Goldsmiths is a luxury

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 ...

retailer 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 ...

based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

History

The business was founded by Thomas Cooke as the Northern Goldsmiths Company in Blackett Street in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

in 1892. After selling

marine chronometer A marine chronometer is a precision timepiece that is carried on a ship and employed in the determination of the ship's position by celestial navigation. It is used to determine longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and the time at t ...

s to the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

during 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 ...

, the company became the UK’s first appointed stockist of

Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...

watches in 1919. The company acquired Reid & Sons, a business founded in the 18th century, in 1967. It changed its name to The Goldsmiths Group in 1984. In 1986, it was acquired by

Oriflame Oriflame Holding AG is a Swedish-founded multinational multi-level marketing company with its corporate head office in Switzerland, that sells beauty and personal care products directly to consumers online through a network of independent se ...

, a Swedish cosmetic company who sold off the company's hotel division the following year. A management buy out led by Jurek Piasecki took place in 1988 backed by

Schroder Ventures Permira Holdings Limited is a British global investment firm specialised in buyouts, growth funds, equity funds, and credit funds. Founded in 1985 as part of Schroders, it became independent in 1996. Operating as Permira since 2001, the company ...

. The group was later listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

. Piasecki led another management buyout in 1999, backed by

Alchemy Partners Alchemy Partners is a British private equity firm, which specialises in investing in distressed and undervalued or underperforming businesses and other special situations through debt and equity throughout Europe. Alchemy was founded in 1997 b ...

, whose founder, Jon Moulton, had been the managing partner at Schroder Ventures. The company was acquired by

Baugur Group Baugur Group (; Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic investment company. The group began as a supermarket and general retail company in Iceland, before diversifying to own a number of businesses at its peak, primarily in the United Kingdom. Baugur was ...

in 2004. In December 2006,

Mappin & Webb Mappin & Webb is an international jewellery company headquartered in England, tracing its origins to a silver workshop founded in Sheffield in . It now has retail stores throughout the UK. Mappin & Webb has held Royal Warrant of Appointment (U ...

and

Watches of Switzerland Watches of Switzerland is a British retailer of watches. The company headquarters is in Braunstone, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Watches of Switzerland was founded in Lu ...

were acquired, which were also owned by the Baugur Group. Piasecki was ousted as chairman in 2007 while the company was Britain's second largest jewelers. Baugur became

insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet in ...

in 2010. In 2013, Goldsmiths was acquired by an investment fund affiliated with

Apollo Global Management Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American asset management firm that primarily invests in alternative assets. , the company had $548 billion of assets under management, including $392 billion invested in credit, including mezzanine capita ...

. In 2018, the group was renamed the Watches of Switzerland Group, which was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2019.

Sport

Goldsmiths are a sponsor of the

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

Rugby Football Club, sponsoring a stand within the Welford Road stadium and the club's Player of the Month Award.

References

External links

Goldsmiths
{{Authority control Companies based in Leicester Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Retail companies established in 1892 Companies based in Newcastle upon Tyne Jewellery retailers of the United Kingdom