Diamonds are Forever
Craig Hough speaks to Will and Greg Powell, the Father and Son force behind Chester’s oldest independent jewellers
The name Powells is synonymous with Chester. Having opened your first independent shop together, on Chester’s historical Rows in 2002, you have since opened another 2 premises in the city. But your story actually goes back further as Greg’s parents (Joan & Dave) owned jewellers in Wales. Talk us through your family history that led you to opening in Chester city.
Greg: My father grew up in Chester and moved to North Wales during the war. Having had shops in North Wales from the late 60’s, the bright lights of the city felt like a natural progression or the next step in order to grow the family business. I entered the business in the mid 70’s and split my time between working in the family business and being a goldsmith in the well renowned Hills workshop in Liverpool.
At what point did Will join the family business – and how do you find working together?
Greg: Will joined the business in the March of 2002 after a spell working for a financial marketing company in Scotland. Working together has its challenges as I am sure many father son teams would tell you. On the on the whole, I feel we make a good team. Oli had always expressed an interest in music and is now a successful tour and production manager within that industry. The twins’ sister Georgia is based in London and has her own business specialising in curation and restoration of fine art with a business partner in Los Angeles together they help the add value to their customers collections.
When taking over the former premises of well known jewellers G J H Browns (established in 1878), how important was it that you continued on with the building’s heritage? What was behind the decision to trade in the iconic building?
Greg: Chester is well known for its jewellery shops, G J H Brown was long established, and we were fortunate to obtain the iconic building after they had closed their doors after having served the city well for well over 100 years. The fabulous grade 2* building has an original spiral staircase spanning three floors and an open fireplace, both under conservation with English Heritage. The shop is small and lends itself to being a jewellery shop - why try and change something that works and has done for decades? We instantly fell in love with the building and settled in quite quickly. We didn’t make drastic changes, but we wanted to make it our own as well as do the necessary restoration work to enable us to reopen its doors.
In 2010, you both opened a second store just around the corner from Powells Vintage Jewellery specialising in modern contemporary fine jewellery – what made you make the progression into this market?
Will: The modern jewellery was something we had done along side the vintage jewellery around the corner on Eastgate Row, when the Bridge Street Row shop became available, we felt it was a good opportunity to separate the two and make more of an impact with each. GJH Brown had in fact occupied the Bridge Street unit until the property was sold and the linking doorway was bricked up to utilise two rentable units. The modern jewellery market is an ever-changing world led by fashion and trends. We make sure we have an up to date offering but also cater to the customers that appreciate a traditional, well-made piece of jewellery and the customer that desires a completely bespoke piece that really does stand out from the crowd. We are looking forward to a full refurbishment in the Bridge Street shop later this year.
Established in 1770, Lowe & Sons, based on Bridge Street Row is Chester’s oldest independent jewellers, and is believed to be the second-oldest independent jeweller in the country. What made you open a third business within the building in 2018 and what stories from its deep history can you share?
Greg: Lowes was a shop Will and I had always admired, when there was talk of Lowes closing, we were very quick to express an interest. We both have a passion for design and craftsmanship and keeping Lowes alive was paramount, it has an amazing Victorian interior with so many original features and an ambience that one must experience to understand.
Lowes has such a rich history of fine jewellery and silverware and a great reputation for antiques. The antique side was something I felt it had moved away from in its later years. Taking it on the main focus was to regain this reputation, which meant we now had separate outlets for antique, vintage and contemporary jewellery with a very different experience in each shop, all in the one city.
I have a somewhat emotional attachment with Lowes for the very fact that my Father/Will’s Grandfather (Dave Powell) worked for Lowes as an apprentice watchmaker just after the Second World War. On his first day he was given an old bike, he thought it was a test, but quickly discovered part of his new role included riding to the Eaton Estate every week to wind up all of the Duke’s clocks.
How important is your business association with Chester Racecourse?
Will: It is very important for us to be associated with successful local businesses and the Racecourse is ranked very highly amongst those. At Lowes we are very proud to have a long and happy relationship with Chester Racecourse. We have recently had their spectacular trophies in for engraving and cleaning.
Since lockdown the seasonal fashion and retail industry at large has seen many casualties. The jewellery sector doesn’t seem to have been as affected as consumers seem to have prioritised investment pieces when purchasing jewellery. What are your thoughts on this – have you noticed the same trend?
Will: The lockdown created casualties on a daily basis. We have had to be flexible in our approach to adapt as well as possible to online trading which is a challenge for our product. Pictures on a screen can’t replace the special feeling you get when wearing something that is the result of many hours of skilled craftsmanship. The investment market is strong as investors have seemed to be less affected by the pandemic. We’re fortunate to have such items in our stock as the past 12 months could have looked very different without them.
What advice would you offer to readers looking to start investing money into antiques?
Greg: Always buy with your heart, you cannot go wrong, you’ll know when something is right.
Will: Some pointers to be aware of are to make sure your source is reliable. The aim with an investment is to sell at some point so make sure the market exists for the product you’re purchasing. Do your own research and seek professional advice where available.
With the world hopefully returning to some kind of normal soon, what can customers expect over the next 12 months from you?
Greg: You can be reassured that we shall be working hard to maintain our customer experience, giving service to highest level, and continuing our quest to source the unique and interesting pieces which are the backbone of our business.
Will: We have the excitement of the refurbishment of Powells Fine Jewellery. We also want our friends and customers to feel as safe as possible when visiting the businesses and the team will be doing everything possible to ensure that is the case.
Finally, when you are not running three successful businesses, what do you do in your spare time? Where in Cheshire do you love to visit?
Greg: Spending time with the family and cycling in Wales for the hills and onto the Wirral, often stopping at the Eureka Café, a favourite watering hole.
Will: I love taking my three sons Charlie, Louie and Harri on adventures in the nearby countryside. Myself and my partner Carly enjoy skiing, this is something we are keen to get the boys involved with at as young an age as possible, we didn’t start skiing ourselves until our teens. I thoroughly enjoy playing a round of golf with friends when and wherever possible. A family favourite is La Fattoria we visit as frequently as possible.
The three shops are situated on the rows in the centre of town overlooking The Chester Cross
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