From Hatton Garden Apprentice to the House of Graff
Few names in modern jewellery are as closely associated with important diamonds as Laurence Graff. Founder of the London jewellery house Graff, he built an international reputation for acquiring remarkable gemstones and creating jewels for some of the world's most prominent collectors. Yet his career began far from the showrooms and record-breaking diamonds with which his name is now associated.
At just 15, Graff entered the jewellery trade as an apprentice in London's Hatton Garden. Within three months, he had been told he would never succeed. His subsequent career, from repairing Victorian jewellery to establishing one of Britain's best-known luxury jewellery houses, is an extraordinary chapter in the history of modern British jewellery.
Quick Answer: Who Is Laurence Graff? Laurence Graff OBE is a British jeweller and the founder of Graff, established in London in 1960. Beginning his career as a teenage apprentice in Hatton Garden, he became internationally known for important diamonds, coloured gemstones and high jewellery. His early designs and surviving period jewels offer collectors an insight into the development of the Graff name.
How Did Laurence Graff Start His Career?
Laurence Graff's introduction to jewellery came through his mother, who arranged an apprenticeship for him at a jeweller's workshop in Hatton Garden, London's historic jewellery district. His earliest responsibilities were hardly glamorous. He scrubbed floors, undertook occasional workshop tasks and attended classes at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. After just three months, his employer told him he would never make the grade.
Graff was undeterred. He moved on to develop his skills elsewhere, later recalling the influence of his hard-working family and, particularly, his grandmother Katie Graff, whose business instincts had made her a trusted source of advice within their community.
At 18, he established a partnership with a more experienced jeweller, initially concentrating on repairing Victorian jewellery. It was a modest beginning, but it gave Graff both practical knowledge of jewellery construction and an understanding of what customers wanted.
When Was Graff Diamonds Founded?
Graff established his jewellery business in 1960, opening two London retail boutiques in 1962.
One early episode illustrates his instinct for making jewellery that would attract attention. Having persuaded a diamond dealer to supply him with 33 small diamonds, Graff chose not to make individual rings. Instead, he set all 33 stones into one striking diamond cluster ring.
The ring sold quickly, and the retailer who bought it promptly requested another.
The experience helped shape Graff's approach to design: creating jewels with immediate visual impact rather than simply following conventional styles.
His business expanded into emeralds, rubies and sapphires, and by the late 1960s he was travelling internationally to introduce his jewellery to new clients.
Why Is Graff Famous for Diamonds?
Laurence Graff's reputation rests particularly on his involvement with some of the world's most important diamonds. Rather than concentrating exclusively on jewellery design, Graff developed a business built around sourcing significant gemstones and creating settings that showcased their qualities.
The house became associated with exceptional diamonds, including historic stones and newly discovered gems, alongside rare coloured diamonds and important rubies, sapphires and emeralds. Among the celebrated diamonds associated with the house is the Wittelsbach-Graff, a historic blue diamond acquired by Graff in 2008 and subsequently recut.
His reputation as a diamond dealer has sometimes overshadowed another interesting aspect of the firm's history: the jewellery it produced and retailed during its earlier decades.
