The venerable London dealer’s managing director, Guy Burton, takes us on a tour of the upgraded premises, where historical grandeur meets innovative retail experience.

 Welcome to the Jewelry Connoisseur Podcast, and now your host, Sonia Esther Soltani.

 Welcome to this new episode of the Jewelry Connoisseur Podcast. I'm your host, Sonia Esther Soltani, the Editor in Chief of Rapaport. Today we're going to explore the new premises of Hancock's London. Most of you are familiar with this institution: Estate dealer specializing in antique diamond cuts, estate jewelry, and modern creations. The managing director Guy Burton tells us all about the new venues that just opened at the time of recording. They were still putting the last lick of paint and now we're going to be able to learn what's so special about it and what is to be expected there. Enjoy.

Sonia: Hi, Guy. I'm so happy to have you on the podcast today. You were the first guest of our inaugural Jewelry Connoisseur podcast. So it's very special to have you back here. How are you?

Guy Burton: I'm very well, thank you very much, and thank you for having me again.

Sonia: Well, we have something very exciting to discuss. Hancocks is moving to new premises. So tell us why you're moving and where are you moving and how it's going to look like.

Guy Burton: Okay, it is extremely exciting. So we are moving down to an address on 62 St. James's Street. which is very close to where we are now in London, it's a beautiful old Georgian building, and we're taking the entire building, so we will be expanding to have three floors of gallery space, two obviously further floors as well, and we're completely refurbishing the whole building in a very unique fashion, which will be designed to enhance the customer experience, the buying experience, the learning experience, and row mobility, which obviously is very rare within jewelry galleries. Historically, Hancocks was always a house of Hancocks. We've been manufacturers of jewelry as well as diamond wholesalers and as well as dealers in beautiful signed pieces of jewelry. So it's very much the intention is to take us back to our roots and also to embrace our history. So the new environment will be a celebration of our past to showcase our experience, our knowledge and our passion for jewelry and the gemstones.

Sonia: I've heard there's something very unusual about the way the jewelry is going to be displayed and the retail experience. There won't be any counters. can you tell us a bit more about that? Because I think that's really interesting how people are going to seem to move a bit more freely around the space to experience the different floors and the different displays on each floor.

Guy Burton: Absolutely, so one of the things I wanted to achieve was to move away from this classic, this sort of, retail experience over the counter in the same way that you might buy a handbag or a scarf. So I wanted to move away from that and create an environment which did justice to the pieces that we're selling and by doing that we got away with the counters and we're creating three very unique gallery spaces, each completely unique, which will be done away with the, counter experience. It'll be gallery style showcasing the jewelry for all its beauty. so the customers can come and roam and get very close to the jewelry. They can also come and admire the jewelry without being disturbed by me or a sales staff if they wish so, they can enjoy, the beauty of the piece and always have one of us to hand to, allow them to try the pieces on if they wish, I very much want to create this experience, a very unique experience in enjoying the jewelry.,

Sonia: Tell us how the three floors, because it's a five story building, but the three floors for clients and collectors, how are they going to be divided?

Guy Burton: So the ground floor as you enter we still have windows onto the pavement. onto St. James Street, which is a beautiful, Regency period, wide, beautiful street in London. Very, very old and established. So we will have window space, showing jewelry onto the passerbys. And as the customer enters the ground floor, there will be greeted to a very, very beautiful, take on a Georgian library. So we'll have beautiful paneling, which you would have seen in Georgian times, but in the 18th century, and we'll be showcasing our fantastic library, which we've built up decades and decades. Well, actually, centuries, really. And so that would be there for our customers to see. Amongst this will be the jewelry displayed as well. And on this ground floor we will have a little bit of everything that we sell. That's everything from the beautiful Georgian jewelry, Victorian jewelry, signed pieces from the early 20th century, right up to lovely pieces that we make today, exclusively really with the antique gemstones and diamonds. There'll be a little taster of all of those pieces and then as the customer journeys to the first floor, which will be in a completely different design, there's a little bit of Victorian influence on this floor, but still maintaining the beautiful large windows at the front, which we get lots of natural light in there. And then the decoration will be sort of a celebration of our Dickensian Victorian history as well. So that's been beautifully designed. Big fireplaces, silk moiré, beautiful, very, very decadent, but letting the jewelry do the talking. As the customer then goes up to the next floor up, which is a very large gallery space up there. This will be where we will be showcasing diamond pieces, our beautiful antique diamond pieces. And this again will be embracing the Georgian period of the building and our wonderful history. But maybe a little bit more avant garde in, in approach, a little bit more modern up there. so a little bit of everything, which is designed really to represent who we are as a business today, very much in touch with our history, but very much a current jeweler and, wanting to lead the way selling and making unique pieces. The rest of the building, obviously we're going to have beautiful offices upstairs as well, which will also be customer facing. So we had a lot of fun working with our interior designers that design this office space as well. Sort of, which is right at the top, And, going back down to the basement and to the vault again, I think, the top level of luxury you can imagine, anywhere. So, you know, no expense spared at creating a phenomenal environment for our customers.

Sonia: Sounds like it, I think, is four times larger than your Burlington Arcade premises. People are going to see much, much more jewelry, which is obviously fantastic for collectors.

Guy Burton: absolutely.

