Asprey

For other uses, see Asprey (disambiguation).

Asprey

Type	Ltd
Industry	Luxury Goods
Founded	Mitcham
Headquarters	London
Website	www.asprey.com

Asprey store on Bond Street

Asprey (formerly Asprey & Garrard) is a British luxury brand with a heritage that dates back to 1781. The brand offers an extensive range of gifts, jewellery, watches, leather, silver, bone china, crystal and rare books, all available in its flagship New Bond Street store. Asprey was once the destination for crowns, coronets and sceptres for royal families around the world. This tradition of offering craftsmanship, quality and design Royal Warrant is by appointment to H.R.H The Prince of Wales.

History

Asprey - The Beginning

Asprey was established in England in Mitcham, Surrey in 1781. Originally founded as a silk printing business by William Asprey, it soon became a luxury emporium. In 1841, William Asprey’s elder son Charles went into partnership with a stationer located on London’s Bond Street. In 1847 the family broke with this partner and moved into 167 New Bond Street, the premises Asprey occupies today. From its central London location Asprey advertised ‘articles of exclusive design and high quality, whether for personal adornment or personal accompaniment and to endow with richness and beauty the table and homes of people of refinement and discernment.’ An early speciality was dressing cases. Asprey crafted traditional cases and designs, mostly in leather, suitable for the new style of travel ushered in by railways. Asprey was recognised for its expertise when it won a gold medal for its dressing cases at the International Exhibition of 1862. The company consolidated its position through shrewd acquisitions. In 1859 Asprey absorbed Edwards, an award winning maker of dressing cases and holder of a Royal Warrant. The company also purchased the Alfred Club at 22 Albemarle Street, which backed on to the New Bond Street store and meant that Asprey now had entrances on two of London’s most fashionable streets.

Royal Patronage

In 1862 Asprey was granted its first Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria. The Prince of Wales, later to be crowned Edward VII, granted another Royal Warrant and the company enjoyed a longstanding and unbroken relationship with various members of the British Royal Family. At the time of Edward VII’s funeral an Asprey member of staff remembered, ‘practically all the ruling heads of state were there, and many of them came to Asprey, you might have seen three or four of them at one time’. In 1953 it was the coronation of the current monarch, Elizabeth II. Asprey paid homage with the Asprey Coronation Year Gold Collection, which featured a dessert, coffee and liqueur service in 18-carat gold and weighed almost 27 pounds. In April 1953 it went on show in the New Bond Street store and subsequently toured the United States.

20th Century Asprey

As the business grew, the company acquired new manufacturing facilities and hired silversmiths, goldsmiths, jewellers and watchmakers including Ernest Betjeman, the father of the distinguished poet John Betjeman, one of the most highly regarded craftsman and designers of his day. In the twenties, commissions poured in from around the world, from American millionaire J. Pierpont Morgan to potentates such as the Maharajah of Patiala. The Maharajah of Patiala commissioned a huge teak travelling trunk for each of his wives in which each trunk was fitted with solid silver washing and bathing utensils with waterspouts of ornate tiger head and lined with blue velvet. Asprey cigarette cases became collectable amongst young sophisticates who delighted in its other modern products, including travel clocks, safety razors and automatic pencil sharpeners.

Asprey Today

Jewellery

Asprey has an established tradition of producing jewellery inspired by the blooms found in English gardens. Over the decades jewelled interpretations of flowers have evolved to include the Crown Daisy, Rose, Calla Lily and Lily Pad collections.

The Asprey Cut Diamond

The master diamond cutter Gabi Tolkowsky created The Asprey Cut. The cushion cut gave Tolkowsky various options for incorporating the Asprey "A" inscription around the edges of the stone. The result was the 61-facet Asprey Cut, maximising light refraction to brilliant effect and offering a modern interpretation of a traditional design. Carat weights of Asprey Cut diamonds range from 0.50 to 3, with larger stones available to order. Asprey Cut diamonds are inscribed on one side of the cushion with the GIA certificate number and with four distinctive 'A's on the other. It is also the only diamond that has the letter "A" on the crown; the Asprey Cut has a flower in the centre to create softness. The unique shape of the Asprey Cut means that the cutting process can be done only by hand, unlike many other stones that involve machine cutting.

Leather

The women’s collection of clutches and handbags, such as those featured in the 1781 collection, come from crocodile, python and ostrich. The men’s collection includes wallets, cardholders and travel watchcases crafted from lido, calf or alligator. Other items include the briefcases and backgammon boards.

Silver

Asprey offers classic and whimsical contemporary silver pieces - such as the saltcellar fashioned to look like a cement mixer or the wheel barrow salt holder with accompanying shovel spoon. Asprey also produce children’s gifts, including tooth boxes, picture frames and rattles. Gifts can be created to an individual’s specifications and personalised with engravings of names and dates.

Watches

The Asprey Watch collections, for men and women, capture the Asprey spirit of craftsmanship married with design, of classic sensibilities expressed with a modern flair. Whether inspired by British instruments for travel and exploration or original designs from the Asprey archive.

Trophies

Asprey’s unique heritage includes the design and manufacture of some of the world’s most prestigious sporting trophies, including the Race To Dubai trophy and the Dubai World Championship (DWC) trophy. In addition, Asprey is responsible for crafting the ICC cricket trophies, Wimbledon championship runner-up and winner’s salvers as well as the FA cup trophy and medals.The bespoke trophy-making service allows clients to create their own design using the finest materials and precious metals.

