Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, Jeweler of the Regency
- Heather Moll
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
I work in a piece of Georgian jewelry into all of my stories. Sometimes they’re sentimental gifts and sometimes they’re significant plot points. In this era, London was filled with independent jewelers and goldsmiths catering to all social levels. Austen’s characters visit Thomas Gray’s in Sackville Street, and the nobility patronized Philips and Hamlet’s. But by far the most iconic and well-known jewelry store in Napoleonic-era England was Rundell, Bridge, & Rundell.
This London-based jeweler made orders, medals, and other articles of virtu for the Royal Family and rich patrons. Philip Rundell (1746-1827) and John Bridge (1755-1834) were partners who worked in precious and semi-precious materials, silver and silver-gilt, plate, and all manner of jewelry, gold boxes, watches, and objects of virtu.
Philip Rundell apprenticed to a jeweler in Bath before moving to London in 1767. He worked for many years at Theed and Pickett, Jewelers and Goldsmiths. Eventually, he made partner and purchased the shop in 1786. John Bridge had also come to London as an assistant in Pickett’s firm some years before. Thus, one year after Pickett’s passing, they formed a partnership and the firm Rundell & Bridge was born in 1787.
The shop was located at No. 32 Ludgate Hill, which was a commercial area. But if the affluent and influential didn’t want to travel across London, John Bridge would come to them. He was the partner with the pleasanter disposition. He enjoyed working with clients while Philip Rundell was known to have a temper and little patience for customers.
They were appointed as one of the goldsmiths and jewelers to the king in 1797 and Principal Royal Goldsmiths & Jewellers in 1804, a title it held until 1843, serving four monarchs from George III to Queen Victoria. The partnership expanded in 1804 when Philip Rundell’s nephew Edmond Waller Rundell joined the firm and the name was changed to Rundell, Bridge and Rundell.
With the early patronage of King George III, by the Regency, Rundell, Bridge and Rundell was the premier jeweler in Britain. There was so much demand for their products that they set up a manufactory in Greenwich where their craftsmen had more space to work on the larger commissioned pieces. Though the plate and other large objects were made there, most of the smaller items produced by Rundell, Bridge and Rundell were made at the Ludgate Hill premises. This included items like jewelry, snuff and comfit boxes, as well as any trinkets set with precious or semi-precious gems.
Part of the reason for their success was the attitude of the time. England celebrated naval victories such as the Battle of the Nile and Trafalgar with full dinner services, commemorative plate, and medals. Many clients were also army and navy officers who ordered presentation pieces for fellow officers or their regiments. The orders substantially increased during 1814 and 1815.
Below are examples of their silver tea service pieces, orders, candelabra, tea urn, and inkstand.
Lavish spending, as well as an increase in commerce driven by the war, was the norm—and this was further encouraged by the Prince Regent, an extravagant spender. Jewelers made a significant profit from the ceremonial pomp and circumstance surrounding the coronation of the new king. George IV spent more than £8,200 just on snuff boxes as gifts for the foreign ministers who attended his coronation. Rundell, Bridge and Rundell even made the Diamond Diadem worn by George IV for his procession to Westminster Abbey.
The formation of Rundell & Bridge was timed well for taking advantage of the country’s mood, and their reputation for craftsmanship and the Royal Family’s patronage reinforced their ascent to the top of jewelry making and goldsmithing in Great Britain.
But the cessation of hostilities meant fewer commissions for dinner services, honors, and the like to commemorate Napoleonic victories. Then the recession following the end of the conflict had an impact on spending. Philip Rundell retired in 1823, and they lost his business acumen and capital to grow the business as the other partners bought him out. As John Bridge aged, he delegated duties to his nephew, John Gawler Bridge, who in turn lost significant Royal patronage to another firm. Around the same time, the deaths of the Duke of York in 1827 and King George IV in 1830 ended an era of unprecedented spending.
Rundell died in 1827, while Bridge remained in business until his death in 1834. His nephew continued operations, but the firm struggled. In 1843, Rundell & Bridge was dissolved, ending the most prestigious goldsmith enterprise of the Georgian era.
Here are some of their jewelry and snuff box pieces held by the V&A and The Met.
I’ve had a character mention visiting their London store to find a gift for his wife, but should I put a more detailed visit in another book? Should John Bridge come in person to see what a character might like to design? Or maybe one of Rundell and Bridge’s commissioned pieces should be a plot point?
Lovett, Robert W. “Rundell, Bridge and Rundell - An Early Company History.” Bulletin of the Business Historical Society 23, no. 3 (1949): 152–62. https://doi.org/10.2307/3111183.
Silver ice pail from the Grand Service made by royal silversmiths Rundell, Bridge, and Rundell for King George IV of England. Hallmarked by Phillip Rundell, London, 1827
Star of the Order of the Garter, by Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, 1820-1830, and Collar of the Order of the Garter, by Rundell, Bridge & Co., 1837