plus models. We keep up interest with collaborations such as an exclusive model with Hublot [right].’ During lockdown, ‘our staff trained in Covid hygiene and PPE-wearing, so by mid-June we were ready to go, confident our stores are safe. We are being supported by local shoppers while tourists account for under ten per cent of sales, and the phygital model is working well.’ watches-of-switzerland.co.uk

The Auction House

In June, this spectacular diamond became the highest-value jewel ever sold online

Online-only auctions are flying, attracting many first-time buyers. Christie’s two online watch and clock auctions in July saw participants from 40 countries, half of them new clients, and made over CHF 3.2m (£2.6m). Christie’s also achieved a world record online auction jewellery price – $2,115,000 (nearly £1,7m) for a 28.86-carat, D-colour, step-cut diamond. It has offered part-online auctions since the sale of Elizabeth Taylor’s jewels in 2011 but, says Aline Sylla-Walbaum, global MD, Luxury, ‘the international take-up, and new buyers, are really encouraging and reflect how happy people are to buy online. This was a real moment of truth – what might have taken three years took three months. Live auctions will offer the most outstanding works but online sales will have increased importance.’

Aline Sylla-Walbaum, MD of Christie’s Luxury

British auctioneers Fellows also had online auctions for watches and jewellery during lockdown. ‘We make the auction a very good experience that our clients trust,’ says communications manager Alexandra Whittaker. ‘We now hold some live auctions with limited viewings but we also do virtual Zoom viewings and we’ve had record numbers of clients, especially for collectable watches, including recently a record-breaking Rolex Military Submariner that sold for £140,000. But online auctions are here to stay.’ christies.com; fellows.co.uk

The Bespoke Independent

Shaun Leane is known both for elegant, slightly punk pieces and bespoke work – recently Princess Beatrice’s engagement and wedding rings. ‘We’ve been busy with bespoke orders during the pandemic,’ he says. ‘I’ve set up our jewellers to work from home and on design I’ve been having Zoom meetings with clients and sending 3D printed models of designs, or stones to inspect.’ Couples often ask to receive a ring at the studio. ‘The man then presents it. I open the champagne – it’s a great Instagram moment.’ shaunleane.com

London-based silversmith and bespoke jeweller Theo Fennell has been equally busy, creating dramatic rings for private clients. He has also found ‘people are thinking about their life and family, finding old pieces with decent stones stashed in drawers and wanting them redesigned.’ He has created simple, modern designs for necklaces or bracelets that focus on stones of different colours and shapes which, he says, ‘we can make with the client’s own stones, working out the colours and cuts into a harmonious, unique piece’. theofennell.com

READ MORE

The Guide To Buying Vintage Jewellery / The Best Sustainable Jewellery Brands

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The Top Chronographs For Your Wrist

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