Venerable American jeweler from Philadelphia known for its Art Nouveau and Art Deco jewels. In 1839, James Emmott Caldwell began to supply wealthy Philadelphians with stylish European jewelry, silver, and objets d’art. Previously Caldwell had trained as a silversmith in New York City. Upon opening, Caldwell’s business quickly flourished. Over several decades, the store changed locations and owners a handful of times. In 1868, the firm was officially dubbed J.E. Caldwell and Co. After fires ravaged the city in that same year, the store was rebuilt at 902 Chestnut Street. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, the firm began to create beautiful gem-set, hand-fabricated Art Nouveau jewels. Its pieces are among the finest examples of American Art Nouveau jewelry featuring finely chased surfaces, unusual gemstones, as well as the typical Art Nouveau motifs of curvaceous women, vines, garlands, flowers, and insects. In 1916, J.E. Caldwell relocated to a more fashionable and affluent part of town, at the corner of Juniper and Chestnut Street.¹ Throughout the 1920s, the firm produced fine pieces of Art Deco jewelry for which it is still known.

In the 1950s the firm experienced a downturn and was sold to Henry Birks & Sons, Montreal. In 1992, Carlyle & Co. of North Carolina took over ownership. One by one the stores closed, beginning with the Chestnut Street Flagship in 2003. In 2019 the name briefly reappeared on Philadelphia’s Jewelers’ Row.