Raymond Yard
Raymond Yard opened his business in 1922 at the age of 37. At the time he was working from a discreet private salon on Fifth Avenue in New York after working for twenty five years for Marcus & Co. During his time he had risen from a 13 year old runner to the general manager. He decided to go on his own when many of his clients, the who’s who of America’s wealthiest and most prominent families asked him to. One of them being John D. Rockefeller. Yard opened in 1922 and began creating commissioned pieces at the same time as creating ready made pieces. The majority of his revenue came from the bespoke commissions he received from clients such as the Woolworths, Flagler's, Vanderbilt's, Fairbanks, and the Rockefellers. These families helped him make high value sale after high value sale. Fine natural pearls were a passion of Yard’s he even published a pamphlet called ‘The Care of Pearls’ to encourage clients to take care of these precious but easily damaged gems. The purchase of the high value gems allowed him to build his stock in jewelry and sell even more lavish items. He was even supplying other workshops with gemstones to be made into his own designs. In the 1930’s Yard’s competitors suffered in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash and his vastly wealthy clients remained largely unscathed so Yard's business did well in the downturn moving to larger premises and employing many more staff. The 1940’s limited the use of platinum as well as the difficulty in importing gems so Yard moved to yellow gold. Then in the 1950's platinum and diamonds as well as other imported stones were able to be used again. In the 1950’s the firm began to import gold jewelry mounts from Paris in an attempt to offer the very latest in French designs. Georges Verger was one notable supplier who sent 18ct yellow gold mounts to Yard in New York. Yard would supply the necessary gems for the centers and have them set by one of the many workshops he used. Raymond Yard retired in 1958 after more than 60 years in the business. He spent 36 of which heading his own firm. He passed the company to three of his employees Glen McQuaker, Robert Gibson, and Donald Bartow. Together they continued the Yard tradition. In 1963 they employed Yard’s first dedicated designer, Marcel Greefs, who had worked for Flato previously. Greefs remained with the firm until his retirement in 1978 and he was succeeded by Andrew D’Alessandro. Gibson’s son, Robert M. Gibson, joined his father in the business in 1985 after Bartow and McQuaker had both retired.
