May 11, 2026 |
In the 1870s, Edward VII, then the Prince of Wales, ordered from Hancocks London a custom necklace for his mistress Lillie Langtry, the actress and legendary beauty of her day. Appropriately, Langtry later wore the elaborate gold, turquoise and coral piece, featuring winged scarabs in the then-fashionable Egyptian Revivalist style, for the opening night of her starring role in Antony and Cleopatra in the West End.
In the decades following Langtry’s death, the jewel changed hands several times, even passing back through Hancocks London on a number of occasions before a new client would fall in love with it. In 2006, it even appeared on the big screen in The Devil Wears Prada where it was worn by Meryl Streep in her role as fearsome fashion magazine Runway’s editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly.
from left: creative director Amy Burton and managing director Guy Burton and the Hancocks London Georgian townhouse on St James’s Street
Today, that same royalty-to-Hollywood jewel sits in Hancocks’ permanent collection. It has taken pride of place on the main floor of the London jeweller’s handsome, bow-fronted five-storey Georgian townhouse, where it overlooks the hustle and bustle of clients coming and going on a busy January morning. The retail space is spread over three floors and its elegant interiors are a far cry from the fusty, dusty Dickensian image of an antique jeweller. Murano glass lighting, cosy fireplaces, shelves crammed with jewellery books and welcoming sofas all entice you to sit down, relax and enjoy the staff’s easy charm and expert knowledge.
Hancocks London sits on St James’s Street in the heart of heritage London, just around the corner from The Ritz. It is surrounded by the eponymous neighbourhood’s unique mix of centuries-old private clubs and historic independent luxury shops, which unlike the global corporate behemoths that dominate nearby Bond Street, often still operate as family businesses today. While neighbours like Lock & Co. Hatters, founded in 1676, and Berry Bros. & Rudd wine merchants (1698) make Hancocks a mere whippersnapper by comparison, it is also family-owned. It was established in 1849 and, since 1992, its owners have been the Burton family, with siblings Amy and Guy at the helm today, following in the footsteps of their parents, Stephen and Janie.
from left: an antique archeological revival style, gold fringe necklace by Carlo Giuliano circa 1880 and a late 19th century diamond tiara, convertible to a necklace
Back in 1866, founder Charles Hancock started keeping a company diary. Its pages reveal that the jeweller is as historic as Langtry’s royal gift, full of the great and good of royalty, aristocracy and celebrity who have been seduced by its wares over the years. Queen Victoria awarded it its first royal warrant the year it opened and over the decades, it received three further such warrants. Queen Vic also tasked the jeweller with crafting the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration of the British honours system, awarded to members of the armed forces for acts of extreme bravery. Hancocks London still makes every Victoria Cross.
The Burton family combines Hancocks’ storied heritage with its own resolutely 21st-century approach to collecting. Together, its members have established an international following for an array of vintage and antique jewels that are enticingly eclectic, yet united by their eagle eye for outstanding design and provenance, and their passion for exceptional craftsmanship and precious materials. On top of that, their jewels must be wearable. “When I’m sourcing, I always have the mantra in my head that jewellery’s meant to be worn and give the wearer joy,” says creative director Amy.
from left: an important pair of Georgian antique diamond drop earrings c.1830 and a selection of engagement rings
On walking through the door, your eyes are drawn immediately to a tall, showstopping display case of tiaras. Even as late as the years following the Second World War, British etiquette demanded that they be worn when women were presented at court, and these relics of a bygone age still retain an irresistible romance. No longer a necessity and albeit hardly a jewel for everyday wear, they attract buyers from all over the world, says Guy, Hancocks’ managing director. “Some clients buy tiaras to wear at an event and want to keep them as future heirlooms. Others purely collect. We even sold one during lockdown to somebody in London who just wanted one to wear whenever she felt like it.”
One recent sale was that of the Anglesey tiara, ac.1890 diamond, gold and silver creation once owned by Henry Cyril Paget, the flamboyant and eccentric fifth Marquess of Anglesey. Nicknamed the Dancing Marquess, he inherited a vast fortune but his lifestyle was so lavish that he ended up bankrupt, having spent his entire estate on jewellery, clothes and theatre productions. He died in 1905 in France, aged just 29, in debt to the tune of £544,000 (that’s around £58 million in today’s money).
Established in 1849, the antique, vintage and fine jeweller Hancocks London has been run by the Burton family since 1992. The Burlington Gallery showcases the extensive old cut diamond selection
The latest addition to the tiara cabinet is the Airlie tiara, a decadent floral confection of pearls and diamonds that boasts royal connections. Mabell Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie, was a close friend of Queen Mary, grandmother to Queen Elizabeth II, and was awarded the prestigious role of being her Lady of the Bedchamber. Mabell’s granddaughter-in-law, Virginia Ogilvy, also Countess of Airlie, was awarded the same position in Elizabeth II’s household in 1973, serving the late Queen until her passing. Both women were photographed at court events in all their regalia,the tiara being the quintessential cherry on top. “Our clients love beautiful pieces that have a story attached,” says Guy.
