Asprey is a United Kingdom-based designer, manufacturer and retailer of jewellery, silverware, home goods, leather goods, timepieces, and books.
With its flagship retail store located in Mayfair, London, Asprey is a luxury retailer for royal and celebrity clients. It has held a Royal Warrant from the Prince of Wales and collaborated with Formula 1 on product lines.
History
Foundation Asprey was established in England in Mitcham, Surrey, in 1781. Founded as a silk printing business by William Asprey, a descendant of a Huguenot family who fled France during Louis XIV's reign, it soon became a luxury emporium. In 1841, William Asprey's elder son Charles went into partnership with a stationer located on London's Bond Street. In 1847, the family broke with this partner and moved into 167 New Bond Street.
From its central London location, Asprey advertised "articles of exclusive design and high quality, whether for personal adornment or personal accompaniment and to endow with richness and beauty the table and homes of people of refinement and discernment". An early speciality was dressing cases. Asprey crafted traditional cases and designs, mostly in leather, suitable for the new style of travel ushered in by railways. The main competitors at the time were H.J. Cave & Sons. Asprey was recognised for its expertise when it won honourable mention for its dressing cases at the International Exhibition of 1862, but it ultimately lost out to its rivals, H.J. Cave & Sons, in both 1862 and 1867.
The company consolidated its position through acquisitions. In 1859, Asprey absorbed Edwards, a maker of dressing cases and holder of a Royal Warrant. Soon after the merger, Asprey would lose this warrant. The company also purchased the Alfred Club at 22 Albemarle Street, which backed on to the New Bond Street store and meant that Asprey now had entrances on two of London's most fashionable streets. Asprey acquired the case makers Leuchars & Son with their shop at 38–39 Piccadilly, which closed in 1902.
20th century As the business grew, the company acquired manufacturing facilities and hired silversmiths, goldsmiths, jewellers and watchmakers including Ernest Betjeman, the father of the distinguished poet John Betjeman, one of the most highly regarded craftsman and designers of his day. In the 1920s, commissions poured in from around the world, from American billionaire J. Pierpont Morgan to potentates such as the Maharaja of Patiala, who commissioned a huge teak travelling trunk for each of his wives, in which each trunk was fitted with solid silver washing and bathing utensils with waterspouts of ornate tiger head and lined with blue velvet. Queen Mary purchased a five-strand natural pearl necklace with a diamond-set Art Deco clasp in 1948, as a gift for Princess Margaret’s 18th birthday. The necklace featured in many iconic portraits by Sir Cecil Beaton. Asprey cigarette cases became collectable amongst young sophisticates who delighted in its other modern products, including travel clocks, safety razors and automatic pencil sharpeners.
In the 1970s, brothers Algernon and Harry Asprey were asked to resign as managing directors and they sold their shares to Gabriel Harrison's property company. These shares were eventually acquired by Alfred Dunhill Limited (who were 50% owned by Rothmans International) in January 1979, giving them a 7% share in the company. In June 1979, Dunhill acquired another 23% of the company from the Philip Asprey family and in April 1980 bought 6.8% more from the same part of the family, increasing their stake to 36.8%. Dunhill, together with South African businessman Anton Rupert and Mahdi Al Tajir, wished to acquire more of the Asprey family shares but John Asprey, the largest shareholder, held out and eventually, with the assistance of Morgan, Grenfell & Co., was able to outbid Dunhill to acquire shares from family trusts and retain ownership of 50.4% of the company within the family. In 1981, the company was listed on the Unlisted Securities Market.
In July 1990, Sears plc, who at the time held a 25% interest in Asprey, sold Mappin & Webb and Garrard & Co to Asprey, increasing their interest to 38.5% in the expanded group. Naim Attallah became joint managing director in 1990. In 1992, they continued the acquisition strategy and in April they acquired Edinburgh-based Hamilton & Inches for £1.3 million; Watches of Switzerland from H. Samuel for £23.2 million in June and in November 1992, they took over the UK distribution business of Ebel watches. In 1993, they acquired the business assets and name of Swiss jeweller, Les Ambassadeurs for £11 million. Attalah became group chief executive following some structural changes.
