Our Timeline
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1939
THE STORY BEGINS
Mr Holt, a pre-war Jewish refugee from Vienna, arrives in London aged 16 and works as an apprentice diamond polisher in Clerkenwell
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1948
35 GREVILLE STREET
Mr Holt opens the first ‘R Holt & Co’ shop at 35 Greville Street in Hatton Garden
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1950
A SIGNET RING
Mr Holt was given a signet ring by his father, visiting Jersey he was asked to design and sell signet rings
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1955
BOOTS
A new branch of R Holt & Co began selling gold and metal jewellery to ‘Boots The Chemist’
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1960
TURQUOISE BABY
Mr Holt was asked to make a waist wide ribbon with a Turquoise stone to help a lady with her fertility. A few months later she returned and announced to a packed shop that Mr Holt had made her pregnant!
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1967
MR HOWARD JOINS THE BUSINESS
Holts Gems’ first official apprentice!
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1970
STONE CUTTING
R Holt & Co opens an on-site stone cutting workshop!
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1972
MR HOLT GOES TO CHINA
Mr Holt was one of few allowed to enter China - as advisor to the government. Mr Holt sold diamond powder and become fascinated with the chinese minerals and carvings which led to their importation.
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1983
MR HOLT ESCAPES!
Mr Holt made a trip to Sierra Leone to value diamonds, a government coup took place and he had to escape by joining a tour group and pretending to be a tourist!
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1986
HOLTS LAUNCH A RE-STRINGING SERVICE
Mrs Debbie Minshall joins the business and launches our popular re-stringing service.
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1996
NATIONAL TRAINING AWARD
Holts Gems are awarded 'Winner' of the National Training Awards 1996!
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1998
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HOLTS GEMS
Holts Gems 50th anniversary! We celebrated by creating a miniature model of 'The Albert Memorial' which was launched by Dame Judy Dench who played the infamous Mrs Brown.
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1998
PINK TOURMALINE DISCOVERY
A new deposit of Pink Tourmaline was discovered in Nigeria, Holts Gems was the place in London to buy it from!
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1999
JASON HOLT JOINS THE FAMILY BUSINESS
Jason Holt (the eldest son of Mr Holt) joins the family business after a successful law career. He quickly identified that the industry was in danger of losing its craftsmanship so Jason focused on driving more apprenticeships into the jewellery industry. This not only ensures Holts Gems have world class stone cutters and jewellers, it also ensures the longevity of the lapidary and jewellery industry in the UK.
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1999
HEAD OF LAPIDARY WORKS ON THE V&A
Our Head of Lapidary, Roger Dunkin, was commissioned to repair some of the gemstones within the iconic V&A Monument.
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2000
HOLTS ACADEMY IS LAUNCHED
Jason sets up Holts Academy to train the next generation in Jewellery & Lapidary skills and craftsmanship. It is the only place providing training specifically dedicated to the jewellery industry.
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2001
SLEEPING BEAUTY TURQUOISE
A particular type of Turquoise experienced a resurgence in 2001, the 'Sleeping Beauty Turquoise'. This type of turquoise has a very consistent egg-blue colour which shows very little to no veining or webbing.
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2002
HOLTS GEMS WINS AGAIN!
We were thrilled to be awarded Winner at the National Training Awards again in 2002.
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2002
JASON IS RECOGNISED BY THE DFES
Jason Holt was awarded 'Winner' of a Special Award from the Department of Education & Skills as part of his ongoing work at Holts Academy.
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2004
LONDON BUSINESS AWARD WINNER
Holts Gems were awarded 'Winner for Commitment to the Community' at the London Business Awards which are staged by the London Chamber of Commerce.
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2004
PARLIAMENT CALLS...
Holts Gems achieve supplier status for fine jewellery to Lords, Ladies and MP’s including the The House of Lords. We continue to work with the House of Lords today.
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2005
WE LAUNCH OUR BESPOKE SERVICE
We introduced our bespoke design service allowing us to fully complete the 'rock to ring' journey. We have created unique items and celebrated along with our bespoke customers through proposals, anniversaries and birthdays. Our service is much loved by returning customers and we ensure that every item is truly unique and perfect for the recipient. Book an appointment with us today.