Hancocks’ jewels range in age from the 18th to the late 20th century. Amy, who is responsible for sourcing and buying many of the jewels offered, says that exceptional Georgian-era pieces are enjoying a particular resurgence in popularity. She points to an incredible pair of c.1830 earrings that feature old mine-cut diamonds set in the cut-down collets distinctive to the period. They can be worn as a pair of small diamond cluster drops or as dramatic, shoulder-sweeping chandeliers. “Our Instagram followers are obsessed with how versatile they are,” she says with a laugh. “They’re so decadent and their mix of delicate craftsmanship and the dark oxidised silver surrounding the diamonds is what I think makes them so appealing,” adds Guy.
antique jewels and old cut diamonds on display in the Bruton Gallery at the townhouse
Not to mention the fact that such jewels are so old that it is rare they have even survived. Many such pieces would have been worn until they fell apart or taken to pieces and redesigned as more modern jewels. Others would have had their diamonds plucked out one by one for sale by owners who, over the generations, may have met with hard times. “It’s heartbreaking if we ever have to tell a client that the diamonds in their family’s beautiful rivière necklace were at some point replaced with paste [imitation stones],” he says.
At the other end of the age scale is the enviable selection of post-Second World War jewellery. It too has reached a fever pitch in terms of demand, says Amy, a testament to her ability to spot emerging trends. She says it is almost impossible now to source more vintage hand-engraved gold zodiac jewels made by the likes of Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier in the 1960s and ’70s. Similarly, Hancocks London has carried the inventive work of French goldsmith Georges Lenfant in the form of chunky chain bracelets and an unbelievably sinuous lariat necklace of 18-carat gold rope for more than a decade, and his creations are now attracting record sums at auction. If you’re lucky, you might also catch a coveted pair of 1980s gold and black jade-inlay earrings by Angela Cummings for Tiffany & Co. that Dynasty’s Alexis Carrington Colby would kill for.
from left: the top-floor salon of the Georgian townhouse and elegant displays heave with antique pieces
There is always room for whimsy. A Victorian gentleman’s drinking bangle, centring on a carved bloodstone relief of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, indicates that the trend for men’s jewellery is nothing new. Another recent addition to the collection is a late 1940s Cartier Paris brooch depicting gold bagpipes enamelled in Scottish regimental colours. “It’s so intriguing. We’re researching it at the moment to try and find out more about its history,” says Guy.
Ascend to the townhouse’s top floor and you’ll get to enjoy Guy’s own speciality: antique-cut diamonds. He fell in love with old cuts more than a decade ago, long before Taylor Swift set her eyes on her own antique diamond engagement ring. “These old stones were all cut by hand and therefore have such a unique beauty compared to modern cuts,” he says. The antidote to mass-produced, machine-cut modern natural or lab-grown diamonds, Hancocks London sources these antique stones, together with exceptional coloured gems such as deep-green Colombian emeralds and velvety blue Kashmir sapphires, and sets them in handmade engagement rings. At one end of the range is a 0.5-carat antique oval-cut diamond set on a plain gold band and, at the other, an exceptional five-carat Type IIA old cut oval diamond from the legendary Golconda mines in India, set on a band decorated with Hancocks’ signature hand engraving.
from left: Guy and Amy Burton and Lillie Langtry’s gold, turquoise and coral necklace, a gift from her royal lover the Prince of Wales
Guy says he has seen a huge shift in clients’ awareness of and desire for old cuts in the last decade, partly prompted by the appeal of their unique beauty and partly by a desire to make more sustainable choices. Of course, it doesn’t hurt when a star like Swift endorses them. Shortly after her betrothal to Travis Kelce became public last summer, Guy received a WhatsApp message from a new client who wanted to know if the elongated antique cut diamond on the website was the same shape as Swift’s. The answer was yes and the client bought it immediately.
Passing trends and social media buzz aside, the siblings say that, above all, their clients value the old-fashioned concept of a family jeweller, one with whom they can develop a long-term relationship that gets passed down from generation to generation. “They might come to us first for a signet ring, then an engagement ring, then their wedding bands, their wedding jewellery and soon,” says Amy. “They love building that relationship with us and we love it too.
Photography by Anna Stokland. Taken from 10 Magazine Issue 76 – CREATIVITY, CHANGE, FREEDOM – out NOW. Order your copy here.
