Garrard & Co

If you trace Princess Diana's sapphire ring, Queen Mary's crown and the Koh-i-Noor back far enough, one name keeps appearing: Garrard.

In this episode of Gem Pursuit, Matthew Weldon and Fenia Sigkoudi tell the story of Garrard & Co, Britain's oldest luxury jewellery house and the first official Crown Jeweller. The story begins in 1735 with master silversmith George Wickes, follows Robert Garrard's rise from stockkeeping assistant to owner of the firm, and explains how Queen Victoria's 1843 appointment placed Garrard at the centre of British royal ceremony.

Matthew and Fenia look at what the role of Crown Jeweller actually involved, from making jewels for the Royal Family to maintaining and securing regalia used in coronations, state openings and public ceremonies. They also explore Garrard's work on the Koh-i-Noor, the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, Queen Alexandra's Kokoshnik Tiara, and the sapphire cluster engagement ring chosen by Princess Diana in 1981.

The episode closes by looking at Garrard's modern legacy, the end of its Crown Jeweller appointment in 2007, and the difficult balance between protecting a historic jewellery house and adapting it for a new audience.

Key Takeaways

- Garrard's story does not begin with a Garrard. The house traces its origins to George Wickes, a master silversmith working in London from 1735.

- Location mattered from the beginning. The episode connects Wickes's West End position with royal and aristocratic access, and compares that logic with Boucheron's Place Vendome move and Courtville's own position in Powerscourt Townhouse.

- Robert Garrard joined the business before giving the house the name it still carries. The transcript frames his move from stockkeeping assistant to sole owner as part of a familiar jewellery-house pattern: people, succession and trust shaping the brand.

- A royal warrant and the Crown Jeweller role are not the same thing. A warrant can be held by several firms, while the Crown Jeweller is an appointed individual responsible for the Crown Jewels.

- The Crown Jeweller role was practical as well as prestigious. The episode describes making jewels, maintaining existing pieces, resetting stones, visiting the Tower of London and guarding regalia when it appeared in public ceremonies.

- Garrard's royal importance is not limited to one jewel. The episode references Queen Mary's Crown, the Imperial Crown of India, the Imperial State Crown, the Coronation Crown of Queen Elizabeth, the