Now then, now then...what do Garrard & Co, Jimmy Savile and Girls Aloud all have in common? They’ve all received jewellery made by the talented Mr Drewett. Here the Kind of Diamonds recounts the story of how he made it from Soho to Stortford in his own words.
“Towards the end of my time at school 1973/4 I discovered I quite liked the idea of becoming a silversmith. This was due to the enjoyment I got from designing and making a modern coffee pot as my GCSE practical metal work project.
I sought out the careers office and they kindly fixed some interviews, well ONE to be precise, in Hatton Garden and absolutely nothing to do with silversmithing. The work consisted of being part of a simple production line assembling gate bracelets. No thank you..!
A short time later I attended another interview, this time in Soho in London's West End - a lively part of town, Broadwick Street off Wardour Street and next to Berwick Street Market. There were some colourful characters in the market, not least the tie stall guy who would take exception to ties he felt were not worthy of being worn. He would grab gents’ ties he disliked and cut them in half, then try and sell the poor punter a new one. Drastic measures.
Anyway, this interview was for an apprentice diamond mounter to a small jewellery workshop which was up four flights of stairs in the attic of Nufield House, 9-11 Broadwick Street. I think I went with Dad. It was a dingy little place where you rang the bell then through the ‘security’ hatch a head would appear and ask your business. The ‘security’ hatch didn’t offer much in the way of security, being just one foot square of wood. Terry the office boy, lanky and rather effeminate in his ways was my introduction, through the hatch to Messrs A B Tigg & Co.
There was Fred the polisher, an older chap who appeared a little vacant, probably due to the cyanide fumes inhaled while cleaning silver and Tom, the ‘boy’ who had just completed his training but not an apprenticeship and who would be glad of some new young whippersnappers to show how clever he was. Then there were the ‘governors’ Tony, the setter and George, the jobber/mounter (who at the time seemed a reserved and somewhat moody type but as it turned out was actually the absolute opposite). Lastly there was Ralph, with cravat and pipe, he was the designer and diamond mounter. His only swear words were ‘blast’ or ‘damn it’. As I say, a rich mix of characters and talent.
Another applicant at the same time was Terry (not the lanky effeminate one). Terry 2 hailed from Upminster, his dad worked in the London docks and appeared confident and slightly aggressive. Needless to say Terry and I became the ‘boys’. We had the ‘mick’ taken out of us relentlessly - we were bullied, worked in a smoke filled, cyanide filled, freezing cold or baking hot attic. We were sent on errands, wild goose chases and all for £10 a week, from which I paid mum some keep and the train fare from Harlow Town to Tottenham court road.
Terry and I had to duck and dive a little to make ends meet. We set up a milk crate stall on Oxford Street selling silver ingots (all the rage then) got told to get off their ‘patch’ by some rather large gentlemen and kept fit by running from police officers who also were protecting their ‘patch’. We had to dodge the IRA's attempt to blow us up when running errands and had a job once a week cleaning four flights of concrete stairs. Good times?
When at work we were taught by Ralph Hollingdale, possibly one of the finest craftsmen around. He designed and made a DeBeers international award winning necklace, he was also one of the founders of the Institute of Professional Goldsmiths and taught diamond mounting at the world famous Sir John Cass University in Aldgate London. Ralph taught us by working on fine jewellery for Cartier, Garrard & Co, as well as other little known fine West End retail jewellers. We acted as advisors to Christies fine jewellery auctions where we saw some mind boggling gem stones, tiaras and diamonds which at that time in the late 70s, were selling at a million pounds and above.
In 1979, almost on the stroke of 5 years when our apprenticeships were all but completed, there was a knock on the office door. It was the receivers...A B Tigg & Co had gone bust. We were told to clear only items that were ours. We knew nothing of the events and were, to say the least, flabbergasted but we saw George filling his bag with all sorts of bits and bobs, so we helped ourselves too when the receivers weren't looking. After a short time we were evicted from the premises, convening in the Blue Posts pub on the corner of Broadwick and Berwick Street. Here the plan was set to start again, this time with a new crew.
