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Christopher Wharton Interview
With 30 years experience of manufacturing, Christopher Wharton together with son Sam are creating a fine jewellery brand - Wharton - while extending their more recently acquired retail operation from one to two or possibly three shops. The Jeweller visited their manufacturing and retail base, a 16th century building within the old quarter of St. Albans.
What is your background in jewellery?
Both my brother Stuart and I followed our father, a well-known St Albans watchmaker, into the jewellery trade. Having completed a five year apprenticeship with John Donald in London, I returned to St Albans to set my manufacturing business whilst Stuart continued with retail. On his retirement five years ago my wife and I took over the shop, so we are relatively new to retailing. Our son Sam works in the business and eventually will take over.
How big is your business?
We employ 25 - including nine goldsmiths, who each make a piece of our jewellery from start to finish, and eight salespeople who are kept busy in the shop.
Who are your customers?
On the trade side, mainly established county and better quality city jewellers, though increasingly we also sell to modern, design-led galleries whose owners are generally younger and less traditionally minded. We have around 200 UK accounts that sell our jewellery to a wide variety of customers, though there is s preponderance of affluent professionals. This you would expect given that the starting retail price for one of our rings is £1500 and the average sale around £4,000.
How do you describe your jewellery?
We produce superbly made, high quality diamond rings, pendants, earrings and bracelets, mainly in platinum, in clean, modern British designs. Rather than producing two collections a year, we are creating new ring designs every week so that our designs, including our own cuts of diamonds, are continually evolving.
What inspires your designs?
I am constantly drawing and thinking new shapes. We also listen carefully to our customers, trade and retail, to find out what they want to buy.
What are the key trends at the moment?
In rings, there's certainly a move towards bigger diamonds. The 40pts of a few years ago has made way for 70pts-1ct and diamond-set shanks. Pendants have become bolder and more interesting with chain replacing wire and lots of mixed colours.
How important is it for you to develop the Wharton brand given that you've successfully sold jewellery without such a brand for decades?
If you want to compete with the best fine jewellery brands - which we do - you must be a strong brand yourself. Our investment in Wharton - through the website, brochure, our support to retailers to our forthcoming campaign in Vogue - is significant, but is sure to pay dividends in the future. Today, producing affordable, modern jewellery is not enough; you must support that with a compelling brand identity and message.
Where do you source your diamonds from?
Our rounds and princess cuts come from Russia, where the quality of stones and cutting are first rate and the prices fairly competitive. There is also no question of conflict diamonds from Russian mines. The fancy cuts come from the best source at the time of buying. I have been buying diamonds for 30 years and, having learned from my mistakes, do so with a degree of confidence.
What are your feelings about the decline in UK jewellery manufacturing?
The current obsession with price cutting must eventually run its course, and not before time as its effects have been baleful. From buying - and successfully selling - high quality, beautifully-designed jewellery, too many retailers are buying mounts from a components catalogue, diamonds from the internet and having their jeweller assemble them together. The result is too much mediocre jewellery that all looks the same. When a retailer approaches us to buy a mount, we let them know very clearly that that isn't our business. The trend to drive down prices has naturally affected the quality of design. Instead of investing in originality and creativity, too many manufacturers are happy to steal ideas and then modify them slightly to avoid legal action. The only way to counter this is to keep ahead with a constant flow of exciting new designs. But while the UK jewellery manufacturing has declined, I believe it will revive.
Price will always be important to customers, but increasingly where jewellery is made, and by whom, is of growing interest. Customers aren't stupid. They know a cheap piece of jewellery is going to be cheaply made using cheap components. Is that really what people want to wear? The UK is enjoying a period of prosperity that barring international disasters should continue. There are plenty of customers out there with money to lavish on high quality, well designed products. I am very optimistic about the market for fine jewellery over the next few years.