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2005
PRETTY IN PINK
Pink Sapphire gemstones took off in the market, primarily as an alternative to pink diamonds, Holts was the place to buy from. We take great pride in sourcing the very finest gemstones at the right time.
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2006
QUEEN’S AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE PROMOTION
Jason Holt is awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion.
At the awards event, Mr Holt (senior) and the Queen reminisced about the time when Princess Elizabeth had visited a diamond factory where Mr Holt had polished the stone for her engagement ring!
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2007
HOLTS GEMS INVENTION
Invented an inter-changeable gemstone mechanism called ‘ROQUE’. It allows the wearer to change their gemstone easily, to suit the occasion or their mood.
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2008
UK JEWELLERY AWARDS
Holts Gems were thrilled to be awarded winner of the UK Jewellery Awards, for 'Independent Retailer of the Year'.
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2009
HOLTS SEES VIRTUALLY...
Holts Gems wanted to incorporate virtual ‘trying on’ with our bespoke creations which led to the birth of ‘Holition' which is now a world leader in augmented retail and uses future technologies to create intelligent and beautiful digital experiences that bridge the gap between technology and retail. http://www.holition.com/.
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2010
KATE REIGNITES TREND FOR BLUE SAPPHIRE
Prince William proposes to Kate Middleton with a blue sapphire ring belonging to his mother, Princess Diana. This immediately reinvigorates the market for blue sapphire engagement rings.
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2010
COLOUR COMES ALIVE
Precious coloured gemstones storm the market, more rare than diamonds! Customers are exploring and celebrating with colour, moving away from the traditional diamond.
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2012
TALENTED CRAFTSMEN
Holts invented and manufactured new lapidary machinery to polish and grind all types of gemstones with ultimate precision. It can also be used by any craftsman who requires precise cutting techniques such as those who work with glass, tiles...Available to buy now, please enquire in-store.
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2013
RACHEL LICHTENSTEIN COMES TO HG
Rachel Lichtenstein, a respected author, artist and archivist, visits Hatton Garden for her documentary 'Diamond Street: The Hidden World of Hatton Garden'. Rachel chooses Holts Gems as her no.3 focus, you can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE2SomN53Mg.
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2015
AWARDED A CBE NO LESS!
The wider Holts family were overjoyed that Jason was awarded a CBE for services to Apprenticeships & the Jewellery Industry.
Mr Holt, an apprenticeship ambassador for the government, CEO of Holts Gems and founder of Holts Academy, said: “I have always felt as a business owner I needed to act — to do something about the skills gap in our sector. I’m always willing to help if I know that I can make a valuable contribution, and to be recognised for that in this way is very humbling.”
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2015
WE LOVE HATTON GARDEN...
Visit us and find out why London's Jewellery Quarter is so iconic!
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2016
NEW BRANDING AND WEBSITE...
An exciting year at Holts Gems; we refreshed our branding and invested in a world class ecommerce platform to showcase our gemstones, jewellery and our unique lapidary skills. We hope you like our nod to our past and that you will continue the Holts Gems journey with us.
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2018
Robert Acker Holt
A sad start to the year, as our founder Robert Acker Holt, passed away unexpectedly on 12th January 2018. At nearly 95 he remained Chairman and active in the every day business, he was young until the final moment and will be greatly missed by us all.
Today, as it always has been, our customers' experience is top of our priority list…..It’s not just about making a sale, it’s about listening to our customers and finding or creating that ultimate piece of jewellery or gemstone….it’s about building relationships that last with our customers and creating trust through our knowledge and expertise. We strive to provide our customers with jewellery or gemstones that they will cherish for years to come and that will hopefully be passed down for generations to come. -
2018
GOLDSMITHS CRAFT AND DESIGN AWARDS
Jan Huyghe (our in house Lapidary) wins a Silver Award at the 2018 Goldsmiths' Craft and Design Awards in the 3D finished pieces category for a Quartz ring, which he carved for Jewellery Designer Zena Haddad. Read the full article in our blog.
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2019
HOLTS LAPIDARY HAS A NEW HOME
In February 2019 we moved to 39 Greville Street. Our new light and bright 1st floor showroom is the perfect place to come and view our huge selection of responsibly sourced gemstones.