Terry (the other apprentice) and I had secret plans to start our own workshop anyway, but I wasn’t sure. After a month or so George went to the receiver and bought all of the tools and equipment for a few pounds; saw the landlord, Mr Nuffield, who agreed to rent him the old premises and contacted our old customers, who were more than willing for us to make and repair their jewellery. One of these was Garrard & Co, who bombarded us with repairs and restorations of fine jewellery. So after only a few months in 1980 Jefferys Drewett & Briggs Ltd were up and running, more or less working for the same clients and from the same premises as A B Tigg & Co.
This was where I learnt to make decisions; how to run a simple set of accounts and deal with clients and much, much more. It was a steep learning curve too, as there were only three of us, and neither Tom nor George had much to do with the office side of things. We had some great times in and out of work. We made City of London Livery badges, brooches and fine jewellery for many high profile clients. One particular client was Jimmy Savile. I made an enormous bark effect signet ring for his little finger, containing what must have been a 5 or 6ct diamond, the ring itself weighed 3.5 ounces, I still have the original wooden pattern I made for the job. I also made the letters JIMMY in 18ct white gold for his oversized ID bracelet, which were then set with diamonds. It always bought a smile to my face seeing the ring and bracelet on Jim'll Fix It. Rob fixed it for Jimmy Savile.
Despite working with jewellery and gems most people (even jewellers never see) I felt the time was right to move on. After 8 years the gloss had gone and I needed that new challenge.
I went to a ‘start your own business’ seminar, funnily enough in my old secondary school, Latton Bush, where I was given the confidence to leave Jeffreys Drewett & Brigg and start all on my own as RJ Drewett Ltd. By now I had moved to Bishop's Stortford because it was cheaper to buy a house there than Harlow. With the help of my wife Jan, the bank and the promise of work from some of my contacts I set up my new workshop above Fin 'n' Fur, which at that time was on Hockerill street.
I continued to make Livery company badges and brooches for Toye Kenning & Spencer and Hicklenton & Phillips (an old City of London jeweller). I also had work from Winsor Bishop in Norwich and Victor Hawkins in Colchester. I can still see Jan on an old electric typewriter, typing letters, invoices and estimates. Around the late 80s the Bishop's Stortford jewellery scene was F.J.Zelley and Charles Turney. Zelley was in what is now Laura Ashley and was very traditional and rather down market, certainly from what I was used to. Turney on the other hand was selling more fine jewellery and was the ‘best’ jeweller in town. Therefore in my quest for bigger things I wrote to Charles Turney. I called at the shop after no reply but I couldn't convince them they needed me.
Then Zelley's moved, it was the time of silly property prices and Zelley was offered money he couldn't refuse to relocate to a purpose made shop in market square. Instantly I could see they made the attempt to trade up, so I sent them a letter too. This time I was asked to meet them, fortunately for me they were not happy with their jewellery workshop and I got the job of providing their workshop needs.
Mike Zelley and I had very similar visions and we shared many ideas over the next couple of years until I was asked to join the company as a director and shareholder. We negotiated the sale of RJ Drewett Ltd and Jan and I moved to the back of Zelley’s shop where we built the on-site workshop and I made and repaired jewellery from there. I was always being asked to consult with clients in the shop as I was the only member of staff with extensive jewellery and gemstone knowledge. It was only a matter of time before I made my move to the shop floor permanent and loved the new challenge. Together we built Zelleys from a break even business to a very profitable one.
The year 2000 was made for change and towards the end of November I left Zelleys, but I hadn’t been sitting back waiting for that moment. Over Christmas and the New Year of 2000/2001 I put some ideas together; found some money; found the shop; bought stock; commissioned the stock control program; set up a web site and, with Jan, opened the doors to Ce' The Jeweller on 12th May 2001. I remember it well, Arsenal lost to Liverpool by two goals to one.
Ten years on it's now 2011 and Ce' The Jeweller is still as innovative as ever, looking for new styles of jewellery and watches for the people of Bishop's Stortford. Technology has moved on and we can now offer 21st century jewellery design services in store. We still repair and make jewellery in our basement workshop. Having the on-site workshop is very popular as many people like the fact that their jewellery stays in the shop.
We continue to make some high profile jewellery - Girls Aloud and Cheryl Cole being clients of our services. The story of Cheryl Cole’s wedding ring was a secret we had to keep. While the newspapers speculated where the ring could be and pictures appeared in every tabloid of the X-Factor judges naked finger we all knew that I was checking the settings and giving it a good old clean and polish.”