Asprey Books

The Asprey fine and rare book tradition evolved from the early 1900s when a small compendia of reference books were produced in stands. However, it wasn’t until the Second World War, when raw materials were in such short supply, that Asprey began to offer second-hand and antiquarian books. Following the war, this practice was further developed to include a range of books, old and new, that were bound by Asprey, thus augmenting the company’s tradition in leather goods. Today, Asprey offers a range of first and limited editions, many in their original bindings and some if appropriate, in leather bindings customised by Asprey.

Asprey Polo

Previously known as Argosy. Asprey Polo has developed a range of performance product for both player and pony. The range includes boots, saddles, bridles, helmets and mallets and is available from Asprey Polo, at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club. Asprey has a history in Polo, sponsoring teams and creating trophies for polo tournaments. It sponsored a 40-goal team in the Argentine Open in 1996, winning the Championship and reaching the final in 1997.

Bespoke and Master Craftsmanship

Asprey’s workshops are above the store allowing repairs and alterations to be completed while a customer waits. Five floors above the showrooms of the New Bond Street store are workshops where classic skills are employed by silversmiths, goldsmiths, jewellers, leatherworkers, engravers and watchmakers who labour alongside designers to create the Asprey product. Asprey will go to any length to meet a customer’s requirements. The firm’s craftsmen actually toasted three slices of bread in their workshop, fried the eggs, broiled the bacon, assembled the sandwich, made a mould and cast it. The silver gilt sandwich now sits on the desk of a Texan millionaire.

Asprey and Film

Asprey is closely associated with the world of film. Asprey’s ‘Coeur de la Mer’ necklace was featured in the 1997 James Cameron blockbuster, Titanic. Asprey has featured in a number of films:

• Flawless (2007 film)
• Matchpoint (2005)
• Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)
• Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
• The Ghost Writer (2010 film)
• Nanny McPhee: The Big Bang (2010)
• The Tourist (2010 film)

In 2009 Asprey became the official jewellery sponsor of The Orange British Academy Film Awards and continues this partnership today. Asprey also collaborated with screen stars, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to create the Asprey’s Protector Collection of fine jewellery for both children and adults in 2009.

Key Dates

• 1781 Asprey begins trading as William Asprey in Mitcham, Surrey
• 1847 Asprey flagship store opens on New Bond Street, London
• 1851 At the Great Exhibition Asprey is awarded the gold medal by Queen Victoria
• 1862 First Royal Warrant granted by Queen Victoria
• 1889 Edward VII grants the second Royal Warrant to Asprey Garrard
• 1925 HM Queen Mary commissions necklace, later given to HRH Princess Margaret on the occasion of her 18th birthday
• 1930 Maharajah of Patiala commissions five trunks, one for each of his five wives
• 1973 Bespoke chess set is commissioned for Ringo Starr’s birthday
• 1975 Asprey received the Queen’s Award to Industry by Queen Elizabeth
• 1990 Asprey and Garrard merge
• 2002 Asprey and Garrard split
• 2004 Lord Norman Foster redesigns the flagship store in New Bond Street, London
• 2006 Asprey celebrates its 225th anniversary and is granted its own coat of arms by the prestigious English college of arms in recognition of its long-term commitment to craftsmanship and luxury
• 2006 Sciens Capital Management and Plainfield Asset Management purchase the brand
• 2009 Asprey becomes the official jewellery sponsor of The Orange British Academy Film Awards
• 2010 Bruce Hoeksema is announced as the Creative Director

Corporate

Today Asprey continues to trade as a luxury goods house, active in markets including the USA, Japan and the United Arab Emirates. According to a survey of US high net worth consumers polled for the Luxury Institute’s 2010 Luxury Brand Status Index, Asprey was ranked among the top three of international fine jewellery brands, able to deliver true luxury. In March 2006 Sciens Capital Management, the US private equity firm, bought Asprey. “This is a historic luxury brand, and that is part of our reason for acquiring it," said chairman John Rigas, following the purchase from Lawrence Stroll, Silas Chou (of Sportswear Holdings Ltd) and Edgar Bronfman Jr. Subsequently, Rigas has re-focused the business to concentrate on flagships and stand alone stores in key international locations. In 2009 Hermés, the French luxury fashion house made a property investment purchasing the freehold of the New Bond Street shop that Asprey occupies. However, Asprey holds a 31-year lease on the premises and continues to remain in the space.

References

• Noon, Chris. "Billionaire Burkle Buys U.K. Crown Jeweller" Forbes, March 21, 2006, retrieved November 21, 2006.

Further Reading

• Official Website http://www.asprey.com
• Corporate Website http://corporate.asprey.com/home/
• Polo Website http://www.aspreypolo.com/
• http://www.christopherlong.co.uk/pri/asprey.html
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/feb/21/baftas-jewellers
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/sep/27/hermes-asprey-bond-street-shop
• http://www.fosterandpartners.com/Projects/1151/Default.aspx
• http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/25/style/25iht-fasp_ed3_.html
• Asprey Press Releases http://www.asprey.com/news-events/press-releases/2010/
• Asprey News & Events http://www.asprey.com/news-events/
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1341164/Asprey-and-Garrard-go-separate-ways.html

External links

Media related to Asprey at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Asprey site