A London demi-fine jewellery brand founded in 2006 by Bec Astley Clarke, with a first shop in Seven Dials and concessions in Liberty, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason.
Astley Clarke is a British jewellery brand selling lockets, charms, necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings, in gold-plated and silver pieces and in solid gold and diamond collections. Its website says it ships worldwide and prices in pounds, and that it has over 10,000 five-star reviews, which is a claim from the company. It is credited with helping to create the "demi-fine" category, although Wikipedia notes that claim is not sourced.
Bec Astley Clarke founded the business in London in 2006, first as an online shop for designer jewellery. She studied politics and philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, worked online and for luxury brands, and was appointed MBE in 2013 for services to the jewellery industry. In 2009 the brand began designing its own pieces under creative director Lorna Watson. In 2014 it changed from a marketplace into a brand selling only its own designs, made in its London studio. We did not find a statement of mission or values in the pages we could read, so we cannot give one in the company's words.
In the UK, Astley Clarke has long had concession spaces in department stores, including Liberty, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason, and it opened its first standalone shop on Monmouth Street in Seven Dials, London, in 2021. Its design studio is in London. In 2019 a majority stake was taken by Aeternum Group GmbH, so the brand is now part of a larger owner, though it still trades under its own name.
The business has been recognised for its online approach: it won Jewellery Website of the Year (2008) and Best Luxury Brand Online (2009). Google featured it as a business case study in 2014. Bec Astley Clarke served on the board of International Jewellery London and judged the Bright Young Gems initiative for young jewellers. We found no staff figures and no first-hand account of its working culture.
A brand like this employs jewellery designers and product developers, buyers and wholesale managers who look after department store partners, shop advisers and stylists, e-commerce, social media and marketing teams, and operations, finance and customer-service staff. Its move from online shop to design brand with its own store shows how a young company can change shape, which makes it a good case to study if you are interested in fashion business.
Website: www.astleyclarke.com
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