Saunders and Shepherd
Saunders and Shepherd was founded in London in 1869 by Cornelius Desormeaux Saunders Sr. and James Francis Hollings Shepherd at 23 Bartlett’s Buildings in Holborn Circus. They expanded to numbers 24 and then 25 also moving into Bartlett’s Passage. They started by manufacturing mourning jewelry made from Whitby jet and quickly moved to gold manufacturing. In 1889 they became the licensees for Krementz and patented a one-piece collar stud and also inventing the first self-closing bracelet. CD. Saunders passed away in 1890 and his three sons ran the business. They converted into an LLC and changed the name to Saunders and Shepherd Ltd. They expanded further opening offices in India, Canada, and Australia. In 1909 a factory was opened in Birmingham England. After World War II the depression kicked in and the company was forced to downsize. The Birmingham factory was closed, and shortly thereafter in 1941 the London premises was destroyed by a bombing in London causing them to lose most of their styles. They survived by trading what goods had already been manufactured and held less than 30 employees. After the war they began to conduct business again and in 1951 they exhibited at The Festival of Britain. By the end of the 1950s they moved to St Cross Street in London where they stayed until 1980 when they bought, renovated, and moved to number 1 Bleeding Heart Yard in Hatton Garden. Today they are based in the Birmingham jewelry quarter.