In 1995, the group was acquired by Prince Jefri Bolkiah's Amedeo Development Corporation for £244 million, with the Asprey family receiving more than £100 million but retaining a 10% shareholding. Following poor performances since his acquisition, in 1998, Asprey sold off Mappin & Webb, Watches of Switzerland and Hamilton & Inches and was renamed Asprey & Garrard and moved from 112 Regent Street to premises on New Bond Street. 36 Bruton Street, Mayfair, became the flagship store location in celebration of the 240th anniversary of Asprey in 2021
Key dates 1781: Asprey begins trading as William Asprey in Mitcham, Surrey 1847: Asprey flagship store opens on New Bond Street, London 1851: Asprey receives an 'Honourable Mention' at the Great Exhibition for their lady's dressing case with 'Annie' cipher. 1862: Royal Warrant granted by Queen Victoria 1889: Edward VII grants the second Royal Warrant to Asprey 1925: Queen Mary commissions a necklace, later given to Princess Margaret on the occasion of her 18th birthday 1930: Maharaja of Patiala commissions five trunks, one for each of his wives 1973: Bespoke chess set is commissioned for Ringo Starr's birthday 1975: Asprey received the Queen's Award to Industry by Queen Elizabeth II 1990: Asprey and Garrard merge 2001: Royal Warrants granted by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince of Wales (later King Charles III). 2002: Asprey and Garrard split 2004: Lord Foster of Thames Bank redesigns the flagship store in New Bond Street, London 2006: Asprey celebrates its 225th anniversary and is granted a coat of arms by the English College of Arms 2006: Sciens Capital Management and Plainfield Asset Management purchase the brand 2009: Asprey becomes the official jewellery sponsor of The Orange British Academy Film Awards 2012: Katie Hillier creates new autumn/winter collection 2012: Asprey collaborates with light artist Chris Levine to create The Diamond Queen for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee 2012: May – New York based Luxury Institute ranks Asprey in the top two luxury brands for 2012 2014: Bovet 1822 join Asprey's Timepiece portfolio 2015: Asprey becomes an official retailer of Rolex Watches, London 2016: Asprey becomes the official jewellery sponsor of The Olivier Awards 2017: Opening of Asprey at Takashimaya Osaka and Sunmotoyama Ginza, Japan 2021: Asprey flagship store relocated to 36 Bruton Street, Mayfair, marking the 240th anniversary of Asprey 2022: Asprey partnered with Bugatti to create exclusive objets d'art, including NFTs and sculptures.
Products
Jewellery Asprey has a tradition of producing jewellery inspired by the blooms found in English gardens and woodland flora. Over the decades, jewelled interpretations of flowers have evolved to include daisy, woodland and sunflower collections.
Asprey cut The master diamond cutter Gabi Tolkowsky created the Asprey cut. The cushion cut gave Tolkowsky options for incorporating the Asprey "A" inscription around the edges of the stone. The result was the 61-facet Asprey cut, maximising light refraction to brilliant effect. Carat weights of Asprey-cut diamonds range from 0.50 to 3. Asprey-cut diamonds are inscribed on one side of the cushion with the GIA certificate number and with four distinctive 'A's on the other. It is also the only diamond that has the letter "A" on the crown; the Asprey cut has a flower in the centre to create softness. The shape of the Asprey cut means that the cutting process can be done only by hand, unlike many other stones that involve machine cutting.
Leather goods The latest handbag collection is the Beverly Hills collection, inspired by the 20th anniversary of the Boutique at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles The men's collection includes wallets, cardholders and travel watch cases. Other items include briefcases and backgammon boards. An Asprey bag owned by Margaret Thatcher was sold at auction in 2011.
Silver Asprey offers classic and contemporary silver pieces – such as sterling silver cocktail shakers, in traditional and contemporary, novel designs such as the Rocket cocktail shaker and many barware accompaniments. Asprey also produce children's items, including tooth boxes, picture frames and rattles.
Trophies Asprey have designed and manufactured sporting trophies, including the Race to Dubai trophy and the Dubai World Championship (DWC) trophy. In addition, Asprey is responsible for crafting the ICC cricket trophies, Wimbledon championship runner-up and winner's salvers, the Arab Club Champions Cup trophy, as well as the FA Cup, and Premier League medals. Asprey has also crafted the Formula 1 Grand Prix trophies for the British and French races, the Soccer Aid for UNICEF Perpetual Shield, the Epsom Derby Stakes trophy, the LIV Golf tournament trophies, and the Gallagher Premiership Rugby trophy.
Books The Asprey fine and rare book tradition evolved from the early 1900s when small compendia of reference books were produced. However, it was not until the Second World War, when raw materials were in such short supply, that Asprey began to offer second-hand and antiquarian books. Following the war, this practice was further developed to include a range of books, old and new, that were bound by Asprey, thus augmenting the company's tradition in leather goods. Today, Asprey offers a range of first and limited editions, many in their original bindings and some, if appropriate, in leather bindings customised by Asprey.
Asprey Polo Previously known as Argosy, Asprey Polo has developed products for player and pony. The range includes boots, saddles, bridles, helmets and mallets and is available from Asprey Polo. Asprey has a history in polo, sponsoring teams and creating trophies for polo tournaments. It sponsored a 40-goal team in the Argentine Open in 1996, winning the Championship and reaching the final in 1997.
Bespoke and master craftsmanship Asprey has maintained its London workshops, allowing repairs and alterations to be completed while a customer waits. An expanded jewellery, silver and leather workshop based in London are where classic skills are employed by silversmiths, goldsmiths, jewellers, leatherworkers, engravers and watchmakers.
The firm's craftsmen made a silver-gilt sandwich. They toasted three slices of bread in their workshop, fried the eggs, broiled the bacon, assembled the sandwich, made a mould, and cast it. It now sits on the desk of a Texan millionaire.Hiller, B. (1981) Asprey of Bond Street pp. 114–115
"The Diamond Queen" To mark Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, Asprey partnered with light artist Chris Levine to create a new work based upon his 2004 portrait Equanimity, commissioned by The Jersey Heritage Trust in 2004. This new work is entitled The Diamond Queen.
Asprey re-created the Queen's diamond diadem, worn at the Coronation in 1953. One thousand white diamonds were set in platinum by Asprey craftsmen and overlaid onto the original three-dimensional image of the Queen to create the luminescent installation.
Royal patronage