Famous Jewelers

(1877 - 1932) Renowned nineteenth-century French jeweller and goldsmith. Louis Aucoc (1850-1932) came from a family of well-known goldsmiths.Vever,432. Vever mentions the Aucoc family throughout his book. Of particular interest, perhaps, is the fact that the...

Diamond Ring by Bailey, Banks & Biddle, c.1900. (1832 - present) The famous American jewelry firm from Philadelphia, Bailey, Banks and Biddle, first opened its doors as Bailey and Kitchen in 1832. Catering to modish Philadelphians, the firm sold...

(1919 - present) Italian firm famous for its textural gold jewellery and exquisite silver objects. According to family history, the Buccellati's first foray into the jewellery trade was in the mid-eighteenth century when Contardo Buccellati worked as a goldsmith in...

Based in Rome, the jewelry firm of Bulgari is best known for their bold designs from the 1960’s to 80’s. The firm’s history begins with the patriarch of the Bulgari family, Sotirios (1857-1932). After a series of political upheavals and traumatic robberies, Sotirios...

(1837 - present) In 1837, Elijah Peacock opened Chicago’s first retail jewelry and watch shop. The store specialized in selling and repairing watches and also carried a small line of jewelry. Elijah taught the trade to his son, Charles, who later took over the...

Carrera y Carrera is a Madrigal (Spain) jewelry house which, since 1885, has been producing high-end jewelry and is known for its figurative items. Maker's Marks and Timeline: External Link Carrera y Carrera...

Jean Cocteau (1889 - 1963) was a French avant-garde artist. Maker's Marks and Timeline: More Information Jean Cocteau on wikipedia

Fabergé was a preeminent Russian jewelry firm famous for its objets d’art and, in particular, its enameling. The Fabergé family heritage hails to seventeenth-century France. Expelled from the region when Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, the Fabergés...

Renowned French jewellery house famous for its cloisonné enameling and Japanese-inspired designs. The firm’s history begins in 1832 when Alexis Falize (1811-1898) began an apprenticeship with Parisian jeweller Mellerio dit Meller. An eager...

French jeweller known for its Renaissance Revival and Art Nouveau work. In 1839, the firm’s founder, Alphonse Fouquet, entered the jewellery industry at the age of eleven, serving as an apprentice to Parisian jeweller Henri Meusnier. His mistreatment under Meusnier is...

French jeweller known for Japanese motif jewellery and mixed metals work. In 1860, Ernest Gaillard took over his father’s Parisian jewellery workshops. Though the workshops had, until then, produced primarily gilt copper jewels, Ernest changed...

(1962 - present) Important British diamond dealer and retailer. Laurence Graff is considered by many to be Harry Winston’s heir; the new “King of Diamonds.” In 1962, Graff opened a small shop in London. He is known for important diamonds including the Grand Coeur...

The iconic San Francisco Jewelers, Granat Bros. got their start in 1905 when brothers Joseph and Leo Granat opened their first store in Stockton, California. In 1927 they built a combination retail outlet and manufacturing workshop at the northwest corner of Mission...

(1839 - present) 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...

Julius Cohen started his career as a jeweler in 1929 when he became an apprentice at his uncle’s shop: Oscar Heyman & Bros. Throughout the 1930’s, Cohen helped to extend Heyman’s influence into the Western and Southern United...

Lacloche Frères was a Spanish jewellery house known for its Art Deco jewellery and objects. The firm was founded in 1875 by four brothers in Madrid: Fernand, Jacques, Jules, and Leopold Lacloche. During the 1920’s and 30’s, the brothers were famous for their brightly...

  Ilias Lalaounis is an Athenian jewelry company known for its antiquity-inspired designs. In 1940, at age twenty, founder Ilias Lalaounis began his career by apprenticing at the prestigious Zolotas— the family business. Eventually, Lalaounis started his own...

René Boivin Tourmaline and Emerald Foxglove Brooch.Photo Courtesy of Christie's. The French firm of Boivin, founded in Paris during the 1890s by René Boivin (1864-1917) is considered to have produced some of the most original and finely wrought jewels of the twentieth...

William Spratling, the well-known silversmith was born in 1900 in Sonyea, New York. In his early career, he taught Architecture at Auburn University in Alabama and was an Associate Professor of Architecture at Tulane University in New Orleans. Having spent time...