Sonia: And there's many, many things, obviously, that you offer that we're interested in, but there's one thing in particular I thought we could discuss today and that Hancocks is so, renowned for, is the old cut. The old cut diamonds, how popular they are, you know, it seems the new generation is very interested in a more sustainable approach to jewelry. So old cut diamonds, they already exist. We don't need to mine them. they offer also different options for design. So can you share a bit more about the old cut diamonds that you're offering at Hancocks, and that you'll be offering even more of them, or at least the same, but in a different display in your new premises in St. James's.

Sonia: People coming to you from all over the world. You see different demographics in the past years after COVID, for example.

Sonia: And I think what you do, which is very interesting, is that you use all these old cut diamonds or gemstones and you set them in a more modern setting. You give them the best cut, the best possible setting. So what are people looking for? They're always looking for. beautiful old cut with a bit of a modern contemporary twist, or they want something really in a vintage original setting.

Sonia: And what people know of you is you used to do a lot of silverware, a lot of important pieces for the royal collections and, you know, all the different noble families. So is there some pieces that are going to be on display in a new Hancocks? Something that is, you know, you quite want to show off to the world.

Sonia: Oh, I'm glad the jug traveled back the Thames and came back to London.

Guy Burton: Absolutely. Yeah. Although Napoleon III actually ended his final days where he was living in London, in fact, just about three doors down from our new premises. So, that's a nice, nice touch as well.

Sonia: Do you know if Eugenie carried on buying when she was in exile?

Guy Burton: I don't know for sure, but, I have certainly gone through our archives to try and find evidence of that.

Sonia: Actually, you just mentioned the archive. And what I found really interesting is you've shared in a digital way, or you're going to share all the books of Hancocks. So people are going to be able to find out what people wrote about Hancocks about their purchases. Can you tell us a bit more about that? Because I find it's fascinating for people who love history to be able to access the raw material this way in a digital way.

Sonia: Can people expect a new website as well as the new store?

Guy Burton: Absolutely. And we will be launching our new website within the next six to eight weeks. Trying to tie it in with our new, home as well. So that's, that's very exciting. So we're doing, uh, a lot of new and the common denominator with everything new that's happening is, bringing in our old and past much more to the, surface as well. So the new website's and new look, it's going to be much more functional. It's going to have a lot more, educational areas, to try and, portray some of the information on why we do it. why we love old cuts so much, perhaps the buying guides on there as well. And, and obviously we document a lot of the actual lovely old jewelry houses and makers on there as well with biographies on huge amounts. So, uh, we'll be very proud of the sort of educational and sharing our knowledge side of things as well.

Sonia: I can see already spending a lot of hours going on that.

Guy Burton: Yeah, yeah, I hope you do. Yes.

Sonia: I will. Guy, as I said before, you were our first guest on the podcast and we discussed at the time, Art Deco jewelry, Art Deco cuts. What are the current popular cuts with your collectors? Is it still Art Deco is ruling or you've seen people changing a little bit, their preferences when it comes to jewelry style from the past?

Sonia: Yeah. I'm loving all this, uh, bold voluminous yellow gold personally, and the Lenfant's star sign pendants are just amazing.

Guy Burton: Yeah, the Zodiacs are very popular. Absolutely. Amy. absolutely loves those. they're fantastic. And, that certainly seems to be, something that's on everyone's wishlist at the moment. obviously other, the Georgian jewelry, very, I mean, we've got a fantastic power of going the other way, a tacit power of decadent Georgian sort of raw collection quality earrings, which are fantastic as well. So there is still that, that's that interest everywhere. And, if we take that, sort of interest into back into the old cut stones and the, rings of jewelry, we're making. It spans everywhere, really big gold and bold, but as well as, you know, more delicate old mine cut settings are still very, very popular as well. So I like the spread. I like where we are in the moment.

Guy Burton: I think gold is going to continue. the big bold gold is going to move forward. I think you're going to uncover some smaller makers as well, who perhaps weren't in the limelight. Everybody's looking for, you know, the next make a big or small, unique design as well. So, you know, pieces of things, you know, Andrew Grima, who obviously, It's very well known, really, amongst collectors, of course, those type of very, very bold statement conversation pieces, which are perhaps easier to wear, I think are going to continue to grow. I think although the Art Deco jewelry is cooled a little bit, the original Art Deco jewelry in the, diamond side, and I'm very, very close to my heart, is the 1920s and 30s asscher cut diamonds. You know, my diamond curation is weighted in that direction. They've become very, popular. I think the, elegance of these beautiful old step cuts has become very, popular and sought after and quite expressive stones without the perhaps obvious brilliance of the old mine cuts and the other brilliant cut stones.

Sonia: That's fantastic. So Guy, thank you so much for having joined us on this podcast. I wish you all the best in your new home.

Guy Burton: Thank you very much.

Sonia: anyone who's in London has to come and visit. that seems like it's going to be such a beautiful showcase of the jewelry, an elegant building. And I love the way you described this decadent Victorian inspired floor already.

Guy Burton: Yeah, absolutely. Best enjoyed with a glass of champagne, which will be there as well.

Sonia: This is it, we're sold! Thank you so much, Guy. And, wish you all the best.

Sonia: Thank you so

Guy Burton: much, Sonia.

Thank you for listening to the Jewelry Connoisseur podcast by Rappaport Jewelry Pro. This episode was hosted by Sonia Ester Soltani and produced and edited by Vanina You can find all our episodes on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and read more about diamonds, colored gemstones, high jewelry designers, estate jewelry, and the latest jewelry trends on Rappaport. com slash Jewelry Connoisseur. Please subscribe to get all our new episodes and if you liked this one, leave us a review.