F. Hinds is a jewellery

retailing Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesal ...

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

, operating in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

. There are currently 116 F. Hinds stores within the United Kingdom.

History

Beginnings (1856-1990)

The chain is an independent retailer which was founded in 1856 by George Henry Hinds, although his father Joseph was also a clockmaker in

Stamford, Lincolnshire Stamford is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 19,701 and estimated at 20,645 in 2019. The town has 17th- and 18th-century stone buildings, older timber ...

and his great uncle was also a Stamford clockmaker in the early years of the 1800s. Shortly after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, brothers Frank and William divided the business in two. William Hinds diversified into theatres and also into films as he was one of the two founders of

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

. Frank continued with the jewellery business and eventually, in 1990, F. Hinds took over the one remaining shop owned by the other half of the family in

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

, Sussex. Brands operated by F. Hinds include My Diamonds

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

, the Aureus gold on sterling silver jewellery collection and the

Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at above sea level and above its plateau base. It is also the highest volcano i ...

Tanzanite collection.

Opening of online store (1997-2005)

The chain was one of the first click and mortar jewellers, having launched its first e-commerce site in 1997. The shops provide a design and repair service and also specialise in recycling unwanted gold jewellery into new pieces.

RJC Certification (2008-2018)

In 2008, F Hinds joined the Responsible Jewellery Council, the international

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

organisation established to reinforce consumer confidence in the jewellery industry by advancing responsible business practices throughout the supply chain, and in August 2011 they were one of the first members to become fully accredited following an independent audit. In 2014 Andrew Hinds was elected Chairman of the UK jewellery trade body the National Association of Goldsmiths. It later merged with the British Jewellers' Association and became the National Association of Jewellers. Hinds remained on the National Committee of the National Association of Jewellers until the end of his term in June 2020.

Acquisition of Chapelle Jewellery (2019-present)

In 2019, Hinds Ltd purchased the UK's leading outlet centre specialist, Chapelle. Chapelle had traded successfully for several decades but had struggled under Hilco which lead to its eventual administration; however, Hinds saved 12 of the stores. The outlet centre stores and website www.chapelle.co.uk continue to operate under the Chapelle brand name. In March 2022, the first new Chapelle store under F Hinds' ownership opened in the Designer Outlet West Midlands,

Cannock Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverhampton ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinds, F. Retail companies established in 1856 Retail companies based in London Jewellery retailers of the United Kingdom Family-owned companies of the United Kingdom Retail companies of the United Kingdom Privately held companies of the United Kingdom Privately held companies based in London 1856 establishments in England Jewellery companies of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1856 1856 establishments in the United Kingdom Companies established in 1856